About

About
Americastradepolicy.com is a project of the Washington International Trade Association.
About WITA, the Washington International Trade Association
The Washington International Trade Association (WITA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to providing a neutral forum in the nation’s capital for the open and robust discussion of international trade policy and related issues. WITA is widely considered Washington’s premier trade forum.
WITA was founded in 1982 by a group of Washington area trade professionals who found a need to stay abreast of developments in trade policy, make and maintain professional contacts, and exchange information and ideas concerning world trade and international business opportunities.
Today, WITA’s steadily growing membership is over 1,800 strong, including more than 130 corporate sponsors and group memberships. WITA keeps its members informed through an extensive series of programs and special events (such as our Annual Awards Dinner and Congressional Trade Agenda program) that focus on the latest positions taken by the Administration and Congress on trade policy, rules and regulations governing international trade, views of US trade policy from abroad, current issues in trade, and the latest developments in the ever-changing trade landscape.
The Current Blog

The United States is engaged in two major trade negotiations that can have an enormous impact on our economy and the world trade system. One major negotiation – the so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) – is with eleven other nations including Japan, the third largest world economy, as well as Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Singapore. The other major negotiation is with the world’s largest trade bloc, the European Union, in a negotiation known as the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
In addition to these two efforts, the U.S. is also engaged in several other trade negotiations that are important, including negotiations to: reduce barriers to trade in services, expand the International Technology Agreement and the Government Procurement Agreement, and to simplify and improve customs procedures.
These negotiations have the potential to benefit our economy and strengthen the world trade rules, but unless they are structured right, they could cause our economy significant damage and weaken the global trade system.
The intent of this blog is to help inform the public about the issues under negotiation and to promote debate on the issues. We welcome your comments!
Our Bloggers:
- Bill Krist
- More to be announced soon! Check back for the latest updates!

Daily Trade News

US trade envoy says WTO dispute settlement is ‘deficient’
trade

The WTO dispute settlement system is “deficient” and has often ruled in favor of free trade that overlooks details of a trade agreement, U.S. trade envoy Robert Lighthizer said on Monday.

Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Lighthizer, a trade lawyer, made clear that the administration was poised to push for major changes to the global trade system during upcoming meetings of the Geneva-based trade body. WTO member countries will meet in Buenos Aires on Dec 10.

EU Chamber warns China: Open economy faster or risk backlash
trade

A business group urged China on Tuesday to carry out promises to open its economy and warned that inaction might fuel a backlash against free trade amid mounting U.S. and European criticism.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce said in a report that Beijing is backtracking in some areas, including by imposing new restrictions on food imports, express delivery and legal services. It proposed hundreds of possible changes to open the state-dominated economy wider or simplify rules in fields from cosmetics to medical devices.

Trump to Punish China Outside WTO
trade

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Monday that the Trump Administration is drawing up plans to punish China outside the World Trade Organization.

Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Lighthizer said the government is looking for “other ways” to defend American companies and workers from the effects of China’s subsidized trade.

Push for Nafta Overhaul May Fall Short, U.S. Negotiator Says

WASHINGTON — The top United States trade negotiator said Monday that it was unclear whether Canada, Mexico and the United States could reach a deal to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement within the ambitious timetable set by the Trump administration.

Ross: North Korea problem won’t stop U.S. from cracking down on China trade

Speaking at POLITICO’s Pro Policy Summit, Ross said resolving the nuclear missile problem is the administration’s “No. 1 priority.”

“The primary responsibility of the president is to protect the American people, so that has to be the sine qua non,” Ross said. But, he added, there is “nothing logically inconsistent with that and having a trade policy that’s better economically for us.”

Nafta Talks Target Stubbornly Low Mexican Wages

Now, U.S. and Canadian trade officials and labor advocates want to use the Nafta renegotiation to prod Mexico into raising its wages.

“Higher wages in Mexico are in the interests of Mexico and the U.S.,” economist Peter Navarro, a trade adviser to President Donald Trump, told The Wall Street Journal recently. “Without this adjustment Mexico will never have a robust middle class, and our middle class will wither if not die.”

Trump threatens to scrap NAFTA in Sunday morning tweet

U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his threat to scrap NAFTA and ripped on trading partners Canada and Mexico in a tweet early on Sunday, days before the three countries were scheduled to hold a second round of negotiations on rewriting the 23-year-old agreement.

“We are in the NAFTA (worst trade deal ever made) renegotiation process with Mexico & Canada. Both being very difficult, may have to terminate?” he wrote.

U.S. goods trade deficit widens in July; retail inventories fall

The U.S. goods trade deficit increased in July as exports fell, suggesting that trade would make a modest contribution to economic growth in the third quarter.

The Commerce Department said on Monday the goods trade gap increased 1.7 percent to $65.1 billion last month. Exports declined 1.3 percent, weighed down by an 8.0 percent tumble in shipments of motor vehicles.

U.S. Begins Nafta Negotiations With Harsh Words

The renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement is off to a rocky start.
The Trump administration lectured Canada and Mexico on the failures of the current agreement at an opening news conference Wednesday morning, while behind closed doors negotiators began to seek significant concessions from America’s neighbors.

China bans North Korea iron, lead, coal imports as part of U.N. sanctions

China announced a ban on imports of iron ore, iron, lead and coal from North Korea on Monday, increasing the economic pressure on the Pyongyang regime, as it moved to implement a package of sanctions put together by the U.N. Security Council.
The ban will take effect from Tuesday, the Ministry of Commerce announced, although China will continue to clear goods that have already arrived in port until Sept. 5.

Maybe It’s Time To Trade With North Korea

Let’s add a fourth option to the three options most often heard when the subject is North Korea and the nuclear threat it poses to the United States: Trade with North Korea. Or, I should say, rapidly increase what is now our limited trade with North Korea.

Trump to launch investigation into China trade violations

The Trump administration will take steps Monday to launch an investigation into Chinese intellectual property violations that could result in severe trade penalties, a threat the United States could wield to pressure Beijing into improving its economic behavior and doing more to contain North Korea’s nuclear threat.
The president plans to sign an executive memorandum Monday afternoon directing his top trade negotiator to determine whether to investigate China for harming intellectual property, innovation and technology, senior administration officials said in a conference call Saturday morning.

USITC rules Taiwan fiber exports hurt U.S.; probe to continue

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has made a preliminary decision that exports of Taiwanese and South Korea polyester fiber firms have caused damage to the polyester fiber industry in the U.S. because of their unfairly low prices. “There is a reasonable indication that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of low melt polyester staple fiber from Korea and Taiwan that are allegedly sold in the United States at less than fair value,” the ITC said in a statement.

Food is at the center of US-UK trade concerns

President Trump has promised a “big, big” free trade agreement with the U.K. once that country leaves the European Union in 2019. The British cabinet is, however, split over the prospect. Some ministers believe that Britain should clinch a deal with the U.S. at any cost. But others fear that a free trade deal would lift the existing European ban on the importation of some controversial American farm products and that could undermine British food standards.

Britain Shouldn’t ‘Go Up Against’ U.S. in Trade Talks

The U.S. may not be the best country for Britain to start its post-Brexit trade agreements with, according to Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce. “I wouldn’t want to go up against them, early on, when I’m just getting on my feet again as a country going into free trade agreements,” Marshall said in an interview on Bloomberg Television on Friday. “The U.S. trade representative is one of the best-oiled machines in the world when it comes to negotiating trade deals.”

Trump edges closer to a trade war with China, thanks to aluminum foil

The United States has decided to levy an import tax on shipments of aluminum foil from China, penalizing the country for what U.S. trade officials say are unfair subsidies of its products.It’s a decision that could add to mounting tensions between the world’s two biggest economies over trade, as the Trump administration considers a wide array of trade measures that would clamp on Chinese trade violations and the aluminum sector in particular.

Get Ready. NAFTA talks are coming soon

Talks to renegotiate NAFTA — one of Trump’s chief campaign promises — begin in a week in Washington.Trump blames NAFTA for an exodus of manufacturing jobs to Mexico. He also credits his criticism of the free trade agreement as a key factor in his election.

KORUS Redux?

This may seem like something you’ve heard before, but the administration is seeking to modernize an existing U.S. free trade agreement. This time, it’s the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement, better known as KORUS.

U.S. Department of Commerce Issues Affirmative Preliminary Countervailing Duty Determination on Aluminum Foil From the People’s Republic of China

The U.S. Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the affirmative preliminary determination in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation of aluminum foil from the People’s Republic of China (China), preliminary finding that Chinese exporters of aluminum foil received countervailing subsidies 16.56 to 80.97 percent. The Commerce Department will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of aluminum foil from China based on these preliminary rates.

U.S. Trade Commission now investigating Apple in Qualcomm patent dispute

The U.S. International Trade Commission is investigating Qualcomm’s claims that Apple is violating several of its patents related to mobile technologies in several of its iPhone models. Qualcomm is seeking a ban on imports of the iPhone models that allegedly infringe on its IP.
Earlier this year, Apple sued Qualcomm for $1 billion, alleging that the company was collecting royalties on patents that it had “nothing to do with.” In April, Apple announced that it would no longer be paying Qualcomm any royalties as it pursued legal action against them.

China uses forced labour to export products to United States, says report

China uses forced labour to export products to United States, says report. The report titled ‘US Exposure to Forced Labour Exports from China: Developments since the US Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015’ states that the value of the Chinese forced labour exports to the US is unknown as China’s forced labour industry has long been opaque.

China aluminum foil makers to challenge U.S dumping duties: sources

China’s top aluminum foil producers are preparing a legal defense challenging a preliminary U.S. ruling on Wednesday that would impose hefty penalties on imports from the world’s top producers, two sources familiar with the matter said. Loften Aluminum, China’s top foil exporter to the United States, is joining 11 other firms to fight the ruling, the first such case since the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, an official at the company said on condition of anonymity.

Rural America feels the effects of Trump’s trade policies

There was a fascinating piece in Politico yesterday on the country’s agricultural sector, which has struggled for a while, but which saw an exciting new opportunity take shape last year. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (or TPP) was seen as “a lifeline,” offering Rural America a chance to reach millions of new, international customers. Donald Trump, a fierce opponent of the trade pact for reasons he’s never been able to explain in any detail, was quick to close that window. Now America’s rural exporters are watching other countries reach deals on their own, leaving the United States on the sidelines.

Trump has not been ‘smart enough’ on China trade policies, analyst says

President Donald Trump’s latest plan to take action against China over trade issues has some watchers worried about a trade war. Others say Trump is on the right track in his efforts to retaliate against the United States’ largest trading partner for alleged violations.

Trump’s Stalled Trade Agenda Leaves Industries in the Lurch

Donald J. Trump promised Americans that they would be exhausted from “winning” on trade under his presidency. But nearly seven months after Mr. Trump took office, the industries he vowed to protect have become tired of something else: waiting.After beginning his presidency with a bang by withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact in January, Mr. Trump has accomplished little else of significance when it comes to reorienting deals with other countries. Instead, his administration has been struggling to work through the complicated rules that dictate international commerce. All the while, they are learning that bold campaign promises are hard to keep when many voices advocate different plans.

China’s international trade grows less than expected, surplus with US dips

China on Tuesday reported July exports were up 7.2 percent in dollar terms, while imports were up 11.0 percent in dollar terms. Both were lower than expected. Analysts polled by Reuters expected a 10.9 percent rise in Chinese exports in July from a year ago in dollar terms. July imports were forecast to increase 16.6 percent in dollar terms.

Trump administration’s Africa policy in focus at AGOA trade talks

With the Trump administration’s trade agenda focused on reining in China and renegotiating the North American Free Trade agreement, Africa has barely appeared on the radar screen.That could change this week as President Donald Trump’s top trade negotiator and other senior U.S. officials head to the West African nation of Togo to review a Clinton-era free trade pact with sub-Saharan Africa, in the administration’s first high-level delegation to visit the region.

Trump’s Trade Pullout Roils Rural America

EAGLE GROVE, Iowa — On a cloud-swept landscape dotted with grain elevators, a meat producer called Prestage Farms is building a 700,000-square-foot processing plant. The gleaming new factory is both the great hope of Wright County, which voted by a 2-1 margin for Donald Trump, and the victim of one of Trump’s first policy moves, his decision to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Globalization Thrives in Asia as Export Revival Buoys Growth

For all the talk of globalization’s retreat amid the mercantilist rhetoric of Donald Trump, it’s proving to be a very different story in Asia. Exports are resurgent, governments are pursuing free-trade deals, and rather than bringing jobs back home, American automakers are planning new facilities in China. That early-2017 angst over potential for a trade war is now turning into recognition there’s been something of a trade bonanza as the global economy’s strongest synchronized upswing in seven years drives demand for Asian-made goods.

President Trump’s Trade Policy is Valid at its Core

In May 2017 the U.S. trade balance was -$46.5 billion, meaning that amount was subtracted from U.S. GDP in May of 2017. The unfavorable trade balance, as identified by President Trump, has been caused largely by China and Mexico.

U.S. trade deficit narrows as exports hit 2-1/2-year high

The U.S. trade deficit fell sharply in June as exports increased to their highest level in 2-1/2 years, a positive development for the economy.The Commerce Department said on Friday the trade gap decreased 5.9 percent to $43.6 billion, the lowest level since October 2016. May’s trade deficit was revised slightly down to $46.4 billion from the previously reported $46.5 billion.

U.S. businesses fear Trump mishandling of China IP, trade probe

In the latest delay of a White House trade move, a planned Friday announcement of President Donald Trump’s trade action against China has been postponed, two people familiar with the matter said. Sources previously told POLITICO Trump was slated to hold an event at the White House on Friday in which he would direct U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to open an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 over what the administration views as Chinese violations of U.S. intellectual property rights and forced technology transfer.

Trump delays announcement of trade action against China

USTR officially starts reexamination of FTA With South Korea

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced recently it would begin a reexamination of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement by formally notifying South Korea the United States will call a special joint committee meeting to discuss the trade agreement and consider changes.Per the KORUS agreement, the joint committee is mandated to meet within 30 days, but U.S. trade promotion authority law also requires 90 days of notice to the Congress of the administration’s intent to renegotiate, which has not yet happened.

Trump getting ready to go after China on trade

His administration is moving closer to launching an investigation into whether Chinese trade practices are unfair, a senior administration official said. That step could ratchet up tensions between the world’s two largest economies.The investigation, which could result in tariffs or other measures, will include the issue of the theft of American intellectual property, the official said. The potential probe, which could be announced as soon as this week, was first reported by digital news service Axios.

In rare bipartisan display,Democrats back Trump on China trade probe

Three top Democratic senators, in a rare show of bipartisanship, on Wednesday urged U.S. President Donald Trump to stand up to China as he prepares to launch an inquiry into Beijing’s intellectual property and trade practices in coming days.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer pressed the Republican president to skip the investigation and go straight to trade action against China.

Russia Says New U.S. Sanctions Amount to Declaring ‘Trade War’

Russian officials and lawmakers on Wednesday vented their frustration with U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to sign a bill imposing new sanctions on Russia, warning that it will erode global stability and fuel conflicts.
In an emotional Facebook post, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev described the move as a humiliating defeat for Trump. The Russian Foreign Ministry warned of possible new retaliatory measures.

Senate Democrats Seek to Outdo Trump on Trade

Senate Democrats on Wednesday began an effort to outdo President Trump on a signature issue: protecting American workers from foreign competition. Democrats, outflanked by Mr. Trump in the 2016 presidential campaign, are seeking to recapture the loyalty of voters convinced that globalization is eroding their fortunes and prospects.

Manufacturers are split on Democrats’ get-tough trade plan

U.S. manufacturers gave mixed reviews Wednesday to Democrats’ new bare-knuckled trade proposals that aim to protect American workers and crack down on businesses that move overseas. Among other ideas, the blueprint would impose a 35% tax on companies that move their headquarters abroad and make it easier to penalize China for manipulating its currency to gain a trade advantage.

Free-Trade is a Two-Way Street

The Trump administration recently celebrated the workers and businesses that make this country great. The purpose of “Made in America Week” was to recognize that, when given a fair chance to compete, Americans can make and sell some of the best, most innovative products in the world.

Trump Administration Is Said to Open Broad Inquiry Into China’s Trade Practices

TThe White House is preparing to open a broad investigation into China’s trade practices, according to people with knowledge of the Trump administration’s plans, amid growing worries in the United States over a Chinese government-led effort to make the country a global leader in microchips, electric cars and other crucial technologies of the future.The move, which could come in the next several days, signals a shift by the administration away from its emphasis on greater cooperation between Washington and Beijing, in part because administration officials have become frustrated by China’s reluctance to confront North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Canada Sends New Diplomats To The U.S. For NAFTA Talks

The Trudeau government is beefing up its team in the United States as it prepares a full court press to defend Canada’s interests in the looming renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.Sources say the government is creating a new position of deputy ambassador to the U.S. and is filling it with one of this country’s foremost trade experts: Kirsten Hillman.

Senate Democrats push trade as latest policy platform

As the Senate’s August recess approaches, Democrats are looking ahead to the next policy item on their agenda — trade.On Wednesday morning, Senate Democrats will roll out their latest trade policy proposals. Among them are the creation of the American Jobs Security Council — an entity that can veto proposed foreign purchases of U.S. companies — along with an independent trade prosecutor to go after foreign countries so companies don’t need to rely on the World Trade Organization, and principles for any renegotiation of the controversial North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

U.S. Says It Will Fight ‘Distortions’ Caused by China’s Economy

The U.S. said it will combat the “distortions” to the world economy created by China’s economic system, especially in markets for steel and aluminum.In a report to Congress, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said its primary goal is to defend the government’s ability to impose duties on China for dumping goods at artificially low prices or unfairly subsidizing Chinese firms. China’s economic system, which doesn’t operate based on market principles, is hurting American workers and industries, USTR said a report on its enforcement priorities to the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees.

Trump’s Top Trade Nominees Have Strong Links to U.S. Beef and Growth Hormone Lobbies

Donald Trump’s nominee to be the U.S. chief agricultural trade negotiator previously called for the U.S. to walk away from trade talks with the EU if it refused to drop its ban on beef reared with antibiotics and growth supplements, Energydesk can reveal.The news could have implications for the UK’s attempts to strike a post-Brexit trade deal with the U.S., with reports suggesting the U.S. agricultural sector wants to weaken UK food standards—including the ban on growth hormones—to help boost its meat exports.

‘Horrible Deal’ or ‘Gold Standard’: The Korea-U.S. Trade Pact

For President Donald Trump, the free trade agreement with South Korea is a “job killer” — a “horrible deal” that’s costing the U.S. $40 billion a year.The architects of the deal on both sides disagree with Trump’s characterization of the deal, which was heralded as a “gold standard” for FTAs when it came into force in 2012, and still has strong advocates in the American business community as well as in Korea.

