The Know Daily - Wednesday 14 May 2025

_{Read in 4m 22s ∙ Listening to Dasha ∙}

Roskilde Festival is back this summer with a stacked lineup – think Olivia Rodrigo, Stormzy and Charli XCX 🕺 But it’s not just about the music. The Danish festival is leading the way on sustainability, with 100% of profits going to global youth initiatives, plant-based meals labelled with their carbon footprint, and even an example eco-house made from natural materials on site 🙌

💵 Tariffs and trade deals: what’s going on (and why it matters)

A quick guide to why everyone’s talking tariffs again.

What even is a tariff?
A tariff is a tax on imports – basically, anything brought into the country from abroad. When tariffs are added, foreign goods become more expensive, and the hope is that people will buy more domestic products instead. It’s a way of protecting homegrown industries by making them more competitive against cheaper imports. But while tariffs can help local businesses, they tend to lead to higher prices for the consumer.

How does Trump come into it?
President Trump has announced a series of sweeping tariffs on imports from countries all over the world, claiming it’s to "level the playing field" and correct ”unfair” trade imbalances. Under his new policies, there’s a 10% import tax on most UK goods, though there are some rollbacks on sectors like cars and steel. Trump says these moves will help secure better deals for American farmers and manufacturers – particularly beef and ethanol exports, which he wants to push more in the UK. However, many experts argue the deal looks more like a political win for Trump, with limited tangible benefits for the average American consumer.

Ok, so what’s a trade deal?
A trade deal is an agreement between countries about how they buy and sell goods and services from each other. It can include rules about tariffs – sometimes reducing them – to make trade smoother and cheaper. In the context of Trump’s tariffs, trade deals are super important because they let countries negotiate their way around some of the broader import taxes. In his new deal with the UK, for example, Trump agreed to lift tariffs on specific sectors (like steel), but the 10% tax on most UK goods remains. It’s a reminder that while tariffs may be eased for some, they’re not going away anytime soon for many other industries.

How could this affect me?
While most UK goods are still facing higher tariffs than a few weeks ago, the deal signals that negotiation is possible – and that more sector-specific carve-outs could follow. For US consumers, the impact will depend on how wider trade talks play out, especially with countries like China.

In the meantime, if you’re curious about how tariffs might affect what you buy, the UK government has a handy tariff lookup tool where you can search by product and country. One to bookmark if you like knowing what’s going on behind the price tags!

👑 Royal reception: The King is to host French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife this summer on their first state visit to the UK.

• The bigger story: It will be the first state visit of a French president since 2008, when Nicolas Sarkozy was invited by the late Queen. State visits are particularly grand affairs and often include a carriage ride and a lavish state banquet. The King’s invitation is considered a particularly big deal as it is seen as the ultimate diplomatic gift that the UK can give – a "soft power" opportunity to strengthen trade, cultural and defence ties.

❤️‍🩹 Miraculous MRIs: A “simple” MRI scan can identify people at risk of heart disease a decade before they have a heart attack or stroke, scientists have said.

☀️ Switching to solar: 1.5m homes in the UK now have solar panels. Sunsave is helping to grow that number by making installation easier and more affordable via the UK’s first solar subscription with £0 upfront cost. Calculate your potential savings here.*

💰 Accidental alchemy: Scientists at Europe's Large Hadron Collider have successfully transformed lead into gold after mimicking the Big Bang.

🎫 Transparent tickets: Ticketmaster will now show the full price of tickets on its website before buyers land on the checkout page, following a ban by the Federal Trade Commission.

🦹‍♀️ Famous faithfuls: The official line-up of the highly anticipated Celebrity Traitors has been released – check out who will be entering the castle. 

🌴 Idyllic islands: This Southeast Asian island has been crowned the world’s most picturesque (...don’t mind us while we check out flights!).

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Trivia answer:  C) Cynthia Erivo will play 23 characters in the Kip Williams production.

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