this is worklife from bbc news, with ben bland and lewis vaughan jones. free trade and friendly co—operation — borisjohnson promises business a bright future after brexit. live from london, that's our top story on friday 18th october. but britain's leader is in a race to win support for a deal by saturday, and also faces years of negotiation over eu rules and market access. also in the programme... china's economy splutters — the trade war takes its toll

as growth slows to its weakest in a quarter of a century. and as extinction rebellion protestors descend on the uk's capital, we find out how companies, not governments, are under intense scrutiny over their climate credentials. and we'll be getting the inside track on the s—word, sustainability, it's a business buzzword for yonks, but is itjust about climate change and why should companies care? we'll find out later. today, we want to know about e—mail overload, should compamnies ban staff from work emails outside office hours? let us know, just use the hashtag #bbcworklife. hello and welcome to worklife. a warm welcome to our new business

show, and we start today in the uk where it's cruch time for brexit. while prime minister borisjohnson is working out how he will sell his new brexit deal to parliament, businesses are weighing up how it could affect future trade between britain and the eu for decades to come — that's if the deal gets approved. mrjohnson has written an open letter to businesses trying to reassure them. it says the deal is the basis for a new relationship with the eu, based on "free trade and friendly co—operation". in the political declaration, the two sides have agreed to aim for a trade deal with "no tariffs, fees, charges or quantitative restrictions", in other words, avoiding limits on the amount of goods. they have also pledged to ensure a "level playing field" for businesses. this could mean the uk abiding by many eu rules — a big concession from the uk side.

with us now is simon fraser, managing partner of business advisory firm flint global. and he is with me now. what do you make of what ben was just talking about and what do you think business will make of it? i think business will make of it? i think business will welcome the fact that a deal has been agreed with the eu although of course it hasn't been approved in parliament yet. but insofar as that deal will give at least short—term stability to the business environment, that is good. however, that deal is not in fact the basis for the future relationship with the eu, that has still got to be negotiated, and there is a lot of potential uncertainty down the line about what that will be. and remember, whatever that deal is, there is going to be less free trade with the eu than we had as a member of the eu. and what do you think foreign investment will make of it? well, i think foreign investors will be looking at the uk market and still waiting to see what the future holds. investors take a long—term

perspective so they will definitely welcome the fact that there seems to be political progress, but there is still uncertainty about what the long—term trading environment in the uk will be in relation to the eu market. you touched on foreign investment, what about uk firms, do they now have the confidence, do you think, simon, to invest and take on new staff yet or not? well, i think there has been a chilly effect for firms over the recent period because of the uncertainty, so they will be looking forward, this will give them optimism. the worst outcome, which would have been no deal, appears to be being avoided, and that is a good thing. on the ranking of the deals, the old deal, this deal, no deal, what is the ranking? from a business perspective, most business people of course i think would have preferred to stay in the european union. but if we are leaving, they want to leave with a deal, and that appears to be what is happening. leaving with no deal would have been very, very disruptive. so, we are on the

best available course, let's say. very disruptive. so, we are on the best available course, let's saym does still depend on those votes in westminster. of course it does, and it also depends on the final arrangements which will be negotiated over the next few years about what our economic and trade relationship with the eu and other markets will be. and the weak pound, not just weak, but the volatility, isa not just weak, but the volatility, is a real challenge for businesses as well in terms of planning? indeed. for some investors, the weak pound has been an attractive opportunity for buying uk assets, but if you are investing over the long—term, currency fluctuation is the most important thing, the regulatory environment, the market access, the political questions, and there are some, are the long—term factors which influence decision—making. factors which influence decision-making. we will know a lot more in 36 hours or so. let's have a look at some of the other stories making the headlines. the head of the national basketball association in the us has said financial losses from its row with china have been substantial.

it follows the manager of the houston rockets, daryl morey, tweeting support for pro—democracy protesters in hong kong. chinese firms then suspended sponsorship deals and broadcasters took nba games off the air. basketball is china's top sport. renault warned of a gloomier future, warning sales will drop up to 4%, blaming difficulties in markets such as turkey and argentina. the french car giant has been reshuffling its bosses, ousting ceo thierry bollore last week as it tries to draw a line under the scandal surrounding former boss carlos ghosn. facebook‘s founder mark zuckerberg says companies should not be able to censor politicians or the news in a democracy. he was giving a speech in washington dc following weeks of criticism over the firm's decision not to ban political adverts that contain falsehoods. china's growth dropped to its lowest level in nearly three decades as the trade war with the us continues to take its toll.