Cabinet dinner to launch seven rounds of NAFTA talks

A high-level dinner of cabinet members from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico will mark the start of NAFTA negotiations this month, followed by a seven-course diet of negotiating rounds crammed in rapid succession. As their negotiating teams arrive in Washington for the talks starting Aug. 16, sources say the cabinet members leading the process, including Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, will hold a dinner to mark the occasion.

South Korea Names New Trade Minister Amid U.S. Push to Amend FTA

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday appointed a former top envoy who had negotiated a free trade agreement with the United States as his new minister for trade, at a time when Washington is seeking to amend the deal.Kim Hyun-chong, a U.S.-trained lawyer, was instrumental in framing South Korea’s negotiating position on the deal for then president Roh Moo-hyun, who surprised the country by choosing to initiate talks for the trade agreement.

U.S. hopes NAFTA update avoids pitting farms against manufacturers

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Friday he hoped farm business with Mexico would not suffer due to President Donald Trump’s drive to get a better deal for manufacturers. Speaking before talks between the United States, Mexico and Canada to revamp the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which will begin on Aug. 16 in Washington, Perdue said NAFTA had caused problems for some sectors, but not others.

China says no link between North Korea and China-U.S. trade

There is no link between North Korea’s nuclear program and China-U.S. trade, a senior Chinese official said on Monday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said China had done nothing for the United States on North Korea.Trump, in tweets on Saturday, said America’s “foolish past leaders” had allowed China to make billions of dollars a year in trade and that he was disappointed in Beijing for not solving the problem.

Perdue: Farm Labor Fix Not Likely To Surface In NAFTA Talks

Farms and ranches throughout the country won’t see their labor shortages solved by a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).In a call with reporters while visiting Mexico ahead of the trade talks, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said labor issues likely wouldn’t be addressed during formal negotiations among the United States, Mexico and Canada, set to begin August 16th.

Trade policy forum meeting between India, US unlikely to be held this year

In what may contribute to growing uncertainty in trade ties between India and the US, the annual bilateral trade policy forum (TPF) meeting between the two countries is unlikely to be held this year, amid a growing feeling in the US that such high-level talks have not delivered intended results.Established in 2005, TPF seeks to resolve outstanding bilateral issues between the two countries and promote trade and investment through focused discussions under various working groups such as on agriculture, tariff and non-tariff barriers, services, investment and innovation.

Scrapped Canada-U.S. Border Tax Plan Shows Trump’s Listening, Liberals Suggest

Canadian officials are praising a U.S. decision to drop a contentious border tax proposal, suggesting its death signals an open-mindedness in the Trump administration on open borders and free trade.Canada is pleased to see the decision, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Thursday, noting on Twitter that both economies prosper together.

Value of U.S. deals in China sinks on rising trade tensions

U.S. corporate acquisitions in China collapsed to their lowest level for 14 years in the first half of this year, as trade tensions between the two countries and uncertainty about Chinese government regulations took a toll on deal making.The value of mergers and acquisitions involving American companies in China dropped 32 percent to just $523 million in the six months to June 30 from $771 million in the same period last year, and were down 87 percent from $4 billion in the first six months of 2015, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Facing trade war with Trump, Europe rediscovers its swagger

If U.S. President Donald Trump really wants a trade war, Brussels is more than happy to give him one.Trump could hardly have chosen a worse moment to threaten to slap tariffs on the European steel industry.

Commerce Secretary Says ‘Complexity’ Has Stalled Trump Steel Protection Plan

President Donald Trump’s pledge to quickly provide big import protection to U.S. steelmakers has gotten bogged down in “complexity,” with no clear deadline for completion, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Congress on Thursday, according to lawmakers who attended the briefing.”The secretary used the word ‘complexity’ more than any other word,” Michigan Democratic Rep. Sander Levin told reporters.

US-Mexico Border Mayors Worry About NAFTA Makeover

The first meeting of the U.S.-Mexico Border Mayors Association since Donald Trump became president of the United States was marked Thursday by worries that more limits on trade could stifle economic growth in a region of 12 million people stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.The 17 city leaders paid little attention to Trump’s plans to build a “big, beautiful wall” separating the two countries and to add 5,000 Border Patrol agents, focusing instead on how the U.S., Mexico and Canada are preparing to overhaul the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, one of Trump’s favorite punching bags.

Fowl Matters: Will Britain Really Reject U.S. Trade Deal Over Chickens?

Speaking to BBC Radio Wednesday morning, the U.K.’s secretary for the environment, food, and rural affairs, Michael Gove, said Britain would not accept a deal with the U.S. that included chickens treated with chlorine.”We need to be in a position as we leave the European Union to be leaders in environmental and in animal welfare standards,” said Gove.

Trump administration steps in on fishing limits, and the implications could ripple

The Trump administration, in an unprecedented decision, has rejected the recommendation of a commission that has long overseen fishing issues along the East Coast, raising deep concerns about political meddling in the ongoing preservation of fragile stocks from Maine to Florida. More specifically, the decision by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has stirred worries about the consequences for summer flounder, one of the most fished species in the Northeast. The decline of summer flounder could have a wider impact across the region’s marine ecosystem.

Amid resistance, Trump backs away from controversial trade plan

President Trump said Tuesday that his administration is delaying a long-awaited verdict on whether to restrict imports of foreign steel, again punting on a decision that has divided U.S. industries and his own administration, as well as strained ties with some of the country’s closest allies and trading partners.“[W]e’re waiting till we get everything finished up between health care and taxes and maybe even infrastructure,” the president told the Wall Street Journal.

USTR Lighthizer: Trump challenging China’s industrial policies – radio interview

The top U.S. trade negotiator said late on Tuesday that President Donald Trump is determined to challenge China’s use of unfair subsidies and “non-economic” industrial policy to build up export industries that are costing American jobs. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, in a rare media interview, said that the Trump administration would work to hold China’s practices to the rules of the World Trade Organization, an organization that he has criticized for being ineffective in enforcing fair trade.

US-UK trade talks overshadowed by chlorinated chicken

Hopes of securing a post-Brexit U.S.-U.K. trade deal have come under threat in the first day of talks amid concerns over chlorinated chicken imports.Britain’s International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has insisted that the issue of poultry imports is “a detail of the very end stage of one sector” but British campaigners insist that a proposed bilateral trade deal with the U.S. would lower British food standards.

You may soon be able to trade options on bitcoin, ethereum

An image of Bitcoin and US currencies is displayed on a screen as delegates listen to a panel of speakers during the Interpol World Congress in Singapore on July 4, 2017.
Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty Images
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced Monday it unanimously approved digital currency-trading platform LedgerX for clearing derivatives.LedgerX initially plans to clear bitcoin options, the release said.

Qualcomm accuses tech group of ‘misdirecting’ trade regulators

Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) fired back in its case against Apple Inc (AAPL.O) on Monday, accusing its critics of waging a “coordinated effort aimed at misdirecting” trade regulators. Earlier this month, Qualcomm filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking to ban iPhones that use chips “other than those supplied by Qualcomm affiliates.”

B.C. Premier Horgan to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary over softwood lumber

B.C. Premier John Horgan will meet with the U.S. Secretary of Commerce when he heads to Washington this week to make a case for a deal to resolve the softwood-lumber dispute, which threatens the province’s single-largest export to the United States.The Commerce Department confirmed that Mr. Horgan will meet with Wilbur Ross, who was appointed to U.S. President Donald Trump’s cabinet earlier this year. Mr. Horgan’s office did not say who else the Premier will meet while he’s in Washington.

U.S. Nafta Proposals Positive For Mexico Debt, Moody’s Says

U.S. trade representatives’ proposals to update the North American Free Trade Agreement point to the possibility of increased trade flows between Mexico and the United States, Moody’s Investors Service says in a fresh analysis.With the first round of Nafta negotiations to begin Aug. 16, and clarity last week from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on where things are headed, here are excerpts from a report authored by Moody’s Jaime Reusche.

Here’s what could come out of the UK trade secretary’s meeting with Wilbur Ross

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is to welcome British Trade Secretary Liam Fox on Monday to begin discussions for a new trade deal between the two countries. The pair will be joined by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer for the two-day talks that aim to lay out a continuity agreement allowing businesses from the two countries to continue trading after Brexit.

British business chief warns against swift US trade deal

A headlong rush into a “politically attractive” trade deal with the US risks exposing British companies to hostile takeovers and handing American firms the upper hand, one of Britain’s leading business figures has warned.

This Obscure Nafta Chapter Could Be Canada’s Deal-Breaker Again

On Oct. 1, 1987, days before the U.S. and Canada signed their biggest-ever trade deal, then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney shocked the Americans by walking away from the negotiating table.

Why a U.K. trade deal will be harder than Trump thinks

Britain and the United States will kick off informal talks on a trade deal when U.K. officials visit Washington Monday. President Trump has said that he expects a “very big” and “very powerful” deal that’s good for both countries to be reached “very, very quickly.”

Finance, Farming Are Focus of U.K.-U.S. Trade Talks, Fox Says

Removing commercial barriers with the U.S. could generate an additional 40 billion pounds ($52 billion) in trade with the U.K. by 2030, Trade Secretary Liam Fox said Sunday as he warned that reaching a deal won’t be easy.

U.S. steel tariffs likely to trigger swift EU ‘safeguard’

Trade talks fizzle as China rebuffs key Trump team demand

U.S. officials fell short of securing ambitious gains in trade with China in a meeting Wednesday and news conferences planned to cap off the event were canceled as the two countries wrapped up 100 days of trade talks.The United States unsuccessfully pressed China to make a substantial commitment to cut its steel production, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to comment on private discussions.

U.S., China Sidestep Discord to Focus on More Balanced Trade

U.S. and Chinese economic chiefs sidestepped their differences over North Korea and steel imports ahead of a high-level forum in which the Trump administration is seeking clear from China to open its markets. “There remains serious imbalances which we must work to rectify,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Tuesday in Washington at an event organized by the U.S.-China Business Council, a nonprofit group representing more than 200 American companies that do business in China. “It is time to re-balance our trade and investment relationship in a more fair, equitable and reciprocal direction.”

U.S. makes lower trade deficit top priority in NAFTA talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Monday launched the first salvo in the renegotiation of the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), saying its top priority for the talks was shrinking the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico.

US-China trade rifts resurface even after friendly summit

Cake and conversation, it seems, can go only so far to mend longstanding economic rifts between the United States and China. Three months after President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, shared chocolate cake at an amiable summit in Florida, tensions between the world’s two biggest economies are flaring again.

U.S. and Chinese Executives to Meet on Nations’ Economic Relations

Leaders of major United States companies with deep ties to China will meet on Tuesday with their Chinese counterparts to try to ease the increasingly rocky economic relationship between the countries. On Tuesday, Wilbur L. Ross, the secretary of commerce, will host a daylong meeting in Washington with more than 20 business leaders from the United States and China.

Trump’s NAFTA goals draw from TPP, campaign pledges

The Trump administration today released long-awaited goals for renegotiating NAFTA, borrowing heavily from the discarded Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement and putting a strong emphasis on reducing the bilateral trade deficits with Canada and Mexico. “Too many Americans have been hurt by closed factories, exported jobs, and broken political promises,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement released along with the goals. “Under President [Donald] Trump’s leadership, USTR will negotiate a fair deal.”

White House under pressure to drop Garrett as Ex-Im Bank nominee

President Donald Trump is standing behind former Rep. Scott Garrett, his choice to head the Export-Import Bank, amid escalating pressure from business groups to pull the plug on the nomination. “Scott Garrett is imminently [sic] qualified to lead the Ex-Im Bank,” White House spokeswoman Natalie Strom said in a statement to POLITICO. “The President stands behind his nomination and is looking forward to his confirmation.”

U.S. Makes Lowering the Trade Deficit a Top Priority in NAFTA Talks

The United States on Monday launched the first salvo in the renegotiation of the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), saying its top priority for the talks was shrinking the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico. In a much-anticipated document sent to lawmakers, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he would seek to reduce the trade imbalance by improving access for U.S. goods exported to Canada and Mexico under the three-nation pact.

China’s steel, aluminum output at record as U.S. mulls penalties

BEIJING/MELBOURNE (Reuters) – China churned out record amounts of steel and aluminum in June as producers rushed to cash-in on rallying prices in the wake of a drive by Beijing to crack down on output of low-grade metal. That could fuel concerns the world’s top steel producer will export more metal, stoking global oversupply and fanning tensions with the United States after it accused the nation of flooding international markets with cheap aluminum and steel.

Trump’s team is ready for a trade war over steel

The Trump administration expects other countries to retaliate against its planned restrictions on steel imports, but Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told lawmakers the move could be a necessary step to draw countries like China into new negotiations.

It’s show time: Trump to reveal his hopes for NAFTA

WASHINGTON — After campaigning and complaining about NAFTA for two years, Donald Trump is about to start doing some explaining: the U.S. president is poised to release a list as early as today revealing how he wants to change the deal. American law requires that the administration publish a list of its objectives entering trade negotiations.

U.S.-China trade talks sputtering at 100-day deadline

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – Bilateral talks aimed at reducing the U.S. trade deficit with China have yielded some initial deals, but U.S. firms say much more needs to be done as a deadline for a 100-day action plan expires on Sunday. The negotiations, which began in April, have reopened China’s market to U.S. beef after 14 years and prompted Chinese pledges to buy U.S. liquefied natural gas. American firms have also been given access to some parts of China’s financial services sector.

U.S. farm lobby turns up heat on Trump team as NAFTA talks near

With talks to renegotiate the NAFTA trade pact just weeks away, U.S. farm groups and lawmakers from rural states are intensifying lobbying of President Donald Trump’s administration with one central message: leave farming out of it. Trump blames the North American Free Trade Agreement – the “worst trade deal ever” in his words – for millions of lost manufacturing jobs and promises to tilt it in America’s favor.

Mexico industry eyes NAFTA changes to find common ground with Trump

Mexican industry is exploring revising trade rules to ensure U.S. workers benefit from a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to address head-on U.S. President Donald Trump’s biggest beef with the treaty. With talks due to start next month between the United States, Mexico and Canada, Mexican officials have stressed the need to craft a new deal that would strengthen the region against competitors, particularly in Asia.

Trump to get a range of options to curb steel imports: senators

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday he will present to President Donald Trump a range of options to restrict steel imports on national security grounds, according to senators who met with Ross. Senator Sherrod Brown said that Ross “pretty much committed” to announcing these options next week as part of Commerce’s review of whether steel imports are threatening U.S. national security under a 1962 trade law.

U.S. Plans Talks Soon to Revamp South Korea Trade Deal, Sources Say

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration notified South Korea that the U.S. wants to revise the trade deal between the two nations, setting the stage for talks to begin within a month. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer requested a special session between the countries to discuss possible “amendments and modifications,” he said in a letter on Wednesday to South Korean Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan.

Tariff fight roils Argentina’s shale patch as Macri opens trade

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina needs oil rigs to develop its vast shale oil and gas resources. The United States has plenty of idle equipment laying around after its own unconventional drilling boom cooled. But moving that machinery from the plains of Texas to the windswept Patagonian desert is proving complex and costly for global oil majors who say Argentina’s protectionist past is slowing efforts to spark its own shale revolution. .

How free trade can make you fat

The North American Free Trade Agreement may have dramatically changed the Canadian diet by boosting consumption of high-fructose corn syrup, a new study suggests.

China envoy says North Korea trade growth picture ‘distorted’

China’s ambassador to the United States has said reports of trade growth between his country and North Korea, in spite of international efforts to press Pyongyang to give up its nuclear and missile programs, give “a distorted picture.”

Donald Trump puts US in a club of one

It wasn’t quite the G19 summit, but President Donald Trump’s approach to foreign affairs is severely straining global cohesion on key issues like climate change and free trade, exchanging an aggressive, traditional American leadership role for isolation in a club of one. Don’t expect him to apologize, though.

UK-U.S. trade deal will not make up for leaving the EU: minister

A post-Brexit trade deal with the United States would not be enough to make up for leaving the European Union, British justice minister David Lidington said on Sunday, tempering Prime Minister Theresa May’s enthusiasm about the U.S. offer. May had warmly welcomed assurances on Saturday by U.S. President Donald Trump that a “very powerful” trade deal with Britain would be reached “very, very quickly” after Britain leaves the EU.

Trump hails G-20 ‘success.’ Others see political chaos and American decline.

The fallout of Trump’s first face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin was still being measured on Sunday. The one tangible outcome of the meeting was a limited cease-fire in southern Syria (more on that later in the newsletter), which swung into effect on Sunday.

The EU-Japan Trade Deal Is the Wake-Up Call Donald Trump Needs

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made an unscheduled stop in Brussels Thursday on his way to the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. There, he and European Council President Donald Tusk proudly announce d the conclusion of a new EU-Japan trade deal.

China hits back on Trump N Korea trade claim

It follows a tweet from Donald Trump that highlighted an “almost 40%” rise in bilateral trade between the two nations in the first quarter of 2017. China didn’t dispute that number, but state media suggested the president’s comment was unfair and selective.

As E.U. and Japan Strengthen Trade Ties, U.S. Risks Losing Its Voice

LONDON — In the master plan advanced by President Trump, an unabashedly aggressive United States is supposed to reclaim its rightful perch as the center of the commercial universe, wielding its economic dominance to dictate the rules of global trade.

At G-20, E.U. warns of trade war if Trump imposes restrictions on steel

HAMBURG — Leaders of the European Union warned sharply on Friday that President Trump risks a trade war if he imposes restrictions on steel imports, a mark of deep divisions as a summit of leaders of major world economies got underway.

Spurned by Trump, China and Mexico talk about a trade deal

President Trump threatened to slap tariffs on China and Mexico during his campaign. Now the two nations could team up for their own trade deal. China’s ambassador to Mexico, Qiu Xiaoqi, emphasized that China is ready to talk to Mexico about a “free trade agreement.”

No such thing as ‘frictionless’ trade, Barnier warns Britain

The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier warned British ministers and businesses who are calling for “frictionless trade” with the EU after Britain leaves that that is “not possible”. Addressing an EU business forum in Brussels on Thursday, Barnier said London’s “red lines” for a future trade relationship meant Britain was definitely leaving the single market and the customs union, and only membership of both allowed “frictionless” trading arrangements.

China trade with North Korea up but imports off

China’s trade with North Korea has risen despite Beijing’s promise to enforce U.N. sanctions over the North’s nuclear program, but Chinese purchases of most North Korean exports have fallen. Customs data show total trade in the first five months of this year rose 15 percent from a year earlier, driven by North Korea’s purchases of Chinese oil and consumer goods.

