内容摘要：This is especially bad for US agricultural producers. They already had 10 or 15% tariffs on their produce entering China, in response to the last round of Trump tariffs. Now, if you add 34% on top of that, it is probably pricing most of them out.

This is especially bad for US agricultural producers. They already had 10 or 15% tariffs on their produce entering China, in response to the last round of Trump tariffs. Now, if you add 34% on top of that, it is probably pricing most of them out.

It would take him 20 hours to reach safety in Bulgaria, where he now lives with refugee status. As for the journey, he says he could have died from dehydration had he not been found by a police patrol. Still, it was the best decision of his life.“It was worth it because I didn’t have any other option. I was so lucky.”

Over the past five years, more and more migrants have decided to try their luck following the same path, known as the Eastern Mediterranean route. It starts in Turkey and moves into either Bulgaria or Greece; and then, for many, deeper in Europe.Whilst other routes - like the path from the north African coast to Italy - have seen a fall, the numbers entering Europe via this Eastern Mediterranean route tripled between 2021 and 2023 and is still rising, according to EU border agency Frontex.It now stands at well over 60,000 a year. Many are Afghan and a number are Turkish and Syrian. Some, eventually, end up on the shores of Britain.

Since taking power, the Labour government has repeatedly promised to “smash” the smuggling gangs who lead them here.Sir Keir Starmer’s strategy focuses heavily on policing. He has promised to treat smugglers like terrorists, disrupting their plans “before they act”. On 4 November, the prime minister announced plans to create a new Border Security Command, which the government say will have enhanced powers to trace suspected traffickers and shut down their bank accounts. One hundred additional specialist investigators will be assigned to the National Crime Agency (NCA), one of the UK bodies tasked with cracking down on people smugglers, while the Crown Prosecution Service will deliver charging decisions more quickly in international organised crime cases.

But is it enough? After all, the Conservatives had their own version of Labour’s slogan, promising to “stop the boats” - and yet in the year to June 2024, some 38,784 irregular arrivals were detected - 81% of them arrived in small boats.

So what makes Labour think it will fare differently, and that its police-first strategy will work?"But it didn't make any difference because the effect, unfortunately, was just too large."

He said he knew of 25 Cowley Road businesses that had closed but restauranteurs were "too scared to say anything" because English was their second language.Mr Pugh said one of them "was nearly in tears" as he was struggling to stay afloat.

"They are literally killing small independents."An Oxfordshire County Council spokesperson said the LTNs were "designed to work with other measures to make it easier to get around and improve the health and wellbeing of our communities”.