the economy grew byjust 6% injuly to september. karishma vaswani is in singapore. so, the big question, why is china's economy slowing? well, ben, one of the main reasons has been the impact of the us—china trade war. that has affected business sentiment in china and it has also meant that factories are not able to produce the things that they have in the past and sell as much to their us customers, because they are being hit by these tariffs. a lot of companies are also moving out of china to other places to try and escape the effect of those tariffs. but there is also the fa ct those tariffs. but there is also the fact that the domestic economy is slowing down, because it has been hit by higher prices and consumers aren't spending as much as they used to, asa aren't spending as much as they used to, as a result of the fact that prices have gone up, because of the

impact of high prices on spending in general. all of that means that china's policymakers are under pressure to try and boost growth at a time when the things they've done in the past to help boost growth aren't working as well as they used to. thank you very much. on the markets, asian stocks, they stumbled in places on friday, losing some of the earlier gains, after china posted its weakest growth in nearly three decades, as we heard there. across europe, the equity markets are down. sterling has also fallen as investors fret over boris johnson's chances of pushing his brexit deal through parliament. now to the us, where $7.5 billion of european goods will be hit by import taxes today. it's a major blow for many

industries including scotch whisky makers, who face tariffs of as much as 25%. vivienne nunis is following the story from new york. americans who have a preference for italian cheese, french wine, scottish whisky, spanish olives, even european power tools, can expect to pay more for those goods from today. after a trade dispute that lasted 15 years, the us can now begin clawing back some of the financial losses it incurred when the french airplay manufacturer airbus received illegal government subsidies. the world trade organisation has allowed washington to impose tariffs on a record $7.5 billion worth of european exports, and as importers pay more to bring those goods into the us, prices could go up by 25%. eu officials tried to convince the us to think again and reach a settlement but those calls have gone unanswered. but watch this space, the us has been found to be illegally

subsidising its playmaker, boeing, and will likely face tariffs on goods sold in europe from next year. time now for our daily look at some of the newspaper and website stories which have caught our eye. joining us is laura onita, recail correspondent at the telegraph. good to see you. let's pick up on what vivian was talking about, the tariffs, interesting for savile row, the suit making community in the uk? indeed, i think that the savile row community is going to be one of the most hit, if you like, because their suits are very popular in the us, in north america, so, a lot of people buying their suits, the makers will face tariffs of up to 25% on those suits that they send to the us, so thatis suits that they send to the us, so that is a considerable amount, if you are a small business selling to america. and it is extraordinary that a trade row over subsidies to a plane maker can have this effect on

suits, on whiskey and all sorts of other exports? absolutely, cashmere makers as well. it is uk but it is also europewide. as we heard earlier, it is almost like a tit—for—tat retaliation which has perhaps unwanted consequences on those smaller businesses in the uk. let's move on to vaping. vaping and formula i. the headline, vaping backlash threatens to slam breaks on f1 backlash threatens to slam breaks on fi sponsorship, what is going on? this is twofold. as we have known from before, the sponsorships from big tobacco companies in the formula 1 big tobacco companies in the formula i were banned. big tobacco companies in the formula iwere banned. now, they have moved oi'i iwere banned. now, they have moved on to vaping, the slightly less harmful product, and they are hoping to strike these new partnerships to sponsor to strike these new partnerships to sponsor f1. now, in some countries that's very stringent laws and rules

as to how you can do that, or not. so it isa as to how you can do that, or not. so it is a bit ofa as to how you can do that, or not. so it is a bit of a problem because the tobacco companies are hoping to get exposure, but there was rules prevent them from doing that, so some of their logos are being stripped from the side of the cars that they are sponsoring. also, for the f1 teens themselves, that is a revenue stream that they were counting on which they might not be able to get. something else i want to pick up on, this extinction rebellion, the ongoing protests, and highlighting the climate emergency, as they put it. they took things a bit further when they targeted the london underground, and commuters got very, very angry, so much so that extension rebellion are now saying they will reconsider their future techniques? indeed, yesterday there was disruption on london trains andl there was disruption on london trains and i think extinction rebellion have come away from this

thinking, have we made the right decision here? because apparently, quite a lot of their members did not agree with this sort of protest. so, it raises questions on, how do they democratically make these decisions on how they intend to put their message forward? it was strange because there was a backlash initially from commuters, they really weren't having it, and then the kind of extension rebellion, lots of the people involved, thought, maybe we did things the wrong way. but part of their ma nifesto wrong way. but part of their manifesto is to do things to get people's attention. and this is i suppose what we are doing today and what some of the extension rebellion people were saying, we haven't quite managed to cut through to everyone, and by doing that yesterday, that's what they have achieved, even though it was on the back of londoners who we re it was on the back of londoners who were trying to get to work. and we are talking about it right now. i