The E.U.-Japan Trade Deal: What’s in It and Why It Matters

The European Union and Japan announced a broad agreement on Thursday that would lower barriers on virtually all the goods traded between them, a pointed challenge to President Trump on the eve of a summit meeting of world leaders in Germany. The agreement still needs further negotiation and approval before it can take effect, but it is aimed at giving both economies some zip after years in the doldrums.

World leaders signal free-trade plans — whether Trump joins or not

In a pointed challenge to President Trump’s “America first” agenda, leaders of the world’s biggest economies this week are touting an approach that breaks with the past 20 years of global trade — sidestep the United States entirely.In the days leading up to this week’s Group of 20 summit in Hamburg, leaders from Germany, Japan and elsewhere are discussing new free-trade agreements that exclude U.S. automakers and manufacturers.

Trump promised to make trade fair again. Is he succeeding?

One year ago, Donald Trump took the stage in a small town in Pennsylvania and set out an agenda for his trade policy. In the speech, Trump made seven promises to change America’s “failed trade policy.” Given his brief time in office, Trump appears to be well on his way to accomplishing many of these goals. By our count, he has fulfilled one of his promises, broken two, and is partly on the way to completing four others.

Trump’s Trade Choice: Follow the Postwar Order or Blow It Up

It seems President Trump is ready to start rolling back globalization. Let’s hope he doesn’t blow up the postwar economic order. While Mexican negotiators waited for the United States to make its first move in its proposed renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the president last week turned on the invective against another trade deal he called unfair — that negotiated by the Obama administration with South Korea.

Trump and EU offer starkly different trade visions at G-20

Competing visions of world trade are set to collide at the Group of 20 summit of world leaders in Hamburg, Germany, this week. U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” approach faces off against the European Union and its support for free trade, with the Europeans touting a new, far-reaching pact it is completing with Japan.

Commerzbank and Fraunhofer IML collaborate on blockchain-based trade finance

Commerzbank and the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML in Dortmund are working on “supply chains of the future”, including blockchain and automated processes that run on top of them, sometimes called ‘smart contracts’. The institute combines its heavyweight supply chain expertise to a space that is currently one of the busiest areas of technology – the digitisation of trade finance and the tracking of physical goods using synchronously appended distributed ledgers.

President Trump delivers tough trade talk during visit by South Korea’s new leader

President Trump opened his meeting Friday with newly elected South Korean President Moon Jae-in with tough trade talk, announcing he is renegotiating a 5-year-old trade deal between their two countries that was a joint legacy of Presidents George W. Bush and Obama. Yet it was unclear from his and administration aides’ remarks how significant a break Trump was making with a free-trade agreement that had broad support when it was approved in Congress.

Trump risks global trade war if he restricts imports of steel and aluminum

Chinese and European diplomats have warned Donald Trump against reported plans to restrict imports of steel and aluminum – a strategy that risks triggering a global trade war. By invoking a rarely used law from the cold war era, the US president could limit imports of goods deemed critical to national defence and satisfy the “America first” elements of his support base.

Senate Dem wants to rewrite online trade rules in NAFTA

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wants the U.S. to renegotiate the online trade provisions in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee called for reducing tariffs and red tape on small online sellers, moving to stop data localization, and a “balanced approach to copyright” that “ensures the free flow of ideas around the world” during a speech organized by the Internet Association at the Capitol on Thursday.

What Trump’s impending trade war could mean for the UK

US President Donald Trump is considering launching what would amount to an international trade war by imposing significant tariffs on major exporters of steel and other goods, reports suggested on Friday. News site Axios reports that Trump essentially intends to penalise China for what he sees as the country deliberately flooding the market with cheap goods, thus making American products uncompetitive. However, Axios suggests Trump favours blanket tariffs on imports, regardless of where they come from.

Trump to press South Korea leader on trade as North Korea looms

U.S. President Donald Trump will press South Korean President Moon Jae-in to solve trade differences over cars and steel in meetings in Washington focusing on the nuclear threat from North Korea.
Concerns about the U.S. military’s THAAD missile defense system and China’s role in the region also are likely to come up in talks between Trump and Moon at the White House.

Solar Trade Case, With Trump as Arbiter, could upend Market

Millions of Americans now get their electricity, at least in part, from the solar panels that have rapidly spread throughout the country since 2010, thanks to their sharply declining cost. For customers — including homeowners, businesses and utilities — as well as for the companies that promote and install them, cheap solar panels have been a good thing.

Trump plots trade wars against Cabinet’s advice: report

President Trump is set on imposing high tariffs on steel and other imports, despite push back from the majority of his Cabinet, according to Axios.
The Friday report said Trump and a few of advisers are committed to putting tariffs on steel, and potentially other imports such as aluminum, paper, semiconductors, and appliances.

Trump’s trade plan sets up global clash over ‘America First’ strategy

The Trump administration is quietly preparing sweeping new trade policies to defend the U.S. steel industry, a move that could reverberate across global economies and incite other countries to retaliate.
In a bid to keep his campaign promise to crack down on unfair trade practices, President Donald Trump is weighing trade restrictions on steel imports from countries like China, according to two administration officials..

Trump’s plan to slap tariffs on steel imports carries big economic and political risks

President Trump was standing on the banks of the Ohio River, and as barges loaded with West Virginia coal floated by, he noted that half the United States’ steel is produced within 250 miles and told the crowd that soon “the steel folks are going to be very happy.” Within that same distance lies the bulk of the U.S. auto industry, which the president also has promised to protect.

Canada-U.S. Lumber Spat Is Likely to Drag On After Duty Move

A longstanding dispute over softwood lumber shipments from Canada to the U.S. is likely to drag on, according to people closely following the saga, despite reports that a deal could be reached soon. Major hurdles remain before a new agreement would be possible, said a Canadian government official who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to comment publicly on the subject.

Trump considering trade action against China: report

President Trump is considering taking trade actions against China, Reuters reported Wednesday. Three senior administration officials told Reuters that the president is considering putting an import tariff on Chinese steel.

Trump, South Korea’s Moon to show united front despite trade differences

President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in may present a unified front over North Korea at the White House on Thursday and Friday, but tension over trade could puncture their effort to strengthen the U.S.-South Korea relationship. Moon, making his first trip to the United States since becoming his country’s leader, will join Trump and his wife, Melania, for dinner in the White House State Dining Room Thursday night ahead of meetings on Friday that are expected to touch on North Korea’s nuclear program, China’s role in the region and the U.S. military’s THAAD missile defense system.

Lighthizer Lays Out US Trade Policy Agenda, NAFTA Hearings Get Underway

US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer discussed with lawmakers the Trump administration’s trade policy priorities for the coming year, covering areas such as the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the upcoming WTO ministerial conference. The first hearing was held under the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday 21 June, with another hearing held under the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday 22 June. These meetings came just days ahead of the USTR public hearings on NAFTA, which are taking place this week from 27-29 June.

The Really, Really Cold Chain: Exploring Cryogenic Shipping

Sometimes, just plain “cold” isn’t cold enough. It’s a familiar issue for shippers of valuable biologics — like tissue samples — where cellular degradation is a risk. Fortunately, there’s an answer for businesses that need to keep things cooler than cool: cryogenic shipping.

Companies Work to Contain Fallout From Global Cyberattack

Global firms scrambled to cope with fallout from a cyberattack that disrupted computers across Europe and the U.S., as A.P. Moeller-Maersk , AMKBY 1.23% the world’s biggest containership operator, shuttering terminals around the world. Many firms affected said their day-to-day operations hadn’t been significantly affected, but said they had been forced to isolate computer systems.

Trump Growing Frustrated With China, Weighs Trade Steps: Officials

President Donald Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with China over its inaction on North Korea and bilateral trade issues and is now considering possible trade actions against Beijing, three senior administration officials told Reuters. The officials said Trump was looking at options including tariffs on steel imports, which Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross already has said he is considering as part of a national security study of the U.S. steel industry.

Perry Eyes Energy Pact With Mexico, Canada Amid Nafta Change

The U.S. has a unique opportunity to develop a “North American energy strategy” with Canada and Mexico, Energy Secretary Rick Perry said, striking a conciliatory tone with the other members of the North American Free Trade Agreement. While President Donald Trump has blasted Nafta and moved to renegotiate it, Perry referred to the upcoming talks to rework the 1994 trade pact as a “massage” of it, saying it presents an opportunity to bolster energy ties, not enact new trade barriers.

Vulnerable ‘Chokepoints’ Threaten Global Food Security, Experts Warn

More than a dozen supply chains and trade routes that facilitate global food trade are vulnerable to unforeseen crises or climate change, according to a new report. Analysts at Chatham House, the U.K.-based think tank, released a report Tuesday identifying 14 critical junctures, or “chokepoints,” through which large volumes of global food trade pass that could be vulnerable to major disruption if they are not properly maintained—an issue that could adversely affect global food supply and prices.

Vulnerable ‘Chokepoints’ Threaten Global Food Security, Experts Warn

Trump could start a trade war this week

His administration could slap big tariffs on shipments of steel from other countries, claiming they pose a risk to national security. The tariffs can go as high as Trump wants — and could easily trigger retaliatory measures by other countries, hurting other American industries.

Trump urges India’s Modi to fix deficit, but stresses strong ties

U.S. President Donald Trump urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to do more to relax Indian trade barriers on Monday during talks in which both leaders took great pains to stress the importance of a strong U.S.-Indian relationship. At a closely watched first meeting between the two, Trump and Modi appeared to get along well.

China’s Premier, Li Keqiang, Praises Free Trade, in Contrast to Trump

Premier Li Keqiang of China reaffirmed on Tuesday his country’s desire to be seen as the world’s new leader in globalization and free trade, but he offered no specifics on how China might lower its own trade barriers, which are among the steepest of any large country. Speaking at the opening of a World Economic Forum conference in northeastern China, Mr. Li portrayed his country as deeply committed to a continued opening up to international competition.

Trump’s plan to make American steel great again could set off global trade wars

President Trump is on the brink of striking at China’s behemoth steel industry through an obscure trade loophole in US law. But if he actually pulls it off, it will be US allies, not China, that will feel the brunt of it — and they could end up retaliating with harsh measures of their own, sending us down a path to global trade wars. According to reports, we are just days away from finding out what the White House is planning to do as it concludes its investigation into whether steel imports into the US constitute a threat to national security, which was announced in late April.

U.S. Lawmakers Urge Trump to Press India’s Modi on Trade, Investment

Leading U.S. congressmen have called on President Donald Trump to press Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to remove barriers to U.S. trade and investment when they meet for the first time on Monday. The lawmakers, from the Republican and Democratic parties, said in a letter to Trump that high-level engagement with India had failed to eliminate major trade and investment barriers and had not deterred India from imposing new ones.

Europe and Japan Near Trade Deal as U.S. Takes Protectionist Path

The European Union and Japan are close to sealing one of the largest trade agreements ever, a deal that could further isolate the United States as President Trump forges a protectionist path. The deal, which brings together two giants encompassing a quarter of the world’s economy, would be a potent symbol of free trade during a time of populist backlash over globalization.

Lawmakers want meeting with Trump administration to take US-Mexico border trade

Two Texas lawmakers on Thursday called on U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to meet with them and others whose districts border Mexico. Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the Senate majority whip, and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) sent a letter to Lighthizer, asking for a meeting to discuss the Trump administration’s developing plan to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

U.S. Trade Representative Says He is ‘Troubled’ by Ford’s China Move

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Thursday he would support taking action against U.S. automaker Ford’s decision to move some production to China if the shift was because of “non-economic reasons.” Lighthizer, who was appearing before a panel of U.S. senators, did not give details on the factors that could trigger action from the administration of President Donald Trump or what sort of action it might take.

U.S. Suspends Beef Imports From Brazil

The United States on Thursday suspended imports of fresh beef from Brazil because of safety concerns, dealing a blow to one of Brazil’s biggest industries just months after Brazilian investigators accused food inspectors of accepting bribes. In a statement announcing the decision, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said, “Ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply is one of our critical missions.”

As Trump forges his own view of US-India bilateral ties, challenge for Modi is to build on the gains of past three years

Prime Minister Modi goes to Washington next week at the midpoint of his term and at the start of President Trump’s. The challenge facing Prime Minister Modi, as President Trump starts shaping his view of US-India bilateral ties, is to build on the gains of the past three years.

Nafta Currency Rules Portend Tough U.S., South Korea Trade Fight

U.S. government signals that it will push for a ban on currency manipulation in the North American Free Trade Agreement have attracted little attention, as Mexico and Canada are rarely accused of gaming the foreign-exchange market. The strategy is likely to prove more contentious when the Trump administration turns its attention to South Korea.

German Exports to Asia Surge, Calming Nerves Over Protectionist Backlash

German exports to Asia are rising strongly this year in a trend that could mitigate the risks to Europe’s largest economy should U.S. President Donald Trump make good on his protectionist promises.Figures released on Wednesday showed Germany’s exports to China rising 12% in the first four months of the year compared with the same period in 2016.

For thousands of U.S. auto workers, downturn is already here

Wall Street is fretting that the U.S. auto industry is heading for a downturn, but for thousands of workers at General Motors Co factories in the United States, the hard times are already here. Matt Streb, 36, was one of 1,200 workers laid off on Jan. 20 – inauguration day for Republican U.S. President Donald Trump – when GM canceled the third shift at its Lordstown small-car factory here.

U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer says no deadline set for NAFTA deal

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Wednesday there was no deadline for completing NAFTA trade talks between the United States, Canada and Mexico even as lawmakers warned that U.S. business would be hurt by prolonged negotiations. “There is no deadline. My hope is that we can get it done by the end of the year, but there are a lot of people who think that is completely unrealistic,” Lighthizer told a Senate Finance Committee hearing to discuss the USTR’s budget.

Aluminum industry scrambles to align Trump’s trade guns: Andy Home

Aluminum industry executives will line up on Thursday to have their say on whether foreign imports into the United States pose a threat to the country’s security.The Section 232 investigation was announced by the Department of Congress on April 27 and follows hot on the heels of a similar probe into U.S. steel imports, the results of which are pending.

After years of talks, Japan, EU near ‘broad agreement’ on free trade pact

Japan and the European Union are nearing a broad agreement on a free trade pact, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and a senior EU trade official agreed on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said. Japan and the European Union have been negotiating an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) since 2013 to promote trade and investment by eliminating tariffs and improving investment rules.

Brexit: UK caves in to EU demand to agree divorce bill before trade talks

British negotiators have capitulated to key European demands for a phased approach to Brexit talks, agreeing to park discussions on free trade until they have thrashed out the cost of the multibillion-euro UK divorce settlement. Putting a brave face on a concession that may further strengthen the tactical dominance of the EU, the Brexit secretary, David Davis, insisted his initial retreat remained consistent with long-term government strategy.

Trump sparks rush of NAFTA lobbying

Lobbyists are gearing up for the looming renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a sweeping trade pact of critical importance to the United States, Canada and Mexico. Trade officials from the three nations will take the lead at the negotiating table, but business leaders are already working to build consensus around possible changes to the agreement.

Perdue Lauds Nafta as Boon for Farmers as Renegotiation Looms

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and his counterparts from Canada and Mexico lauded Nafta’s benefits to farmers as they began to lay the foundation for broader negotiations to modify an accord that President Donald Trump once called a “disaster.” Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Mexican Agriculture Secretary Jose Calzada met with Perdue Tuesday in Georgia for what the U.S. secretary said would be candid talks on “irritants” in the three-way trade relationship.

Update: Chile, Brazil Could Offer Respite to U.S.-Canada Lumber Dispute

On April 24, the Trump administration put an end to the tariff-free lumber trade between Canada and the United States. The White House imposed a 24 percent duty on Canadian lumber imports as an anti-dumping measure to counter the Canadian government’s support of the logging industry. Yet another tariff is expected later this month that could bring the total tax on these imports up to 30 percent, according to RBC Capital Markets’ estimates.

Perdue Meeting on Agriculture a Prelude to Nafta Renegotiation

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue meets Tuesday with his counterparts from Canada and Mexico for what he called candid talks on “irritants” in the three-way trade relationship that will be a prelude to a renegotiation of Nafta set to begin later this summer. New rules on Canada’s dairy-supply system and how Mexico plans to enforce a recently concluded agreement limiting its sugar exports to the U.S. will be among the topics of discussion when Purdue plays host to Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Mexican Agriculture Secretary Jose Calzada in Savannah, Georgia.

Merkel Pledges to Push For Free Trade at G-20 Summit

German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged Tuesday to strive for a broad, rules-based and fair agreement on global trade at the meeting of Group of 20 leaders next month, aiming to convince the U.S. of the benefits of open markets. “We will do everything in our power to achieve an agreement as broad as possible in Hamburg,” Ms. Merkel said.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Talks Trade

One of the most notable political trends over the past 18 months—and one with the potential to affect companies across many industries—has been voter pushback against globalization and free trade. Indeed, following the Brexit vote in the U.K. and Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election, nations are rethinking how they should trade with each other.

China Think Tank Says Trade Detente With U.S. May Not Endure

China isn’t likely to have a trade war with the U.S. this year, though 2018 is harder to predict, according to former Vice Commerce Minister Wei Jianguo. The world’s largest trading nation hopes dialog will help ease tensions and aims to make progress on agreements before President Trump visits the country, Wei told reporters in Beijing Monday.

Trump faces his biggest trade decision yet

The White House is on the cusp of a major decision about whether to impose new restrictions on steel imports, a choice that has divided President Trump’s administration while sparking global fears about a burgeoning trade war. The Commerce Department has for months been evaluating whether steel imports pose a threat to national security, and it is expected within days to present Trump with its finding and a recommendation, which Trump could quickly adopt or decide to take a different course.

This Former New Zealand Minister Will Lead Brexit Trade Talks

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May named a former New Zealand diplomat, Crawford Falconer, to be the government’s chief trade negotiations adviser, charging him with helping to broker new trade deals with the rest of the world as Britain prepares to leave the European Union. Falconer and his team will develop and negotiate free trade agreements and market access accords with nations outside of the EU, the Department for International Trade said on Friday in an statement.

Trump to clamp down on Cuba travel, trade, curbing Obama’s detente

President Donald Trump on Friday will announce plans to tighten restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba and clamp down on U.S. business dealings with the island’s military, rolling back parts of former President Barack Obama’s historic opening to Havana.

US-Mexico sugar deal brings relief but trade risks remain

There were collective sighs of relief this week in the US corn belt at the prospect of the Mexican and US governments’ trade deal over sugar being finalized.

The agreement — widely regarded as a dress rehearsal for the NAFTA renegotiation’s — involves a reduction in the amount of refined sugar that Mexico exports to the US, while also imposing an 8 per cent increase in its price, which reduced the competitiveness vis-à-vis American produce.

The biggest Trump-era trade dispute may be over airlines. Here’s what’s happening.

The trade dispute that some call the biggest in history continues to simmer. For over two years, American, Delta and United Airlines have claimed that their competitors in the Gulf — Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways — are receiving billions of dollars in government subsidies, violating the spirit of bilateral air service agreements.

Canada-EU trade deal’s July 1 target threatened by new cheese dispute

Plans to bring most of Canada’s new trade deal with the European Union into effect by July 1 may be unravelling due to a new dispute over who gets to import EU cheese. Under the terms of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), Canada has agreed to allow nearly 18,000 additional tonnes of European cheese to be imported tariff free.

EU, Japan launch big push to seal trade deal by July

Japanese and European negotiators are redoubling efforts to seal a political agreement early next month on what would be the EU’s biggest free trade deal. Sources from five EU countries said the goal of the latest whirlwind of diplomatic activity is for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe to jet into Brussels for a summit July 5 or 6, ahead of a G20 summit in Hamburg on July 7.

Trump’s Cuba Moves May Chill Long-Sought U.S. Farm Export Push

A rollback of Obama administration efforts to open Cuba to U.S. tourism and trade may chill a rebound in agricultural sales to the island nation, setting back a farm-lobby push that’s weathered two decades. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signaled Tuesday that changes would come as soon as Friday, when President Donald Trump visits Miami.

Panama Establishes Ties With China,
Further Isolating Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Panama has severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of recognizing China, the latest in a series of developments adding to the island’s isolation on the world stage and raising questions about waning American influence under President Trump. Panama’s decision handed Beijing a diplomatic victory at a time when Mr. Trump, in hopes of securing cooperation on issues like trade and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, has retreated from the confrontational stances he took toward China as a candidate.

Shale oil boom to hurt OPEC well into 2018

In its first forecast for 2018, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday it expected countries outside the cartel to increase production by about 1.5 million barrels per day, outstripping the growth in global demand. The U.S. alone will account for about half that increase in supply, the IEA said.

EU Set to Commit to Climate Deal, Free Trade in Trump Rebuff

European Union leaders are planning to use a summit next week to declare their commitment to global free trade and the Paris climate accord in a rebuff to U.S. President Donald Trump. The bloc’s 28 leaders will issue a statement rejecting protectionism and underlining that the Paris agreement is a “cornerstone for global efforts to effectively tackle climate change, and cannot be renegotiated,” according to a draft for the June 22-23 summit obtained by Bloomberg.

Is Trump Becoming More Friendly To Trade?

President Trump continued with his promise to put “America First” recently when he withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Accord. This followed his week of visits in Europe where he did not reaffirm the collective defense provision of NATO (later reaffirmed). Both of these policy positions, although shocking, were in line with what the President’s past views.
The foreign reaction was swift . German Chancellor Angela Merkel summed it up by saying that Europe would have to look to its own devices and could no longer depend on the “others” – clearing meaning only one – the United States.

Trade jobs in Southern California have jumped, but policy and labor challenges loom

Southern California has experienced a boost in trade and logistics employment in the last decade, but policy and labor challenges lie ahead, according to a new economic report.
Trade-related jobs increased nearly 10% from 2005 to 2015, more than double the overall regional employment increase of 4.2%, the report released Monday by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. found.
Warehousing and logistics jobs led the charge, jumping 55.1% over the decade, said the report, titled “Trade & Logistics in Southern California.”.

Mexico City’s Mayor Calls For Carlos Slim, Other Mexican Billionaires To Influence NAFTA Talks

What role should Mexico’s billionaires play in the upcoming renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the trade pact with Mexico and Canada that the Trump Administration has proposed be renegotiated?
Miguel Angel Mancera, Mexico City’s Mayor and a possible 2018 presidential contender, has called for the creation of a 12-member group of Mexico’s richest men to try to influence from the sidelines the remake of what Donald Trump has labeled “the worst trade deal” ever. Top on Mancera’s list is Carlos Slim Helú, Mexico’s richest person.

Ross Confident Administration Can Negotiate Better Trade Terms

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross expressed confidence that the Trump administration can achieve better trade terms through negotiations with trading partners, rather than immediately turning to tariffs or other punitive measures that could generate retaliation or other economic repercussions.
President Donald Trump, who repeatedly warned in his 2016 campaign about imposing tariffs or exiting international deals, this year decided not to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement and instead announced
.

Qatar Crisis to Speed the Rise of Asia’s Spot LNG Trade

SINGAPORE — Qatar’s isolation by other Arab nations has dealt a strong hand to Japanese utilities in talks reviewing long-term gas contracts with the top LNG exporter, likely accelerating a shift to a more openly traded global market for the fuel. If Japan gets its way in the periodic contract review, the world’s biggest buyer of LNG would have to import more short-notice supplies from producers such as the United States, another step away from rigid deals that run for decades towards a more active spot market.

U.S. and EU claim victory in Boeing subsidy case

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The World Trade Organization issued a ruling Monday to settle a dispute between the European Union and United States over subsidies received by Boeing. Officials on both sides of the Atlantic quickly sought to portray the decision as a victory for their domestic airline industries.
“This decision is a tremendous victory for American manufacturers and workers,” said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk in a statement.

China, Singapore seek to expedite RCEP trade talks

China and Singapore will do their best to expedite talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Singapore’s foreign minister said, calling the potential pact a statement on the importance of free trade.
The Beijing-backed RCEP has been given new impetus by U.S. President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, to which China is not party.

Asia and Europe set to bear the burden of US trade protectionism

Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to take on China and its trade practices. But according to a new study, it is US allies in Asia and Europe that are set to bear the burden of a new wave of US protectionism shaping up to be the largest seen in decades.
The study released on Monday by a leading expert on trade disputes and protectionism comes as US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross hurries to deliver within days a plan to impose new restrictions on steel imports, arguing that the country’s national security is at stake. .

U.S. business group urges trade fixes ahead of China’s party congress

A U.S. business lobby in China said on Thursday that Washington should use leverage afforded by China’s desire to avoid trade frictions with the United States ahead of its Communist Party Congress this fall in order to fix market access discrepancies.
Beijing and Washington agreed to 100 days of trade talks after U.S. President Donald Trump met his counterpart Xi Jinping in April, aimed at cutting last year’s $347 billion U.S. trade in goods deficit with the world’s second largest economy.

Treasuries – Bund Trade Is About to Get Interesting

In recent years, many investors have been burned by their conviction that the price of German bonds would fall relative to U.S. Treasuries of the same maturity, as the yield on the 10-year bund dipped for the first time into negative territory. But with the return of consistent growth and a reduction in near-term political risk in the euro zone, options prices indicate that interest rates are more likely to increase than decrease in Europe’s largest economy. This is a significant departure from a number of months ago, when options market prices were neutral as to the direction of rates in Germany.

In South Carolina, Germany Is Considered
A Partner, Not a Trade Rival

President Donald Trump has objected to Germany’s trade surplus with the United States, reportedly singling out its auto industry success for criticism. But in South Carolina, an early primary state that helped propel him to the Republican nomination, the Germans aren’t seen as an overseas rival but as a valued economic partner.

Analyst: The ‘Trump trade’ has turned into a ‘Trump fade’

With former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee and the elections in the U.K. today, those headlines alone could have been enough to stir the market..

Port bans choke Qatar’s commodity trade as gas supply worries grow

U.S. President Donald Trump joined in the dispute on Tuesday, saying leaders he met on a Middle East trip had warned him that Doha was funding “radical ideology” after he had demanded they take action to stop financing militant groups. Qatar vehemently denies the accusations made against it.

Qatar is now unable to load crude oil onto supertankers together with other Gulf-based grades, and price agency S&P Global Platts said it would not automatically include the country in its Middle East price benchmark.

Trump Trade’s Demise Sends A Clear Negative Message

The euphoria in markets following Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential election victory that came to be known as the Trump trade is stumbling. Last week’s decision by Trump to pull out of the Paris climate accord bolstered the perception that the U.S. may be become a more isolated player on the world stage, negatively affecting the dollar. The market for U.S. Treasuries is taking note of these developments amid signs that the economy is having trouble gaining steam, as evidenced by a precipitous flattening of the yield curve.

The peso was supposed to be a can’t-miss Trump trade, but it’s completely reversed

The Mexican peso has recovered all its losses versus the U.S. dollar made since President Donald Trump was elected, discounting the worst fears of a trade war between the U.S. and its southern neighbor.
“The peso is on a big round trip,” said Robert Sinche, chief global strategist at Amherst Pierpont. Dollar/peso, at 18.34 was up more than 12 percent since Jan. 1 and about right where it was before the election.

Mexico Agrees to Sugar Trade Deal, but U.S. Refiners Remain Unhappy

MEXICO CITY — Mexico agreed to demands from the United States to cut exports of refined sugar, striking a deal on Tuesday in a contentious trade negotiation that was closely watched as a prologue to talks on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The dispute stemmed from complaints by American sugar refiners that Mexico was taking advantage of unfair trade practices to dump refined sugar in the American market and at the same time limit the amount of raw sugar it exported to American refineries..

The high cost of the anti-trade wave

There is no topic about which both parties have spewed more economic nonsense than trade. Preying on populist ignorance and xenophobic fears, politicians have taken something that is unarguably of tremendous value to the United States and turned it into an evil. You’d think that trade was making us poorer.

Sugar-trade negotiations between US and Mexico extended

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Monday extended the deadline for sugar trade negotiations between the United States and Mexico by 24 hours, saying extra time was needed to complete “final technical consultations” for a deal.

U.S. Growth Bumped Down Amid Trump Tax, Trade Uncertainty

Citing “substantial” risks related to uncertainty from President Donald Trump’s trade, tax and economic agendas, the World Bank on Sunday revised down its 2017 growth projections for the United States.
The international body now predicts the U.S. economy will expand at a clip of just 2.1 percent in 2017, according to its latest Global Economic Prospects report.

What’s at Stake for Agriculture in NAFTA Renegotiations

As President Donald Trump’s administration sifts through its trade toolbox, preparing to tinker with the North American Free Trade Agreement, the agriculture world is holding its breath.
NAFTA’s inception in the 1990s contributed to a boom in agriculture trade between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. There’s a general consensus that the agreement isn’t perfect – as made evident by Canada’s recent dairy policy adjustments and America’s newly announced lumber tariffs.

World Bank says trade, manufacturing to boost 2017 global growth

The World Bank on Sunday maintained its forecast that global growth will improve to 2.7 percent this year, citing a pickup in manufacturing and trade, improved market confidence and a recovery in commodity prices.
The update of the multilateral development lender’s Global Economic Prospects report marked the first time in several years that its June forecasts were not reduced from those published in January due to rising growth risks.

Trump’s Oily Trade Deficit

Last week, the U.S. Commerce Department announced that, year-to-date, the U.S. goods and services trade deficit increased 13.4 percent over the same period in 2016. All but three weeks of this January-April deficit expansion occurred on President Donald Trump’s watch. Since he has made a fetish of trade deficits and promised to “fix” them, it may be worth delving into the details to see what happened.

Big market movers: Investors aren’t quite ready to re-pull trigger on Trump Trade

It was a good week for the U.S. stock market — at least compared to recent weeks. Even after the “soft” Friday jobs report, the market kept grinding higher, especially big growth stocks, which in the past week saw their biggest inflow in the past four months, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch data.
Talk of the beleaguered Trump Trade has even been replaced by talk, among some, of a Trump Trade restart.

Sugar Talks May Hint at Trump Approach to U.S.-Mexico Trade

MEXICO CITY — The sugar barons of Florida, Alfonso and José Fanjul, have been equal-opportunity political donors for decades, showering largess on the campaigns of Democrats and Republicans alike to ensure that lawmakers will protect the American sugar industry.

Trump Talks Tough on Trade, but His Team Is Treading Lightly

WASHINGTON — President Trump has called the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal a “rape” of the United States. He has scolded Germany for being “very bad” on trade because it runs a surplus. And in April he said that he was “psyched” to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, only to reverse course.

US faces struggle to ease nervous Asian allies’ fears of a retreat

When James Mattis speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday, the US defence secretary will face a very different landscape from the one that greeted his predecessor at last year’s event.
At the Asian defence forum in 2016, Ashton Carter chided China over its actions in the South China Sea, warning that it risked “erecting a Great Wall of self-isolation”. At the same time, then president Barack Obama was pushing Congress — ultimately unsuccessfully — to back the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation trade deal that was the economic arm of his Asia “pivot”.

Wider U.S. Trade Gap May Signal Drag on Second-Quarter Growth

U.S. demand for foreign-made goods climbed and exports declined, causing the trade deficit to widen in April, which may restrain the pace of economic growth this quarter, Commerce Department data showed Friday.
Highlights of Trade Balance (April)
• Gap increased 5.2% to $47.6b (forecast was $46.1b) from a revised $45.3b in March

Trump could start a trade war by ditching the Paris climate accord

President Trump has risked starting a trade war by deciding to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord.
That’s the assessment of trade experts who argue that other countries could respond by slapping tariffs on American products that are cheaper to produce as a result of the move.

US, EU Officials to Examine Next Steps for Trade Ties

The US and the EU are planning to develop a “joint action plan” on trade, reports suggest, after leaders met in Brussels, Belgium, late last week.
US President Donald Trump met with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in the Belgian capital. The meeting came as part of a larger trip that the new American president was making overseas, which also included attending the G7 leaders’ summit in Taormina, Italy, among other stops.

Trump Targets German Trade, and the South Grimaces

GREER, S.C. — No matter that this small Southern city sits squarely in the middle of Trump country: The president, with his criticism of German trade policy, was setting off alarm bells in the mind of Mayor Richard W. Danner.

Speed Limits on Trade Talks

The Trump administration flamboyantly discarded the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) upon taking office. Team members cast doubt on the fate of ongoing talks with Europe. There was a near brush with terminating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This would all seem to suggest a relatively tranquil time ahead for trade negotiators.

Trump Hosts Prime Minister Phuc of Vietnam and Announces Trade Deals

WASHINGTON — President Trump welcomed the prime minister of Vietnam to the Oval Office on Wednesday, cutting business deals and discussing the transfer of a Coast Guard cutter to a onetime enemy that the United States now views as a front-line defender against an expansionist China.

Trump Trade’s So Dead You May as Well Buy It, Says Citigroup

Citigroup Inc. says it may be time to bet on Donald Trump. With inflation trending lower and economic growth picking up globally, “Trumponomics” — tax cuts and increased government spending — has largely lost its grip on asset markets, Citi strategists led by Jeremy Hale wrote in a recent note. That’s made the risk-reward equation for the medium-term reflation trade favorable, they wrote.

China turns trade screws on German cars

Talks on car sales between Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday are likely to influence EU trade policy for years. China, ever the master of divide-and-rule tactics when confronting EU trade policy, has threatened to impose a car quota system that could seriously dent the sales of Germany’s blue-riband industry, affecting brands such as Volkswagen, BMW, Audi, Mercedes and Porsche.

Blind Spots in Trump’s Trade Tirade Against Germany

WASHINGTON – The last time relations between the United States and Europe were this bad – in the spring of 2003, during the buildup to the invasion of Iraq – the administration of George W. Bush decided to “punish France and forgive Russia,” in a phrase attributed to the national security adviser at the time, Condoleezza Rice. Now, President Trump has flipped the formula, punishing Germany while largely ignoring France.

US shale, trade and sanctions worry Russian Finance minister as economy gets back on track

As Russia’s economy show signs of improving, its Finance Ministry remains positive on the outlook yet doesn’t expect to let its guard down just yet. “We see that the Russian economy has started to develop at a higher rate. It has come out of recession this year and we anticipate annual growth of around 2 percent,” Anton Siluanov, finance minister for Russia, told CNBC Tuesday via a translator.

This remote factory is where Trump may finally draw the line on trade

HAWESVILLE, Ky. — When Bill Hughes went to fight in Iraq in 2003, members of his Army unit lined their vehicles with scrap metal, sandbags and bulletproof vests to protect themselves from roadside bombs. By the time his younger brother Ryan Young was in Iraq in 2008, the vehicles were made of a high-purity aluminum alloy that was much more effective at absorbing the blast.

Vietnam Looks to Salvage Obama Trade Gains in Trump Visit

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has a tough task when he visits the White House this week: Convince President Donald Trump to advance trade ties that blossomed under the Obama administration. To do so, Phuc plans to highlight all the U.S. jobs his nation supports through imports of American goods like airplanes, engine turbines and maize.

G-7 Leaders Agree to Maintain Sanctions on Russia, Fight Protectionism — Update

TAORMINA, Italy — The Group of Seven nations struck deals on sanctions against Russia and global trade, overcoming disputes on two issues that threatened to pit U.S. President Donald Trump against the other six leaders. The nations agreed at a summit Saturday to maintain sanctions on Russia for its interference in Ukraine until the conditions of a peace process negotiated in Minsk, Belarus are fulfilled. They also promised to go further if Moscow’s behavior warrants tougher action.

Trump Administration Nearing Completion of Cuba Policy Review: Sources

The Trump administration is nearing completion of a policy review to determine how far it goes in rolling back former President Barack Obama’s engagement with Cuba and could make an announcement next month, according to current and former U.S. officials and people familiar with the discussions. President Donald Trump’s advisers are crafting recommendations that could call for tightening some of the trade and travel rules that Obama eased in his rapprochement with Havana but which are expected to stop short of breaking diplomatic relations restored in 2015 after more than five decades of hostility, the sources said.

US trade deficit unexpectedly swells, inventories decline

The US received a fresh batch of soft data on Thursday as the trade deficit widened and inventories declined signalling a potential drag on growth in the second quarter.
An advanced reading of the US trade deficit swelled by 3.8 per cent to $67.6bn in April, from $65.1bn he previous month, the Census Bureau said. That compared with economists’ expectations that the deficit would shrink to $64.5bn.

Cohn Acknowledges Trump Called Germany ‘Very Bad on Trade’

Donald Trump’s top economic adviser acknowledged that the president said Germany is “very bad” when it comes to flooding the U.S. with cars, but insisted it wasn’t a dig at one of the U.S.’s most important allies.
“He said, ‘They’re very bad on trade,’ but he doesn’t have a problem with Germany,” Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, said as Trump joined a meeting of the Group of Seven leaders in Sicily. “He said his dad is from Germany. He said, ‘I don’t have a problem with Germany, I have a problem with German trade’.”

What Does The US Pay For Trade Deals?

There is an interesting trade debate occurring on the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal. First, the economist Chad Bown and the lawyer Alan Sykes ventured to correct Trump administration misunderstandings of the multilateral trading system.