have to say, some people were shocked at the violent reaction from some of the other passengers. as someone who uses the london subway at rush—hour, i wasn't surprised, because... i wasn't, at rush—hour, i wasn't surprised, because... iwasn't, either. you nudge someone with a bag by mistake, and it can kick off! let alone disrupting the service! still to come... let's look at the s word. sustainability is what we're talking about — a business buzzword for years — but is itjust about the climate? our next guest will tell us what it actually means. you're with worklife from bbc news. despite the blackslapping and high fives in brussels yesterday as the eu and borisjohnson reached a brexit deal, there's still uncertainty about how the uk's economy will be affected if the deal is passed. andrew walker is our economics correspondent. and he is with me now.

what do you make of what ben was just talking about and what do you think business will make of it? we have got the annual meetings of the international monetary front going on in washington at the moment, and one of the big concerns there is a coordinated slowdown in economic growth - the world, economic growth around the world, driven to a large extent by trade conflict, and there is the additional worry that the imf has been expressing about the possibility of a disruptive brexit, compounding those worries. as it is, we do now have an agreement done between the prime minister and european leaders, so, if that were to go ahead and be approved by parliament here in the uk, and in the european union, i guess that would alleviate some of those concerns at least for the immediate future. worth mentioning, though, that the future relationship between the uk and eu is not settled by this

agreement. that would be subject to negotiations, and the transition period which is currently in position is up until the end of next year. and getting a trade deal done in that time does look like a pretty tall order. andrew, we keep hearing businesses want certainty, but it seems that even with this deal, until and unless it gets approved by the uk parliament, they still don't have that certainty. they haven't got that certainty in the very short—term until those political steps are taken, and then there is the slightly longer term uncertainty that i mentioned about what happens at the end of the transition period. and i think there is some relief in business about the progress so far, but they have got other worries for the longer term. andrew, thank you very much indeed.

these comments from the finance boss of unilever, saying he drinks five or six cups of builder's tea each day, but he says, is there a future for the humble cup of tea, as his generation which strings it are dying out? you're watching worklife. a reminder of our top story. free trade and friendly co—operation, borisjohnson promises business a bright future after brexit. sustainability seems to be the buzzword used in the business world of late. but what is it? having coroprate policies about the climate and combating modern slavery? well, in the true sense of the word, sustainability means "the capacity to endure". and for many companies, it could mean the ability to thrive in a competitive environment.

that helps global businesses generate profit while improving societal and environmental conditions. osvald bjelland, founder, xynteo, joins us now. welcome to the programme. so, first off, how do you define, for those of us off, how do you define, for those of us who aren't in your field, sustainable growth, what does it mean? first of all, i think the good news is that every leader, every government that we know, is totally preoccupied with this s—word, and it has gone so far beyond a fashionable word to talk about. so, i think we are in quite a challenging situation at the moment... but what does it mean? it means that what i see, every business we work with, is preoccupied with, is, how do we create a growth model that functions in harmony with what nature can carry, how do you create economic growth that is inclusive and how do you create economic growth which

will stand the test across generations? that is really the challenge that we are working on. and one of the challenges is to link pay to sustainability, performance and sustainability, that is one of the ideas, but companies struggle to limit pay to the performance of the company, let alone with sustainability? i think, this is a very good question and comment. i think what we are seeing now is that companies are trying to measure their performance in new ways. we saw it on the television last week, there is ceo of unilever saying they wa nt there is ceo of unilever saying they want to cut plastic by 50%. the ceo of ikea is changing their energy model to run their business on renewables. and the whole world since 2015 has looked at the sustainable to element goals and looked at, how can we align our business with those objectives? so,

there is a transition going on but it must go much faster. —— sustainable develop in. other things, things like getting rid of quarterly reports, because they are too short—term? quarterly reports, because they are too short-term? some companies are looking at that. and last week, at the xynteo exchange in oslo when we had 500 leaders coming together, the ceo of ikea made that very good point, that actually, if you have a long—term ownership structure, like private ownership, it is easier to work long—term, rather than just running on quarterly earnings. so there is a conflict there. and you have recently put out a report listing some key things that businesses need to do to be more sustainable when they are trying to make more profits and grow the business, what were the most important elements of that? so, in summary, this report is all about, we work with a 27 of europe's top, top ceos, and we came together