G-7 Deadlocked on Climate and Trade as Canada Presses Its Case

Group of Seven nations remain at odds over what pledges — if any — to make on climate change and trade as leaders began a two-day summit in Sicily, Canadian officials said.
In a pair of briefings Friday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government pledged to push for action on environmental issues and advocate for trade, while making clear there is no agreement. G-7 nations haven’t yet settled on wording for pledges on either climate or trade, a Canadian government official told reporters in one briefing.

China Writes 117-Page Wish List for ‘Win-Win’ U.S. Trade Ties

China has drawn up a list of concessions it says can help deliver a “win-win” trade relationship with the U.S.

The government wants to beef up infrastructure cooperation with the U.S. and accept greater imports of goods ranging from soybeans to aircraft, according to a 117-page document released by the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday. The report also recognizes the Trump administration’s grievances with China and globalization, urging “balanced development” of ties from now on.

Trump faces rougher reception in NATO, EU meetings

After a warm welcome in the Middle East and a “fantastic” visit with the pope, U.S. President Donald Trump walks on shakier ground on Thursday when European Union and NATO leaders will press him on defense, trade, and environmental concerns.

The Republican president, midway through his first foreign trip since taking office, has basked in the glow of favorable receptions in Riyadh and Jerusalem, where leaders lauded his harsh words for Iran.

Deficits In Trade And Deficits In Understanding

And therein lies the first major difference between the 1960s and today: The dollar is fully flexible, with markets determining the exchange rate, rendering trade imbalances self-correcting.

So why has America been recording a large, persistent trade deficit, and why isn’t the dollar devaluing? It’s due to the second major difference: The investment-based demand for foreign currencies—which we momentarily set aside—has ballooned. People no longer exchange currencies just to buy foreign goods.

This ‘Trump trade’ doesn’t need Congress and that’s why Wall Street likes it

While most of the so-called Trump trades require the president to successfully team up with a Republican-led Congress to make business-friendly laws, there’s one group of companies that Trump alone can help and already has, according to Wall Street.

“Our conversations with trade lawyers have noted that the Trump administration has had a ‘chilling effect’ with respect to growing trade with the United States, especially in Asia,” said Credit Suisse research analysts Curt Woodworth and Serena Rocha Calejon in a report Wednesday.

Joint Statement between Japan and the World Trade Organization

On 22 May 2017, H.E. Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan received H.E. Mr. Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Tokyo. The Director-General also held meetings with H.E. Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr. Yuji Yamamoto, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, H.E. Mr. Yosuke Takagi, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and H.E. Mr. Motome Takisawa, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs.

New Trump trade rep Lighthizer spars over protectionism in Asia

In a stormy first foray abroad for Robert Lighthizer, the new U.S. Trade Representative disagreed over protectionism with Asian and Pacific countries that look sceptically at the Trump administration’s “fair trade” agenda.
With the United States on one side and the 20 other members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum on the other at a meeting in Vietnam, a planned joint statement had to be scrapped because of these differences.

Modernizing Trade for NAFTA and Beyond

In the 25 years since the conclusion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the American software industry has transformed. It has evolved from floppy disks and desktop computing to cloud computing, smart devices, and data analytics. Innovation moves quickly, and those changes continue at a rapid rate – artificial intelligence, blockchain, and “smart” contracts are each reshaping how software is developed and used.

Trump budget wants to halve oil stockpile, open Arctic refuge to drilling

U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House wants to sell half of the nation’s emergency oil stockpile and open the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to drilling as part of plans to balance the budget over the next 10 years, documents by the administration showed. The White House budget, which will be delivered to Congress on Tuesday, is meant as a proposal and may not take effect in its current form. But it reveals the administration’s policy hopes, which include ramping up American energy output.

Australia Opens New Trade Horizon in Latin America

CANBERRA—Australia plans to begin free trade talks on Wednesday with Peru, hoping to use a resulting pact to broaden commerce with three more Latin American countries and help counter a U.S. tide of protectionism. The talks come days after trade ministers from Australia and the 10 other countries remaining in the Trans-Pacific Partnership met in a push to revise the pact without Washington. President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. in January.

UPDATE 2-China, Russia set up wide-body jet firm in new challenge to Boeing, Airbus

SHANGHAI, May 22 (Reuters) – China and Russia on Monday completed the formal registration of a joint venture to build a wide-body jet, kick-starting full-scale development of a program aimed at competing with market leaders Boeing Co and Airbus SE. State plane makers Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC) and Russia’s United Aircraft Corp (UAC) said at a ceremony in Shanghai the venture would aim to build a “competitive long range wide-body commercial aircraft.”

Turkey, Russia Sign Memorandum on Lifting Trade Restrictions: Turkish Sources

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey and Russia signed a memorandum on lifting trade restrictions against each other, Turkish presidential sources said on Monday, after Ankara and Moscow agreed at a meeting this month to settle trade disputes. The memorandum was signed by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek and his Russian counterpart Arkady Dvorkovich in Istanbul, the sources said.

Dumped by Trump, Remaining TPP Nations Vow to Forge Ahead

The 11 countries left in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement have backed a proposal to continue with the pact, despite U.S. President Donald Trump pulling out of it in January, New Zealand’s trade minister said. Todd McClay, who chaired the meeting on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday suggested the path was open for the U.S. to rejoin if it changed its mind.

Trump’s trade rep brings ‘America First’ policy to Asia-Pacific summit

U.S. President Donald Trump’s new trade representative held his first face-to-face meetings with some key partners on Saturday as the United States charts an “America First” policy that has upended the old global order and sparked fears of protectionism. Robert Lighthizer met ministers from Canada and Japan on the sidelines of a gathering of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, the biggest trade meeting since Trump took office.

President Trump’s claim that ‘we always lose’ in U.S.-Canada trade disputes

“I don’t know who the people are that would put us into a NAFTA, which was so one-sided. … Wilbur [Ross, the secretary of commerce] will tell you that, you know, like, at the court in Canada, we always lose. Well, the judges are three Canadians and two Americans. We always lose. But we’re not going to lose any more. And so it’s very, very unfair.”
— President Trump, in an interview with the Economist, May 4, 2017
This new talking point by the president on NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, piqued our interest. We wondered: What court in Canada with a majority of Canadian judges rules against the United States in trade matters?

Countries Acting Alone Pose Main Risk to Trade System, WTO Says

The biggest risk to the global trade order is one country taking unilateral action that disrespects the system, according to World Trade Organization Director-General Roberto Azevedo. “This temptation exists whenever you have a very sluggish economy, where you have near-stagnation, the tendency to find solutions looking inward is higher,” Azevedo said in an interview Saturday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade ministers meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Trump trade officials prefer tri-lateral NAFTA deal: U.S. senators

The Trump administration’s top trade officials hope to keep the North American Free Trade Agreement as a trilateral deal in negotiations with Canada and Mexico to revamp the 23-year-old pact, senators said on Tuesday. Several members of the Senate Finance Committee said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and new U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told them in a closed door meeting that they would prefer the current three-nation format but left open the possibility of parallel bilateral agreements with Canada and Mexico.

Can Asia reach high-income?

In a single generation, Asia has transformed itself from a low-income continent to a middle-income one. In 1991 more than 90 percent of the region’s population still lived in low-income countries. By 2015, more than 95 percent lived in middle-income countries (Figure 1). Rapid growth propelled most of the region—including the most populous countries of China, India, and Indonesia—into middle-income status. Is the continent now on its way to reaching high income in the next generation?

Trade pact dumped by Trump could be revived at Asia-Pacific meeting

Japan and other remaining members of the Trans Pacific Partnership will this weekend decide how to revive the trade agreement ditched by U.S. President Donald Trump. Their trade ministers will talk on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, where newly appointed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is also due to give more detail of Washington’s trade plans.

U.K. Conservative Party Sets in Stone Plan to Leave EU Customs Union

LONDON—The U.K.’s governing Conservative Party confirmed Thursday it intended to extract Britain from the European Union’s customs union as well as the single market as it published its manifesto for a national election on June 8. The party, which opinion polls suggest will be returned to government with an increased majority, also opened the way to some financial settlement with the EU after Brexit—sidestepping a likely early sticking point in Brexit negotiations likely to start next month. The U.K. is expected formally withdraw from the EU in early 2019.

New Zealand prime minister hails Japan’s role in TPP before meeting Abe

New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English said Wednesday ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo that both countries “can and will” take a leading role in securing the future of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact following the withdrawal of the United States.

Reflections on the Implementation of the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement

More than three years after its adoption at the Bali ministerial conference, the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) entered into force in February 2017. The time has now come for the multilateral trade body’s African member states to set in motion their implementation efforts.

Mexico: We’ll talk NAFTA but don’t dare use tariffs

Mexican officials are happy to renegotiate a trade deal with President Trump and his team to make it more balanced. But they warn their US counterparts: Don’t play tough and slap taxes on us.

EU-Singapore investment deal requires member state ratification, rules ECJ

Europe’s top court has said EU member states must sign off on some issues related to investment in a key trade deal with Singapore, in a judgment that could set a precedent for a post-Brexit trade pact with the UK.

Japanese PM Abe says it is his ‘strong wish’ that the US returns to the TPP

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that his country would continue pushing for a trans-Pacific trade deal, but he hoped the U.S. would rejoin the pact.

Japan and New Zealand agree to aim for progress on TPP by November

Japan and New Zealand confirmed they will aim to reach an agreement with other signatories to move the Trans-Pacific Partnership forward by November despite the withdrawal of the United States.

Former U.S. Trade Representative Urges Renegotiation With China

TOKYO—The U.S. trade representative during China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 1999 on Tuesday accused Chinese President Xi Jinping of accelerating reversals in liberalizing changes, resulting in discrimination against U.S. companies.

Trade groups appeal to Beijing to postpone cybersecurity law

BEIJING — A coalition of 54 global business groups appealed to Chinese authorities Monday to postpone enforcing a cybersecurity law they warned violates Beijing’s free-trade pledges and might harm information security.

U.S. Firms Want In on China’s Global ‘One Belt, One Road’ Spending

XUZHOU, China — As China plans to build a raft of roads, rail lines, ports and airports across Asia, Africa and Europe, skeptics say Chinese companies will be the only real winners from the ambitious initiative.

Lighthizer Approval as Trade Rep Paves Way for Nafta Talks

The U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s pick as top trade negotiator, clearing the way for the administration to reset relations starting with the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Japan pitches idea of five-nation TPP: sources

An idea has emerged that the Trans-Pacific Partnership can take effect among at least five nations including Japan, Australia and New Zealand, instead of 12, sources involved in the negotiations said.

U.S. aluminum sector urges Britain, EU to unite against China

Representatives of the U.S. aluminum industry are speaking to EU counterparts and have written to British Prime Minister Theresa May urging action against what they says are “massive illegal subsidies” in China that threaten Western jobs.

US trade deficit narrows in March

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in March to the lowest level since October as both exports and imports fell. But the politically sensitive trade gap with China rose.

Trump says North Korea is “maybe more important” than better trade deal with China

President Trump said China’s help in dealing with North Korea is “worth making not as good a trade deal for the United States.”
“I think that, frankly, North Korea is maybe more important than trade,” he said in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

Germany’s Merkel arrives in UAE to talk trade and refugees

While in Abu Dhabi, Merkel will discuss the upcoming G20 summit and urge leaders to do more to take in refugees. But an Emirates official has warned that Germany should be vigilant about possible security risks at home.

How Trump’s Tariff Against Canada Could Lead To A Trade War

Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced a preliminary decision to impose a 20% tariff on Canadian softwood lumber imports. The move stems from an ongoing trade issue that dates back at least to the Reagan administration, which is poised to hurt both the US and Canadian economies if the countries can’t resolve it.”

China pushes for tighter dumping rules in WTO filing

China has proposed tightening the rules on when countries can impose anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs, saying their use was rising and that such charges were often misused and distorted international trade.”

Trump Slaps Duty on Canadian Lumber, Intensifying Trade Fight

U.S. President Donald Trump intensified a trade dispute with Canada, slapping tariffs of up to 24 percent on imported softwood lumber in a move that drew swift criticism from the Canadian government, which vowed to sue if needed.”

Russia-U.S. Trade Up 25% In 2017 As Trump Offers Thumb’s Down On Exxon Mobil Waiver

President Trump put the kibosh last Friday on Exxon Mobil’s request to be allowed to resume a venture with a Russian oil company.
That’s a not-particularly-surprising decision given the FBI and congressional investigations under way regarding Russia’s efforts to undermine the 2016 election and Trump associates’ contacts with Russian pre- and post-election as well as the fact that his Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, is the former CEO of the oil company.”

IMF members set aside trade split as French vote rattles nerves

International Monetary Fund members on Saturday dropped a pledge to fight protectionism amid a split over trade policy and turned their attention to another looming threat to global economic integration: the first round of France’s presidential election.”

Finance Leaders Defend Trade, Worry About Those Left Behind barriers

World finance leaders, confronted by a growing backlash against globalization, will seek to build support for free trade by finding ways to help those left behind.
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said he was “very much aware of the fact that there are many who have not benefited from globalization, who are very angry at the fact that they have not benefited.”

U.S. and Indonesia seek to cut trade and investment barriersd

Indonesia and the United States agreed on Friday to find ways to reduce barriers to U.S. companies operating in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, visiting U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Jakarta’s investment chief said.

PACER Plus negotiations concluded

The 14 countries participating will sign the agreement in Tonga in June.
PACER Plus is expected to enhance the economic development of Pacific island countries through greater regional trade and economic integration with Australia and New Zealand.

Japan’s exports rise in March, trade friction fears cloud outlook

Japan’s exports rose in March at the fastest pace in more than two years as increased shipments of car parts and steel signaled that expanding overseas demand could help boost the country’s notoriously slow economic growth.
Exports rose 12.0 percent in March from a year ago, more than the median estimate of 6.7 percent annual growth.

Euro area international trade in goods surplus €17.8 bn-€1.7 bn surplus for EU28

The first estimate for euro area (EA19) exports of goods to the rest of the world in February 2017 was €170.3 billion, an increase of 4% compared with February 2016 (€163.2 bn). Imports from the rest of the world stood at €152.6 bn, a rise of 5% compared with February 2016 (€144.9 bn).

Japan back down brings TPP back from the dead

A surprising about-face by Japan has resurrected the Trans Pacific Partnership, a regional free trade deal considered dead after US President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement following his election.

RCEP facing a critical deadline

ASEAN is well on its way to becoming a global leader for regional integration and an important step in this process is on deadline.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations, which were to have been substantially concluded at the end of 2015, will now enter the 18th round in May.

IMF warnings of US protectionism ‘rubbish’, says Ross

Warnings of US protectionism by Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, and others are “rubbish”, Donald Trump’s top trade official has said in a new attack on the big trade surpluses of China, Europe and Japan.
Speaking ahead of the arrival in Washington of global finance officials for this week’s IMF and World Bank spring meetings, commerce secretary Wilbur Ross said those accusing the Trump administration of protectionism were firing at the wrong target.

Canada agrees on free trade with itself

DOING business across Canada is not for the impatient. Its ten provinces and three territories see themselves as quasi-countries. They set standards and write laws with little regard for what their neighbours are doing. In Ontario petrol must be at least 5% ethanol; Manitoba insists on an 8.5% blend. Each province has its own ideas of how much grain dust people can be exposed to, and what sort of packages coffee creamer should come in.

China exports rise 16.4%; trade surplus returns

China’s exports and trade surplus increased more than expected in March on improved global demand, underpinning expectations that next week’s read on growth in the first quarter will show steady economic momentum.

Canada agrees on free trade with itself

Post-Brexit trade deal with India ‘worth extra £2 billion to British economy’

Britain will be able to increase its exports to India by more than £2 billion per year after Brexit by cutting EU red tape, a new analysis has found.
The UK currently faces significant tariffs on its trade with India because of the European Union’s failure to agree a free trade deal.

World trade seen growing 2.4 percent in 2017, uncertainty weighs: WTO

World trade is on track to expand by 2.4 percent this year, though there is “deep uncertainty” about economic and policy developments, particularly in the United States, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Wednesday.

Post-Brexit trade deal with India ‘worth extra £2 billion to British economy’

EU Sees ‘Renewed Sense of Urgency’ in Trade Talks With Japan

The European Union and Japan are showing renewed urgency in talks on a free-trade agreement, with EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom urging both sides to meet a year-end deadline in the face of increasing protectionist sentiment.

Eurasia is on the rise. Will the US be left on the sidelines?

The world’s biggest geopolitical trend today is not America First, or the global war on terror, or Brexit, or the renewed Cold War with Russia. It is the economic integration of Europe with Asia, especially the European Union with China. Europe and Asia co-inhabit the world’s largest landmass, Eurasia. They are increasingly connected economically as well. Trump’s protectionism and bellicosity will speed up the integration of Europe and Asia, and threaten to leave the United States on the sidelines.

Trump’s quick wins on China trade won’t wipe out the deficit

President Trump toned down his rhetoric when he met his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, late last week. This was not the start of a trade war some had feared. There was no repeat of claims that China was stealing U.S. jobs by manipulating its currency. There was also no grand bargain between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies. Instead, they agreed to a “100-day plan” for talks, according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

The trade deficit with China is a problem — but not for the reason Trump thinks

There are many potential sources of conflict between the world’s two largest economies. But President Trump has forecast that his meeting Thursday and Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping would be a “very difficult one” for a particular reason: Trade deficits.

Why India Could Be the Winner of a U.S.-China Trade War

The prospect of a trade war between China and the U.S. elicits frequent warnings of the risk to the global economy. India sees it somewhat differently.

China Market Access in Spotlight as First Trump-Xi Meeting Nears

Henry Paulson used to urge his Chinese counterparts during trade and investment talks to help him keep America’s markets open to them by increasing access to theirs.

Trade After the Trans-Pacific Partnership

In mid-March, ministers and high-level representatives from nations that have signed on to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, as well as China, Colombia and South Korea, met for the first time since the Trump administration withdrew from the trade accord. The signal from Viña del Mar, Chile, where the meeting took place, was clear: Multilateral trade and Pacific integration are alive and kicking.

U.S. trade deficit drops 10% in February

The U.S. trade deficit sank almost 10% in February, aided by an increase in exports to a 26-month high and a plunge in imports of autos, cellphones and other consumer goods. The deficit fell to $43.6 billion in February, more than canceling out a big increase in January that raised the nation’s trade gap to a five-year high of $48.2 billion. Figures are seasonally adjusted.

Trade After the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Korea Files Complaint With WTO Against China’s THAAD Retaliation

Korea has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization panel against China for its economic retaliation against the country’s decision to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system in the said country. This has been raised during the WTO meeting in Zurich, Switzerland last March 28 to 30.

2017 National Trade Estimate Report

The National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE) is an annual series that surveys significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports. The report provides, where feasible, quantitative estimates of the impact of these foreign practices on the value of U.S. exports. Information is also included on actions taken to eliminate barriers.

Trump trade crackdown ‘not about China’

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is doubling down on a push to deepen ties with China, with Canada’s new envoy signaling he can move ahead on a free-trade deal without quickly advancing extradition treaty talks.

Trump trade crackdown ‘not about China’

President Donald Trump is expected to sign two executive orders targeting the US trade deficit, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit.
One order will include a study looking at causes of the deficit by examining unpaid duties and foreign trade abuses.

UK triggers Brexit, starts eyeing up Middle East

International trade minister Liam Fox has said that the UK is already in informal talks with 12 countries around the world, many of which are in the Middle East. Free trade agreements, lucrative arms deals, human rights concerns: let’s look at what the government has done so far in the region post-Brexit vote.

Brexit question draws U.S, Russian, Chinese interest at WTO

China, Russia and the United States said on Monday they were taking an interest in Brexit, a World Trade Organization source said, after a question about a tricky but vital reform required by Britain arose at the Geneva-based trade body.

NZ, China FTA upgrade agreed among slew of new deals

New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English and China Premier Li Keqiang signed off a series of cooperation deals spanning trade, customs, travel and climate change and confirmed commencement of official talks on an upgrade to the nine-year old free-trade agreement between the two countries.

Trade, Globalization Focus of Chinese Premier’s Australian Visit

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is in Australia for a five-day visit that will focus on boosting global trade.
China is Australia’s largest export market, responsible for nearly a third of its total exports, according to the government.

Brazil meat scandal deepens as China, EU bar some imports

A scandal over expired meats in Brazil deepened on Monday with the European Union and China deciding to halt some meat imports from Latin America’s largest nation.
The developments represent a major blow to Brazil, one of the world’s largest exporters of meat, which is struggling to emerge from its worst recession in decades.

S Korea complains to WTO about China over Thaad

South Korea has appealed to the World Trade Organization to determine if the Chinese government is treating South Korean companies unfairly. Seoul claims Beijing is retaliating economically over its deployment of a US anti-missile defence system.

Japan’s Abe and Germany’s Merkel talk up free trade, urge ‘sluggish’ EU to sign key deal

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday urged the European Union (EU) to finally sign a free trade deal with Japan following nearly four years of negotiations.

Treasury’s Mnuchin Fends Off Push to Reject Protectionism

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin rebuffed a concerted push by world finance chiefs Saturday to disavow protectionism, fanning fears that the Trump administration’s pursuit of an “America First” policy could ignite global trade conflicts.

Trump doesn’t want trade wars, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday that the Trump administration has no desire to get into trade wars, but certain trade relationships need to be re-examined to make them fairer for U.S. workers.

USTR Nominee Lighthizer Outlines Trade Stance in Senate Hearing

Robert Lighthizer, the nominee for the post of US Trade Representative (USTR), testified during a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday 14 March that he would work to implement President Donald Trump’s “America first” vision on trade, while fielding questions from lawmakers on topics ranging from the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to his planned stance on China.

China Looks to G-20 Meeting for More Clarity on Trump Policy Fog

Watching. Observing. Waiting. That’s China’s stance as U.S. President Donald Trump’s new administration works on crafting its trade policy, according to Commerce Minister Zhong Shan.

Trump’s USTR nominee pledges tough enforcement of U.S. trade laws

President Donald Trump’s choice for the top U.S. trade negotiator on Tuesday pledged an “America First” strategy to aggressively enforce U.S. laws and trade deals to stop unfair imports and push China to scrap excess factory capacity.

Trump’s Trade ‘Hammer’ Aims to Pound China, Mexico and the WTO

The trade talks on steel imports were dragging on, and Robert Lighthizer didn’t care for the Japanese offer. So he folded it into a paper airplane and launched it across his desk at Japan’s lead negotiator.

Republicans Pose Growing Challenge to Trump’s Trade Agenda

Republican lawmakers are showing increasing resistance to President Donald Trump’s trade agenda, worried that his plans could hurt exports from their states and undermine longstanding U.S. alliances.

Steven Mnuchin to focus on currencies as G-20 girds for Trump era

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin plans to use his debut at a Group of 20 meeting in Germany this week to drive home the message that the US won’t tolerate countries that engage in currency devaluation to gain an edge in trade, according to people familiar with the matter.

EU’s Malmström Pushes for Deeper Trade Ties in Asia-Pacific Region

Boosting economic ties with the Asia-Pacific region is one of the main items on the EU trade docket this week, as the bloc’s top trade official travels to Singapore and the Philippines for talks on advancing various initiatives.

Adidas CEO Doesn’t Sweat Potential U.S. Border Tax

Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted says the sporting-goods giant isn’t feeling too much pressure from a potential border adjustable tax that would levy a 20% tax on goods imported into the United States.

US trade deficit jumps to 5-year high of $48.5 billion

The U.S. trade deficit jumped in January to the highest level in nearly five years as a flood of mobile phones and other consumer products widened America’s trade gap with China. The result underscores the challenges facing President Donald Trump in fulfilling a campaign pledge to reduce America’s trade deficits.

Ciobo defends visa rules as Indonesia and Australia seek to cement trade deal

Australia’s trade minister, Steve Ciobo, has defended tough visa entry requirements for Indonesian students ahead of a high level visit to the country to complete an Australia-Indonesia trade deal.
Australia’s prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, will join Ciobo and a delegation of 120 Australian business people for the Indonesia-Australia Business Week (IAWB).

Trump threatens to tear up the trade rule book

The framework of rules for global trade has withstood some fearsome ructions over the past few years. The rise of China, which aroused resentment about job losses across the world; the global financial crisis and the threat of renewed global protectionism; mounting inequality within some rich countries frequently blamed on trade: all have strained the World Trade Organisation’s ability to keep the peace.

Brexit could help EU strike free trade deal with India, MEPs believe

The EU believes it may stand a better chance of striking a free trade deal with India after the UK leaves the union, despite the importance Britain attaches to trade with its old colony.

Arab, African ministers call for enhanced trade

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) in partnership with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Minister Delegate for Industry, Trade, Investment, and Digital Economy, in charge of Morocco’s Foreign Trade organised a forum of the Arab-Africa Trade Bridges Programme (AATB) on 22-23 February in Rabat.

Trump’s China Trade Threat Looms Large Over Taiwan Economy

Call it collateral damage. If Donald Trump delivers on threats to put punishing tariffs on Chinese goods, plenty of pain would be felt in Taiwan, a de facto U.S. ally that Beijing considers a breakaway province.

WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement enters into force

A major milestone for the global trading system was reached on 22 February 2017 when the first multilateral deal concluded in the 21 year history of the World Trade Organization entered into force. In receiving four more ratifications for the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), the WTO has obtained the two-thirds acceptance of the agreement from its 164 members needed to bring the TFA into force.

Trump Administration Considers Change in Calculating U.S. Trade Deficit

The Trump administration is considering changing the way it calculates U.S. trade deficits, a shift that would make the country’s trade gap appear larger than it had in past years, according to people involved in the discussions.

Juncker warns UK on pre-Brexit bilateral trade deals as London eyes Beijing

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has warned the UK it cannot negotiate bilateral trade deals in the period before it leaves the EU. London, meanwhile, is eyeing up China with talk of a ‘golden era.’

Asia Trade Pact on Tricky Ground Over Free Migration

An Asian trade pact in focus after President Donald Trump pulled out of a rival deal has struck trouble over an issue that’s tripped up politicians from Europe to the U.S. — borders.

China Foreign Minister Meets with New Zealand, Australia Officials on Trade

The past fortnight has seen ministerial-level meetings in Canberra and Auckland on trade, as China’s foreign minister travelled to the Australian and New Zealand cities to discuss deepening trade ties with the two nations respectively, officials say.

U.S. Firms in China See Chance for Reset on Market Access

A frustrated American business community in China is increasingly lining up behind the Trump administration’s strident calls for a tit-for-tat approach with Beijing on trade and investment.

If Trump changed tack on Nato, can he U-turn on the IMF and WTO?

Donald Trump did not assume the US presidency as a committed multilateralist. On that, partisans of all political persuasions can agree. Among his most controversial campaign statements were some suggesting that Nato was obsolete, a position that bodes ill for his attitude to other multilateral organisations and alliances..

Trade Facilitation Agreement: Why TFA is a key step towards democratisation of trade, ecommerce

” Multilateralism seems down and out. So does trade liberalisation. Any suggestion that the UN or the WTO may bring about meaningful progress increasingly falls onto disbelieving ears. To be sure, the pace of globalisation has been rapid. The resulting feeling of nervousness is, therefore, comprehensible.”

Trudeau Says EU Must Spread Benefits or Risk Trade’s Decline

” The trade pact between Canada and the European Union approved this week could be one of last multilateral trade deals unless policy makers share the benefits more widely, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told European lawmakers.”

Mexico’s Foreign Direct Investment Up in Fourth Quarter

Foreign direct investment in Mexico grew in the fourth quarter from the third quarter and from a year earlier, despite fears of a freeze following the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency.

Trump May Withdraw U.S. From WTO, Outside Advisor Says

During the presidential transition period, Dan DiMicco, the former CEO of Nucor Steel Corp., was thought to be the likely choice to be the U.S. Trade Representative in the Trump administration.

Panama seeks $210 mln trade sanctions against Colombia at WTO

Panama wants to impose $210 million of annual trade sanctions on Colombia, according to a filing published by the World Trade Organization on Monday, after winning a legal challenge against a so-called “money laundering” tariff.

EU and others gear up for WTO challenge to US border tax

The EU and other US trading partners have begun laying the groundwork for a legal challenge to a US border tax proposal in a move that could trigger the biggest case in World Trade Organisation history.

These Countries Could Be Trump’s Next Trade War Targets

India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam have largely escaped U.S. President Donald Trump’s glare on trade, but he may yet come looking. The U.S. runs trade deficits with all of them, in some cases quite big ones.

China seeks to calm fears over capital controls

China’s top foreign exchange regulator says the country will not follow the “old road of capital controls”, as the government seeks to reassure investors that their money will not be trapped in China following recent measures to restrict capital outflows.

Canada’s Trudeau opens talks with Trump aiming to boost trade

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday opened talks at the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump, seeking to nurture economic ties while avoiding tensions over issues such as immigration on which the two are sharply at odds.

Trade deals are complicated because trade is complicated

The new administration has introduced Washington to a new mantra on trade. Complicated multilateral trade deals, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership or NAFTA, are a thing of the past. “No longer will we enter into these massive deals, with many countries, that are thousands of pages long — and which no one from our country even reads or understands,” President Trump promised on the campaign trail.

Trump’s next trade target: Europe’s scooters and cheese

Washington has a prime opportunity to slap 100 percent tariffs on key EU exports. Iconic European products ranging from Roquefort cheese to Vespa scooters will soon be in Donald Trump’s sights.

Foreign Direct Investment Into Emerging Markets Seen Falling to Post-Crisis Lows

Forecast suggests another dour year of capital flows and economic growth for emerging markets

EU, Latin American Countries Move to Deepen Trade Ties

Efforts on behalf of the EU and Mexico to modernise a sixteen-year old free trade agreement have been ramped up, following a phone call between EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo Villareal last week.

The pitfalls of renegotiating NAFTA

A revision of the North American trade deal will not give Donald Trump what he wants

Brazil challenges Canada at WTO over Bombardier aid

Brazil opened a formal complaint against Canada at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Wednesday, accusing the country of distorting the global aerospace industry with subsidies for plane maker Bombardier Inc.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce warns against tearing up NAFTA trade deal

Trade agreements have been central to American politics for some years. The idea that renegotiating trade agreements will “make America great again” by substantially increasing job creation and economic growth swept Donald Trump into office.

Revoking trade deals will not help American middle classes

Global foreign direct investment fell 13% in 2016, but modest recovery expected in 2017

“FDI recovery continues along a bumpy road. Particularly of concern is the sharp drop-off in manufacturing investment projects, which play such an important role in generating badly needed productivity improvements in developing economies,” UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said.

U.S. tax plan would break WTO rules, lawyers say, as EU business frets

A proposed U.S. corporate tax reform would almost certainly contravene international trade rules if implemented, lawyers told Reuters, risking the biggest dispute in the history of the World Trade Organization.

Senators: Careful how we renegotiate NAFTA

While renegotiations could strengthen and modernize NAFTA, any effort to impose new restrictions or barriers on our ability to trade with Mexico and Canada will have serious consequences for Arizona, including massive job losses for workers and dramatically higher costs for consumers.

Trump Trade Expert Rips Germany for ‘Manipulating’ Euro

In his first week in office, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, thereby dealing a massive blow to U.S. trade relations with allies and partners in Asia. For week two, Team Trump has set its sights on wrecking U.S. trade with Europe.

Trump’s Trade War May Have Already Begun

America’s traditional allies are on the lookout for new friends. They have heard the mantra “America First” from the new president, divining a Trump doctrine: global cooperation last. Europeans have taken note of Mr. Trump’s denigration of the European Union and his apparent esteem for the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin. In Asia and Latin America, leaders have absorbed the deepening possibility that Mr. Trump will deliver on threats to impose punitive tariffs on Mexican and Chinese imports, provoking a trade war that will damage economic growth and eliminate jobs around the world.

A Trump Trade Agenda

Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton ran against trade in the 2016 presidential election. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), in particular, became the symbol of all of globalization’s ills. But, like President Obama, President Trump will soon discover that trade is an opportunity to favorably define a presidency.

Trump to seek quick progress with Japan’s Abe on replacement trade deal

President Donald Trump will seek quick progress toward a bilateral trade agreement with Japan in place of a broader Asia-Pacific deal he abandoned this week, when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits the White House next month, an official in the Trump administration said on Thursday.

Ways & Means Chair Brady defends border adjustability as WTO-compliant

House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) defended the House GOP’s tax blueprint — particularly its border adjustability provision — by saying he is “very confident” the bill would withstand World Trade Organization challenges if it became law, though he expects other countries to criticize the move nonetheless.”

China to Include Autos, New Energy, Graphene Into Overcapacity Cuts

More industries are likely to be included in China’s drive to cut excess capacity, which so far has focused on steel and coal, a report said Monday, as President Xi Jinping vowed to “reduce low-end and inefficient supply.”

It’s Official: TRIPS Health Amendment In Effect, First Ever To A WTO Agreement

More than a decade after World Trade Organization member states approved the first-ever legal amendment to a WTO agreement, the change to the international intellectual property agreement has entered into effect. Five more members ratified the amendment in recent days, bringing supporters over the minimum needed to put into effect for the amendment aimed at boosting exports of medical products made under compulsory licence.

China in pole position to shape regional trade agreements after Trump quits TPP

China is in a strong position to set the agenda for trade in the region after US President Donald Trump officially abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership, leaving its other 11 members searching for an alternative deal.

Will House Republicans’ “Border Adjustable” Tax Plan Cause a Trade War? (Spoiler: Maybe Not!)

Perhaps the highest legislative priority for House Republicans in the 115th Session of Congress is an overhaul of the United States’ antiquated and onerous corporate tax code.

TPP withdrawal Trump’s first executive action Monday, sources say

President Donald Trump on Monday will start to unravel the behemoth trade deal he inherited from his predecessor, as two sources familiar with the matter told CNN he plans to sign an executive order to withdraw from the negotiating process of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

U.S. Files Trade Challenge Against Canada Over Wine

The Obama administration on Wednesday launched a trade challenge against Canada’s treatment of U.S. wines, arguing the rules in place undermine fair competition.

Dalio Says Multinational Corporations Are Threatened by Populism

Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of hedge-fund giant Bridgewater Associates, said the rise of populism threatens multinational corporations and is the biggest force in the world today.

U.S. launches WTO complaint over Chinese aluminum subsidies

The Obama administration on Thursday launched a new complaint against Chinese aluminum subsidies at the World Trade Organization, accusing Beijing of artificially expanding its global market share with cheap state-directed loans and subsidized energy.

U.S. launches WTO complaint over Chinese aluminum subsidies

Trump’s Next Supply Chain Target: Big Pharma

In a press conference today, Donald Trump launched an attack on the pharmaceutical industry. He called for their manufacturing facilities to return to US production.

Ways and Means Republicans ready to grow the economy, help Americans

In the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee—which has jurisdiction over taxes, international trade, health care, several anti-poverty programs, Medicare, and Social Security—our six Subcommittees are preparing ambitious agendas to grow our economy and help Americans of all walks of life.

Fiat May Halt Production in Mexico if Donald Trump Raises Tariffs

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Monday that if tariffs set in a Trump administration on vehicles made in Mexico and imported to the United States are too high, the company may end Mexican production.

As 2017 Approaches, EU Prepares for Busy Year on Trade and Investment Agenda

The coming year is expected to be a pivotal one for the 28-nation EU bloc, as it embarks on the next chapter of the “Brexit” process and sees elections in various large member states, while also working to advance its foreign trade and investment agenda on multiple fronts.

U.S. challenges China’s grain import quotas at WTO

The United States on Thursday launched a challenge to China’s use of tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for rice, wheat and corn at the World Trade Organization, charging that Beijing’s administration of the program breached its WTO commitments and hurt U.S. farm exports.

Brexit trade deal could take 10 years, says UK’s ambassador

A post-Brexit UK-EU trade deal might take 10 years to finalise and still fail, the UK’s top diplomat in Brussels has privately told the government.

European Companies With Chinese Supply-Chains Brace for New Anti-Dumping Framework

An approaching World Trade Organization deadline makes higher prices likelier for European goods made with parts and materials imported from China.

Wallonia proposes new rules for negotiating international trade deals

The Belgian region of Wallonia, which gained worldwide notoriety by keeping the CETA agreement and an EU-Canada summit hostage for several days, unveiled the Namur Declaration on Monday (5 December), proposing a new way to negotiate international trade treaties.

Key GOP lawmakers noncommittal on Trump’s 35 percent tariff threat for U.S. companies

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and his counterpart in the House, Ways & Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX), have so far declined to support or oppose President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to punish U.S. companies with a 35 percent tariff for moving operations abroad.

Most US manufacturing jobs lost to technology, not trade

The US did indeed lose about 5.6m manufacturing jobs between 2000 and 2010. But according to a study by the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University, 85 per cent of these jobs losses are actually attributable to technological change — largely automation — rather than international trade.

EGA ministers fail to reach anticipated deal following negotiations

Ministers of countries negotiating an Environmental Goods Agreement were unable to bridge divides and strike a deal in Geneva following what was supposed to be the final round of negotiations and a concluding ministers meeting on the plurilateral initiative.

Lawmakers in EU, Canada Begin Consideration of CETA Trade Deal

The next stage in the approval process for the EU-Canada trade pact is now getting underway, officials say, with parliamentary committees in Europe preparing to vote on the accord in the coming weeks. On the other side of the Atlantic, the deal has already been tabled in the Canadian parliament for legislative consideration.