around this question, how do we create trust in our future growth model? how do we create a growth model? how do we create a growth model which is inclusive, where you go beyond shareholder supremacy, how can you work with governments to truly drive the energy transition faster? those were two of the five jobs that need to be done. and how willing do you find businesses are, the ones you work with, to adapt and change and adopt what you are advocating? so, i think change and adopt what you are advocating? so, ithink there is change and adopt what you are advocating? so, i think there is a marked speak, just as we speak, it is happening, the frequency in the world is picking up, things are going faster, and i think there is not one of those 27 who is not interested in this subject. the question is only how? and that's difficult, because none of us know exactly how to create a thriving, inclusive, low—carbon growth model for europe for years to come. that is what they are really committed to try to find out. in a couple of words, are you optimistic or

pessimistic about the future? so, i am... of the future will be challenging but i am optimistic by choice. optimistic by choice, i will go with that! in a moment, we'll run through some e—mails about inbox overload. but first, let's turn to finland, where in one village the population dwindled so much, only one child was born in 2012. it was a wake—up call to the residents, and the local government came up with a novel solution.

at the top of the show, we asked you about an idea to ban staff access to e—mails outside working hours in a bid to reduce stress. let's take a look at how some viewers have responded. jodie has tweeted, "yes, i check mine, but i don't respond until its work hours. not knowing causes me anxiety." reflective remainer says, "for me,

i like having constant access. i can chose what i do with that, when i respond etc. it actually gives me peace of mind that i always know what's going on. brian wheeler tweets... do you check your e—mails when you are not at work? yes, i can't go five or ten minutes without checking my phone, i'm absolutely dreadful. five or ten minutes without checking my phone, i'm absolutely dreadfullj try my phone, i'm absolutely dreadful.” try to do whatjodie said, which is deal with the urgent ones, not reply until i come in. but then sometimes it is quite useful to get a head start. someone made the point earlier that actually if you work with people in different time zones, inevitably you are going to have to send e—mails outside of your own walk. the only ones i completely ignore are the ones from pentland, of course. forewarned is forearmed!

have a great weekend, bye—bye. —— the ones from ben. good morning, showers are more extensive good morning, showers are more exte ns ive a cross good morning, showers are more extensive across the uk compared to yesterday, not as much sunshine to be enjoyed. we have still got low pressure in charge and that is going to keep things unsettled over the next few days, and it is going to start to turn habitually by sunday. this is the satellite image this morning. you can see the swell of cloud and the shower clouds are in this. it is moving eastwards. showers are merging together to give longer spells of rain for some of us. as it moves eastwards, the low pressure will weaken. this morning, more persistent rain i think for parts of central scotland, frequent showers around the bristol channel,

southern areas of england, some of these could be on the heavy side. a little bit drierfor these could be on the heavy side. a little bit drier for northern england and northern ireland but even here, you won't escape the showers today. maximum temperatures, 11-15. showers today. maximum temperatures, 11—15. tonight, the persistent rain across scotland will continue, just moving southward, more showers to come across wales and southern england. you can see the low pressure m oves england. you can see the low pressure moves gradually eastwards throughout tonight and into the start of the weekend. but it is weakening all the time. this band of rain across southern scotland will move into northern england on saturday. there will be some showers further south of that but it will be largely dry south of that on saturday. temperatures on a par with today, about 11—15. moving into sunday, we have got this little weather front bringing more persistent rain, the low pressure pretty much disappears but we have got a northerly wind setting up

across the uk, which means it is going to turn a bit chillier. on the whole, on sunday, a drier day, fewer showers around. just that rain across the north—east of england. quite a bit of cloud around, though, may be a few bright spells. into next week, it is going to start off a little bit drier, with some patchy fog and frost as the winds turn a little bit lighter because high pressure is coming up from the south—west across the uk, some lighter was because. —— lighter winds.

you're watching bbc news at nine with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines... borisjohnson races to persuade mps to back the brexit deal he's struck with the eu, ahead of an expected knife—edge vote in parliament tomorow. we have got a chance now to get brexit done, with a deal, and allow the country to move forward. we will not vote for anything that makes our constituents and our country poorer and, by any assessment, that is what this deal will do. i'm nuala mcgovern, in brussels, and here at least it appears brexit has been decided, so leaders move on to long—term priorities. more than 700 people are arrested across the uk as police clamp down on so—called county lines drug gangs.