Peterson Institute president: ‘I don’t think the TPP will die’

Adam Posen, the president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, thinks the Trump administration ultimately will remain part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership if Japan and other TPP countries make a strong case for the deal. “I don’t think the TPP will die,” Posen told a Japanese newspaper .

Is this how we’ll make things in 2030?

Manufacturing and production systems will be completely transformed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution – a period characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.

WTO panel finds one Washington State tax break for Boeing violates rules

A World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel on Nov. 28 issued a report finding that one of the seven Washington State tax incentives given to Boeing challenged by the European Union constitutes a prohibited subsidy contingent on the use of domestic over foreign goods.

In Texas, Business Owners Hope Donald Trump’s Nafta Rhetoric Is Just Talk

“How are you going to go in and end a trade agreement that has been in place for more than 20 years where the economy of North Texas is so intertwined with the economies of Canada and Mexico?”

Japan to form $900m investment fund with Russia

Japanese and Russian state-backed lenders will create a fund to jointly invest in Moscow’s priority development projects, part of efforts to promote better business and diplomatic ties.

APEC leaders vow to fight protectionism, look to China on trade

Pacific Rim leaders vowed on Sunday to fight protectionism and Chinese officials said more countries are looking to join a China-led trading bloc after Donald Trump’s election victory raised fears the United States would scrap free trade deals.

Inside Donald Trump’s Economic Team, Two Very Different Views

Mr. Trump captured the presidency with a small coterie of advisers whose public views diverge sharply on several fronts, most vividly on trade policy, which the president-elect made a centerpiece of his campaign.

Canada, Mexico leaders to discuss NAFTA strategy this weekend: source

The leaders of Mexico and Canada will hold talks this weekend on the potential impact that a Donald Trump presidency could have on the NAFTA trade pact, a source close to the matter said on Thursday.

Finance Committee Republicans stress need to work with Trump on trade, TPP

Just over week after the election of Donald Trump effectively eliminated the chances for a vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership this year, Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee said they see a path forward in working with the president-elect on trade policy — including the possibility of making changes to TPP.

Pacific rim leaders eye China lead on trade after Trump win

Leaders of Pacific rim nations gathered in Peru on Friday, looking to China to salvage hopes for regional trade as prospects of a Donald Trump presidency in the United States sounded a possible death knell for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade pact.

Steve Mnuchin and Wilbur Ross shortlisted for top economic roles

Trump signals he plans to pursue pro-growth and business friendly economic policy.

U.S. Import Prices Firming

Prices for foreign goods shipped to the U.S. rose in October, a sign of firming inflation driven by higher fuel costs. The import-price index, measuring the cost of goods ranging from Canadian oil to Chinese electronics, rose 0.5% from a month earlier, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected prices to rise 0.3%.

Obama advisers ‘clear-eyed’ about TPP’s fate in the lame-duck

Ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum leaders’ summit, Obama administration officials this week said they are “clear-eyed” about the prospects of a lame-duck vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, citing statements from leaders on Capitol Hill who have ruled out that possibility.

Donald Trump’s Nafta Plan Would Confront Globalized Auto Industry

The tens of thousands of parts that make up any vehicle often come from multiple producers in different countries and travel back and forth across borders several times. This is a tenet of modern manufacturing: Where a product is ultimately assembled increasingly has little bearing on where its component parts are made.

Experts weigh in: What this election means for U.S. foreign policy and next steps

e U.S. election season was watched with great interest around the world, and with good reason—with the office of the presidency comes great power in the domain of international affairs. We asked Brookings foreign policy experts what this election means for U.S. foreign policy (both in general and for a particular region or issue they work on), as well as what key recommendation they’d make to the incoming president.

Japan defies Trump, approves TPP trade pact

Japan’s lower house of parliament has passed the contentious Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade deal, a move largely viewed as an empty gesture because the US president-elect flatly rejects it.

US Election: World Prepares for New Era Following Surprise Trump Win

Donald Trump will be the 45th president of the United States, winning the Electoral College vote in the world’s largest economy. The outcome – which has surprised pollsters, policy analysts, and even campaign officials themselves – has shaken global markets, as both the US and the international community begin to react to new leadership in Washington that promises to break with decades of previous policies.

Republicans maintain Senate majority, keep control of Finance Committee

The Republican party has maintained its edge in the Senate, according to the AP’s tally, allowing the GOP to keep control of the Finance Committee.

U.S. Businesses Brace for Uncertainty

Donald Trump’s surprise victory leaves large U.S. businesses bracing for revamped trade pacts and a potential crackdown on overseas operations, but the promise of lower corporate tax rates at home.

European carmakers fear Trump fallout on trade, Iran

Germany’s mighty automakers wasted little time on Wednesday in voicing concern that Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president may damage trade, and with it their business…Trump’s surprise victory will rattle groups including BMW that have invested heavily in Mexican production to serve the U.S. market – as well as posing a potential threat to investments by Renault and PSA in Iran.

New global trade alert system launched to boost market access for developing countries

A new online alert system designed to help government agencies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) keep track of the latest information on regulatory requirements for international trade was launched today (8 November) by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Trade Centre (ITC).

The Last, Best Hope for a Good Trade Deal

But the best chance for the TPP would be action under Obama, since he is openly for it. If, as seems likely, the Trans-Pacific Partnership doesn’t pass in the next few weeks, it will represent the triumph of a vocal minority over the national interest.

UK eager to have free trade agreement with India: Nirmala

The UK is “eager” to have a free trade agreement (FTA) with India as the pact is expected to further boost economic ties between the two. “Yes, they are eager to have an FTA. They certainly look at India as one of the potential FTA partners. We are also happy to engage with them,” Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters here.

Brexit EU-UK trade negotiations will be ‘very tough’: WTO chief

Trade deals between the U.K. and European Union (EU) post-Brexit are likely to be “tough”, the head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) told CNBC.

China and Russia Aim to Increase Trade Turnover to $200 Billion by 2020

Chinese premier Li Keqiang capped his tour through the One Belt, One Road’s hinterland with a stop in St. Petersburg, Russia to meet with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. The 21st regular meeting of the Russian and Chinese heads of government came with the usual raft of agreements and memorandums.

Is China ready to make the great leap forward to set global trade rules?

In the 15 years since joining the World Trade Organisation, China has leaped from six to two in the world’s economic rankings and become the globe’s biggest trading nation. Now China is seeking to match that economic might with a greater say over the rules underpinning the trading system, challenging the dominance of the United States and Europe.

How Africans view Chinese investment

Strategic collaboration with Africa has become a priority in the global North, East, and West. Powers that once saw the African continent primarily as a source of raw materials now focus on “partnership” and “development,” following the lead of the U.S. African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) in highlighting mutual benefits of investment and trade.

China firms eye ‘Made in Vietnam’ windfall – if Obama’s TPP survives

Even as doubts linger over the future of U.S. President Barack Obama’s TPP once he leaves office, early moves by China Inc to leverage off Vietnam’s lower factory wages – about a third that of China’s – show a re-centering of the world’s factory activity.

India is the land of opportunity for Britain as it leaves the European Union

Relationships between nations are meant to be reinvented from time to time, as Theresa May clearly hopes to do during her visit to India this week. And history has its own way of giving opportunities to do that. As Brexit moves through its paces, one such opportunity beckons India and the UK, two nations bound by shared history going back centuries.

Smart reforms could improve Sri Lanka’s exports: World Bank

“Sri Lanka’s leading firms have risen to standards of global excellence, demonstrating that world class levels of operational performance, efficiency, and innovation can be achieved with the right management, technology and worker training,” said Idah Pswarayi-Riddihough, World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

In India with Theresa May

Today, the smog across Delhi is just a little bit lighter. Prime Minister Theresa May arrived yesterday on her first international trade mission to hear, and read, a devastating wave of frustration and hurt about how India views our tight visa controls on students.

US Trade Officials Prepare for a Post-Election Landscape on TPP

“With less than one week remaining until US voters go to the polls, officials both from the current Obama administration as well as from other Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries are ramping up their efforts to build support for ratifying the 12-country pact.”

U.S. wine, spirits groups charge Canadian restrictions violate trade obligations

“Two U.S. groups representing the wine and distilled spirits industries are claiming measures instituted by Canadian provinces that give favorable treatment to domestic wines and spirits run counter to Canada’s international trade obligations.”

More Pain Ahead for Ocean Shipping

“The overcapacity that has plagued ocean shipping firms in recent years will only grow wider in the coming years, The Boston Consulting Group Inc. said in a report.”

EU-Mercosur deal hits fresh setback

“The President of South American trade bloc Mercosur’s parliament (Parlasur) thinks that the EU’s current tabled offer is “unsatisfactory” and made it clear that it shouldn’t be signed in its current form. EurActiv Spain reports.”

How U.S. Election May Impact Factories in Mexico

“The U.S. presidential election is still days away but the impact of the campaign and its outsized focus on Mexico already are being felt in the market for warehouses and factories in border towns like Juarez, Monterrey and Saltillo.”

Maersk calls a tentative bottom to container shipping woes

“The world’s biggest container shipping line on Wednesday called a tentative bottom to the woes afflicting the industry even as it reported its second quarterly loss in a row.”

Obama Makes a Long-Shot Bid for TPP Trade Deal

“President Barack Obama is forging ahead with a long-shot bid to bring a 12-nation Pacific trade agreement to a vote in Congress immediately after an election that has stirred deep antitrade sentiments in both parties.”

U.S. commodity groups call for addressing EU biotech issues in TTIP talks

“The U.S. Grains Council and USA Rice are calling on U.S. negotiators to address within the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership the European Union’s “asynchronous approval process” of biotechnology traits as well as the EU’s low-level presence policy.”

7 ways international trade is like baseball

“The sounds of baseball in October mean the postseason and the World Series. Meanwhile, the sounds of international trade policy bashing can only mean an election around the corner. Turns out we can learn a lot about international trade policy from baseball. Let’s take a look at seven lessons.”

South Korea Throws Its Shipbuilders a $9.6 Billion Lifeline

“South Korea plans to spend $9.6 billion on ships from local yards to stave off the collapse of its shipbuilding industry, the latest evidence of the wrenching impact of a prolonged slump in global trade.”

U.S. business groups set sights on Cuba

“U.S. business officials are headed south this week to explore ways for American companies to boost business in Cuba and to scope out opportunities for foreign direct investment, setting up alongside companies from other nations at the annual Havana International Trade Fair.

The Domestic Business Case For TPP

“Ratification of the 12-nation trade deal would be an historic, against-the-odds victory for President Obama. But the urgent need for action has less to do with his legacy and more to do with economic and political realities.”.

Japan’s Largest Shipping Firms to Merge Container Operations

“Japan’s three largest shipping companies said Monday they would merge their container shipping operations to create the world’s sixth-largest player in an effort to cope with a global decline in the container business.”.

WTO Airbus Ruling Contains ‘Serious’ Legal Errors, EU Says

“The European Union said the World Trade Organization committed several “serious errors” when it found that EU member states failed to eliminate billions of dollars of illegal subsidies for the European aircraft consortium, Airbus Group SE.”.

UPS CEO seeing greater commitment from Obama administration on TPP deal

“The top executive at United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) said on Thursday he is seeing a greater commitment from President Barack Obama’s administration on getting the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal completed despite negative election campaign rhetoric about free trade agreements.”.

Environmental Goods Agreement Negotiators Prepare for December Deadline

“A group of 17 WTO members – counting the 28-nation EU as one – negotiating tariff cuts on select environmental goods will engage in a busy schedule of consultations over the coming weeks in a bid to secure a deal in time for a ministerial meeting in early December.”.

What the China Trade Warriors Get Wrong

“After three intense presidential debates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump managed to agree on at least one thing: The Trans-Pacific Partnership is bad for America, in part because many trade deals have supposedly caused trade deficits. Unfortunately, they’re both wrong.”.

EU-Canada trade deal: Belgians break Ceta deadlock

“Belgian political leaders have reached a consensus in support of the Ceta trade deal between the EU and Canada, Prime Minister Charles Michel has said.”.

EU Sets Belgium an Ultimatum on CETA

“The European Union is giving Belgium until Monday evening to decide whether it will agree to sign a trade deal with Canada after a Belgian region has persistently refused to support the accord, Belgian and EU officials said.”.

Services industry waiting on enforcement of TPP data fix for non-TISA countries

“With less than a month to go before lawmakers return to Capitol Hill for a lame-duck session that could involve a vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, members of the services industry are waiting for the Obama administration to present them with an enforceable solution to address a ban on data localization for the financial services sector in TPP countries that are not part of the Trade in Services Agreement.”.

Major banks mark first-ever international trade using blockchain tech

“The first cross-border transaction between banks using multiple blockchain applications has taken place, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Wells Fargo & Co said on Monday, resulting in a shipment of cotton to China from the United States.”.

Think tanks weigh in on where the next administration will take trade policy

“A diverse cross-section of think tanks has analyzed the potential trade policies of the two presidential candidates, and in recent reports and blogs offered detailed assessments — and some skepticism — about where the next administration is likely to go on trade matters.”.

Britain thwarts EU hopes of tougher trade stance on China

“The U.K. has raised the stakes in its first major fight with the EU’s biggest countries since the Brexit referendum by rejecting pleas for tougher trade defenses against China.”.

Chinese Group Mulls $700 Million Steel Investment in Philippines

“China’s Baiyin Nonferrous Group Co. agreed to consider setting up a stainless steel plant in the Philippines that could cost as much as $700 million, as part of a wider push to boost trade and economic ties between the two countries.”.

As EU-Canada Summit Approaches, Pressure Grows to Reach CETA Consensus

“The European Council is due to begin a two-day leaders’ meeting on Thursday, where they are expected to confirm whether they are in a position to sign a negotiated trade deal with Canada. The gathering is being pegged as a pivotal moment for the future credibility of the EU’s foreign trade policy and watched as a litmus test for global economic integration more broadly.”.

China scores WTO victories against some U.S. anti-dumping methods

“China won the bulk of a World Trade Organization complaint against certain U.S. methods of determining anti-dumping duties on Chinese products in a WTO dispute panel ruling released on Wednesday.”.

USTR Froman Calls for “Pragmatic Multilateralism” in Charting WTO Course

“US Trade Representative Michael Froman issued a call for fellow WTO members to follow a growing trend of “pragmatic multilateralism,” particularly as they work to chart a path toward the organisation’s next ministerial conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and beyond.”.

Auto powerhouse Slovakia eyes post-Brexit UK car industry

“Car industry giant Slovakia is showcasing itself as a global centre for auto assembly during its EU presidency amidst warnings by foreign car firms they may leave the UK in the event of a hard Brexit.”.

Rise in global trade the tonic the world economy needs: Reuters poll

“The world economy needs international trade to pick up, according to Reuters polls of hundreds of economists who see no end yet to the aggressive monetary stimulus through which central banks have tried to prop up inflation.”.

Belgian region of Wallonia blocks EU-Canada trade deal

“Lawmakers in the small Belgian region of Wallonia today (14 October) voted to block an EU-Canada trade deal in a move set to have serious implications for future trade talks with the US and a non-EU UK.”.

ITC Now Accepting Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Petitions

“The International Trade Commission has opened up its miscellaneous tariff petition process for companies and members of the public who feel they qualify for duty suspensions or reductions on certain products.”.

Japan Makes Early Push in Asia to Ratify TPP Trade Deal

“The Japanese parliament began debating the Trans-Pacific Partnership, hoping to boost its chances in the U.S. after the presidential election, although some see the strategy backfiring.”.

EU appeals against WTO ruling in dispute over Airbus subsidies

“The European Union launched an appeal on Thursday against a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel finding last month that it had failed to rein in billions of dollars of subsidies to planemaker Airbus.”.

World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings Call For Tackling Inequality, Supporting Trade

“The Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) drew to a close on Sunday, following a weekend of intense discussions on how to tackle the challenge of inequality and address a growing distrust in many countries of globalisation, particularly in a context of persistently slow growth.”.

How Artificial Intelligence Will Kill Some Jobs But Create Others

“The Obama administration may be headed for the exits, but it continues to focus on the impact of artificial intelligence on the economy and the nation at large.”.

EU Loss In Biodiesel WTO Appeal Sharply Limits Responses To China NME Expiration

“The European Commission’s toolbox to maintain significant AD duties on Beijing after key provisions of its World Trade Organization Accession Protocol expire in just under two months has been greatly diminished due to a final legal defeat at the World Trade Organization in a dispute over the legality of using third-country data to establish AD duties, expert sources told Inside U.S. Trade.”.

China Trade: Another Weak Signal for Global Economy

“Chinese trade data for September was surprisingly dour. Exports contracted 10% from a year earlier. Imports of things like coal, iron ore and oil didn’t fall in volume terms, which should provide some solace to commodities bulls.”.

TTIP Negotiators Conclude Fifteenth Round, Pledge to Push Forward

“Negotiators for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) concluded their fifteenth round last week, touting advances and pledging to make additional progress in the coming months, even as the talks’ long-term future remains unclear.”.

Digital Printing Fuels Speed to Market

“Fast is the new black in fashion today and many brands are turning to digital printing to help them respond to an increasingly want-now market.”.

Why TPP matters for the U.S. services sector

“Trade agreements, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), would significantly benefit the largest and fastest growing sector in the U.S. economy. Services account for 78 percent of total U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and 82 percent of the American workforce.”.

WTO members debate new proposals to ease global flow of services

“WTO members welcomed efforts to reinvigorate services negotiations at a meeting of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation on 6 October 2016. Under discussion were two new proposals — on a trade facilitation agreement for services and on new disciplines for measures relating to the licensing and qualification of services suppliers.”.

European Commission paralysed over data flows in TiSA trade deal

“European Commission officials have struck a deal that could put a clause guaranteeing international data flows into a trade agreement with 22 countries outside the bloc, including the United States and Australia. But the Commission is in deadlock over whether to cave to pressure from the US despite criticism that salvaging the pact on services could undermine EU privacy law.”.

October surprise? Americans support a US engaged with world, survey finds.

“Despite the isolationist notes in the presidential election, Americans prefer to remain engaged with the world, a new survey says.”.

IMF warns U.S. rate hike could disrupt Asian capital flows

“A disorderly reaction to possible U.S. interest rate hikes could disrupt capital flows and heighten asset price volatility in Asia, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.”.

Forget Brussels, Brexit’s toughest battleground is the WTO

“Negotiating Brexit with 27 occasionally hostile EU states will turn out to be the easy task for the U.K.”.

Lew: TPP can get done in the lame-duck session

“Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Thursday expressed confidence that Congress will pass President Obama’s signature trade agreement after the November elections.”.

Free Trade Agreements Have Been Good for America

“Is our large trade imbalance a result of too many free trade agreements (FTA’s) or a result of not having enough of them? FTA’s, by definition, help level the playing field. When FTA’s are not in place countries often tilt that field against US producers through tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade.”.

Brazil, Argentina clash with Venezuela over Mercosur membership

“The Presidents of Brazil and Argentina have expressed their concern over the deteriorating political and economic situation in Venezuela. Both governments have renewed their warning that they intend to withdraw the country’s active membership of the regional trading bloc Mercosur.”.

China, Georgia sign preliminary trade pact

“China and Georgia on Wednesday signed a preliminary free trade agreement that is expected to take effect from the end of 2017.”.

The Ultimate Disruptive Technology 3D Printing Will Not Only Change the Way We Trade; it Will Change the Way We Live

“3D printing and the disaggregation and diffusion of product design and manufacturing – which will touch all tangible items – will massively disrupt existing economic models and render much of today’s national trade and health and safety regulation anachronistic and ineffective.”.

TPP failure will be US’s loss, China’s gain, ExIm Bank boss says

“”We really can’t afford to sit on the sidelines and lose out,” Hochberg said on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum in New Delhi. “If we don’t do TPP, China is ready to engage with them.””.

China’s foreign trade still faces big downward pressure: Xinhua

“China’s foreign trade still faces big downward pressure despite some improvement in August, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday, citing Shen Danyang, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce.

NAFTA comes under fire in campaign, but scrapping trade deal would come at significant costs

“The view among mainstream economists is that NAFTA has raised incomes in the U.S. while costing it thousands of manufacturing jobs. Whether you view the agreement as a plus or a minus, the reality is that the U.S., Canada and Mexico are now a single integrated economy.”

South Asia Consolidates Top Growth Spot, Needs to Ignite Private Investment to Stay on Track

” South Asia has defied a sluggish world economy and solidified its lead as the fastest growing region in the world in 2016, a new World Bank report said today. Led by solid performance in India, economic growth is expected to gradually accelerate from 7.1 percent in 2016 to 7.3 percent in 2017.”

Austria’s chancellor sees CETA negotiations on right track

“Austria’s government yesterday (3 October) seemed to have found common ground on a free trade agreement between the European Union and Canada with Chancellor Christian Kern, who has criticised the pact in the past, saying negotiations were on the right track.”

IMF lowers U.S. economic forecast, warns of risks of anti-trade policies

“The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday downgraded its forecast for the U.S. economy and warned that “persistent stagnation” here and abroad could add more fuel to a populist backlash against trade and immigration that would further stifle growth.”

Highlights: British PM May on Brexit, Article 50 and trade

“The referendum result was clear. It was legitimate. It was the biggest vote for change this country has ever known. Brexit means Brexit – and we’re going to make a success of it” Prime Minister Theresa May said Sunday.

Zimbabwe: Chinese Investors to Partner SMEs

Chinese investors are raring to partner with local small business enterprises to develop this country, SMEs representatives who recently attended the 20th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) have said. The 10 delegates last week briefed Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Sithembiso Nyoni on their trip to CIFIT which ran from September 8-11.

WTO forum winds down with e-commerce in spotlight

The World Trade Organization’s annual public forum will wrap up today after three days of panel discussions and question-and-answer sessions focused, broadly, on inclusive trade — with a significant number of those centering on electronic commerce.

EU and US trade negotiators seek to get TTIP talks back on track

Trade negotiators will meet in New York next week to search for common ground on the controversial EU-US trade deal, which has been buffeted by strong opposition on both sides of the Atlantic.

If TPP fails, China takes advantage

The administration of US President Barack Obama is moving into its final three months in office and the trajectory of one of its signature foreign policy initiatives – the US “rebalance” to the Asia-Pacific – remains unclear.

EU at Risk of Billions in Sanctions Over Failure to End Jet Aid

The European Union failed to eliminate subsidies to planemaker Airbus Group SE that were previously found to violate trade rules, the World Trade Organization said in a ruling that opens the door to billions of dollars in sanctions against Brussels.

Chairman Levin Applauds WTO Findings on Illegal Subsidies to Airbus

Click here to read Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander M. Levin’s (D-MI) statement applauding the World Trade Organization’s panel report that found Airbus received illegal subsidies from the European Union

WTO Expected to Rule Against EU on Airbus Subsidies

LONDON—The World Trade Organization is expected to rule Thursday that the European Union failed to adequately eliminate illegal subsidies to plane maker Airbus Group SE, according to people familiar with the finding.

Who Hates Trade Agreements? Surprisingly, Not Voters.

WASHINGTON — Few issues in this campaign cycle seem as toxic as trade: Both major-party presidential candidates oppose President Obama’s 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, and congressional leaders, having refused all year to vote on the trade accord until after the election, suggest they will not do so even then — potentially killing the largest regional trade pact in history.
So that must mean voters are overwhelmingly opposed, right? Wrong.

Peru president calls TPP’s exclusion of China ‘worrisome’

Peru’s new president said Monday it was “worrisome” that China is not part of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership but his government would seek ratification for U.S. President Barack Obama’s signature trade deal.

Abe defends monetary policy ahead of BOJ, pushes for TPP trade pact

On the eve of a key Bank of Japan meeting, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe defended his country’s economic initiatives and aggressive monetary policy before a group of investors and executives in New York.

Germany’s Gabriel gets green light to support EU-Canada trade deal

Germany appeared set on Monday to back an ambitious trade accord between the European Union and Canada after the leader of the Social Democrats (SPD), junior partner in the ruling coalition, overcame left-wing resistance to the deal within his party.

Protests in Germany against transatlantic TTIP and CETA trade deals

The EU and the US began negotiating the trade deal in 2013, aiming to create the world’s biggest free trade market with 850 million consumers.
A new round of talks is due to start in October, and President Obama says he wants the deal to be concluded before he leaves office in January.

Vietnam Delays TPP Ratification In Crucial Blow To Obama’s Ambitions

Vietnam’s government has opted to delay the ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), in an unexpected blow to U.S. President Barack Obama’s final uphill push for the trade deal’s approval. A government official told Reuters on Friday that Hanoi would not include ratifying the TPP on the agenda for its next parliament session, which begins on October 20. That means that the earliest the Vietnamese National Assembly could approve the trade pact is now early 2017.

Malcolm Turnbull urges US Congress to ratify Trans-Pacific Partnership

The Australian prime minister’s comments to travelling reporters in New York come as President Barack Obama is making what is being characterised in the US as last-ditch efforts to persuade Congress to support the controversial deal. The presidential hopefuls Donald Drumpf and Hillary Clinton oppose it.

Obama Makes Last-Ditch Push for Vote on Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Deal

A business-led advisory committee known as the President’s Export Council is expected Wednesday to call on Congress to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement in the “lame duck” session at the end of the year.

China cutting duties on IT products for WTO most favored nations

China will cut import tariffs for over 200 information technology products for the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) most favored nations from September 15, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.

A plea for science-based standards in TTIP

The EU’s preference for the “precautionary principle” over science-based decision-making is a barrier to transatlantic trade in the meat industry. TTIP and regulatory convergence would benefit both EU and US farmers, argues Barry Carpenter.

TPP still has a chance despite venom from presidential candidates, Jack Lew says

The Trans-Pacific Partnership has obvious benefits despite the beating it has taken on the campaign trail, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Tuesday. “The TPP on its face should be a clear plus. And we’re going to continue making that case,” Lew said at the 2016 Delivering Alpha conference.

Bayer and Monsanto to merge in mega-deal that could reshape world’s food supply

Bayer first made a $62 billion offer for Monsanto in May and has increased its bid over months of negotiations. The all-cash deal is valued at about $128 a share, making it the weightiest all-cash buyout in history, beating the $60 billion deal between brewers Anheuser-Busch and InBev in 2008.

U.S. challenges China grain subsidies at WTO

The Obama administration filed a challenge against China Tuesday at the World Trade Organization, accusing Beijing of breaking trade rules on its price supports for domestic production of rice, wheat and corn.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said China’s “market price support” for the grains is nearly $100 billion above the WTO limits, and amounts to an artificial incentive for Chinese farmers to increase output. It’s the 14th complaint brought against China by the Obama administration at the WTO.

US in final drive to secure Europe trade deal

The Obama administration is launching a final push to salvage negotiations on a trans-Atlantic free trade zone before it leaves office — despite growing political opposition in Europe.

U.S. trade panel affirms hot-rolled steel duties on seven countries

The U.S. International Trade Commission handed another victory to American steelmakers on Monday, affirming most of the recent anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on hot-rolled flat steel imports from Australia, Brazil, Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea and Turkey.

Growing role of SMEs in ASEAN Economic Community

The contribution of SMEs to economic growth, employment and development in the region plays an important part in achieving equitable economic development and regional economic integration.

Brazil set to launch trade case against the U.S. over steel

Brazil will most likely launch a new trade dispute against the United States at the World Trade Organization over its decision to raise duties on some Brazilian steel imports, Trade Minister Marcos Pereira told Reuters.

Cargo from bankrupt Hanjin ship moving in U.S., new funds pledged

A portion of the $14 billion in cargo trapped at sea by the bankruptcy of Hajin Shipping Co Ltd (117930.KS) began moving out of a California port on Monday as shareholders and executives of the South Korean firm pledged funds to help resolve the turmoil created by its collapse.

The US will have zero credibility in Asia if TPP fails, ex-CIA official warns

The U.S. political impasse on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal is a “brewing disaster” that could be a significant setback for U.S. engagement in Asia, a China scholar said Friday.

Hanjin Shipping Unloads Cargo at U.S. Port

A Hanjin Shipping Co. vessel was set to finish unloading freight in California on Monday, clearing the way for more of its ships to dock, as the ailing South Korean company works with ports in the U.S. and around the world to get a frozen supply chain moving again.

White House Calls In Business Groups, Companies To Gear Up For TPP Push

Heads of trade associations from Washington D.C. offices and executives from major companies on Sept. 8 will meet with Obama administration officials at the White House, where sources say the administration will urge attendees to step up lobbying efforts for the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a potential lame-duck session quickly approaches.

UK faces uncertainty in negotiations on global trade

UK Prime Minister Theresa May wants to make Britain a global leader in trade after Brexit, but former negotiators say the country faces a long slog despite warm words from some world leaders over forging new relationships.

Merkel: ‘Let’s keep negotiating TTIP’

The EU and the US are officially aiming to sign the deal before US President Barack Obama leaves office in January, but there are now major doubts about it.
Merkel’s deputy, Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel – a member of the Social Democrats, junior coalition partner in Germany’s ruling coalition – unleashed a firestorm last month when he said the free trade talks are “de facto dead”

Former WTO boss attacks ‘total confusion’ over Brexit

Theresa May’s government has been slammed by a former director general of the World Trade Organization for creating “total confusion” around its plans for Britain’s new trade relationship with the EU and the wider world after Brexit.

TPP Failure Would Be a Setback in Latin America for the U.S.

After five years of negotiations, the fate of the Trans-Pacific Partnership now rests with the U.S. Congress. Proponents of the ambitious multinational trade deal, which comprises roughly 40 percent of global GDP, have centered their promotion efforts on both its economic benefits and its importance to U.S. geopolitical interests in Asia. Yet the implications for U.S. policy goals in Latin America are no less real.

Decision from G20 leaders could prove the tipping point for free trade

It’s essential that the G20 leaders push for adoption of the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) at the summit meeting in Hangzhou, China, in the face of growing anti-globalization forces. This agreement could be the tipping point to highlight the importance of global free trade and prevent a revival of true protectionism in the form of increased tariffs and other barriers to trade.

Alibaba’s Jack Ma promotes free trade for SMEs via Electronic World Trade Platform

Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma used the G20 summit to promote easier access to world markets for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) via the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP).

U.S.-Australian Business Community Starts Final Push For TPP Vote With Capitol Hill Outreach

The American Chamber of Commerce in Australia is beginning a final push for a lame-duck vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, with global CEOs attempting to convince U.S. lawmakers of the agreement’s overall benefits despite individual provisions that might have left some members “disappointed” — and warning that the window for passage of the deal is closing rapidly.

U.K., Australia Hold Preliminary Trade Talks on Post-Brexit Deal

LONDON—Australia’s trade minister said his country is holding preliminary trade talks with the U.K. but cautioned that a pact can’t be signed until after Britain formally exits the European Union.

Hanjin Collapse: The Implications for Global Carriers

With Hanjin Shipping filing for court receivership recently, the assumption that major container lines will always find a way to survive has been debunked, according to the latest Container Insight Report released by maritime consultancy Drewry.

Obama seeks to convince Asian partners that Washington will approve TPP

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that U.S. trading partners in Asia did not need to be persuaded of the benefits of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, just that Washington would eventually approve the trade pact.

OECD warns on global trade growth amid TTIP criticism by Drumpf, Clinton

“The TTIP rules make a lot of sense. But that’s why it’s so difficult and so important, that’s why it’s going to take time. We believe it’s a win-win proposition, we believe it should be pursued,” stated Gurria, who’s held his post at the OECD for a decade.

ITC Rules Against Brazil, India, Korea and UK In Cold-Rolled Steel Case

Russia on Sept. 2 avoided an injury determination in an anti-dumping and subsidization case involving cold-rolled steel, but the U.S. International Trade Commission found similar products from Brazil, India, South Korea and the United Kingdom did injure or threaten to injure the U.S. steel industry.

Half of Hanjin container fleet denied port access; U.S. firms take legal action

Roughly half of Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd’s container vessels have been blocked from ports since the South Korean firm’s collapse, putting manufacturers and their customers increasingly on edge about the fate of cargo and spikes in freight costs.

White House: Primary Results Show Lawmakers ‘Behind The Curve’ In Opposing Trade Policies

Citing the results of recent primary contests, White House spokesman Josh Earnest today suggested that members of Congress who oppose the president’s trade policies out of political concern “might be a little behind the curve.”

Obama to try to save Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal while in China

Mr. Obama will make his pitch to rescue the Trans-Pacific Partnership during meetings of the Group of 20 nations in China on Friday, and next week at summits with Asian leaders in Laos, officials said.

U.S. Chamber Touts Formation Of ‘Digital Economy’ Group With Korean, Japanese Counterparts

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Korean and Japanese counterparts have created what they’re calling the Trilateral Digital Economy Steering Initiative to push for a “public policy framework to support the digital revolution.”

European Commission says ‘ball still rolling’ on trade deal with U.S. after German comments

The European Union’s executive said on Monday it had a unanimous mandate from the bloc’s 28 members to finalise negotiations on a free trade deal with the United States, a day after Germany’s economy minister said the talks had “de facto failed”.

G20 summit to play an important role in advancing trade

The upcoming G20 summit would play vital role in promoting global trade, as long as G20 leaders have positive and constructive discussions on trade and investment, and endorse the consensus reached at the G20 trade ministers’ meeting in July, a senior official of the World Trade Organization (WTO) says.

The best trade agreement would include both the U.S. and China

The leading alternative to reducing trade barriers in Asia is the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. The RCEP negotiations exclude the United States, just as the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations exclude China. Surely an agreement including both the United States and China would be best. The compromise is clear: a lower standard than the TPP and a higher standard than the RCEP.

Canada-U.S. Relations Priority for Trudeau Government

Canada’s relationship with the U.S. was built on shared values and a “unique kind of economic interdependence, and the ongoing challenges include “trade deals,” Trudeau told reporters at a news conference in Sudbury, Ontario, after a two-day cabinet planning session.

EU requests WTO panel over spirits dispute with Colombia

The European Union has requested the establishment of a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel to rule on a dispute with Colombia over what Brussels says are discriminatory measures against spirits made by European drinks companies. Monday’s request will be discussed by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body on Sept. 2, the European Commission said.

Obama Readies One Last Push for Trans-Pacific Partnership

His successor, whether Democrat or Republican, opposes it, as does most of his party. Delegates at the Democratic National Convention waved signs saying “T.P.P.” slashed by a bold line, while the Republican Party platform opposed any vote on it in Congress this year. Yet President Obama is readying one final push for approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the largest regional trade agreement ever, between the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations.

Renzi, Merkel, Hollande to meet for EU talks post-Brexit

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande on an Italian island on Monday (22 August) to discuss the EU’s way forward after Britain’s shock vote to quit the bloc. The gathering on the island of Ventotene comes three weeks before an informal EU summit in Bratislava, which is to be held without Britain and is intended to map out a post-Brexit course for the European Union.

Airbus and Boeing Brace for a Crucial Phase in Their Subsidies Dispute

The world’s two largest jetmakers are bracing for the next round in a transatlantic spat over billions of dollars of aircraft subsidies, amid accusations of widening U.S. support for Boeing and persistent European aid to Airbus. After a year-long lull, the world’s biggest trade dispute will enter a crucial phase in coming months, potentially casting a shadow over faltering efforts by the European Union and United States to negotiate a wider free-trade deal.

TPP Debate Includes Split on Data Provisions

Amid political debate over the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact is an underlying dispute over whether the accord is essential for digital trade growth.
There is also continuing uncertainty over the fate of the deal itself. It has been signed by trade ministers from each of the 12 Pacific Rim countries, which represent 40 percent of the world GDP, but it hasn’t yet been ratified.

Obama puts Congress on notice: TPP is coming

The White House put Congress on notice Friday morning that it will be sending lawmakers a bill to implement President Barack Obama’s landmark Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement — a move intended to infuse new energy into efforts to ratify the flat-lining trade pact. The move establishes a 30-day minimum before the administration can present the legislation, but the White House is unlikely to do so amid the heated rhetoric of a presidential campaign in which both major party nominees have depicted free trade deals as massive job killers.

EU fires warning shot over agrichemical mega-mergers>

Brussels has issued a stark warning to the world’s leading agrichemical companies that they will need to make significant concessions in the coming months if they want to complete a wave of mega-mergers. Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner, on Thursday opened an in-depth investigation into the proposed $130 billion tie-up between Dow and DuPont. The deal between the two U.S. chemical giants would create the world’s largest crop protection and seed company.

Australian Trade Minister Bullish on TPP Prospects

Australia’s trade minister Steve Ciobo said he remains upbeat about prospects for a 12-nation pan-Pacific trade deal and that steady progress is being made on another major regional trade deal. Ciobo, who last month met with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and politicians including Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) critic Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), told Bloomberg BNA during an Aug. 9 phone interview that, “based on conversations I have had, I remain cautiously optimistic” that the U.S. will ratify the regional trade deal.

Upcoming Trade Events

09/27/17 & 9/28/17: 2017 WITA-GWU Intensive Trade Seminar

10/05/17: 2017 WITA NAFTA Series: Dispute Settlement & Chapter 19

10/17/17: Global Services Summit

10/19/17: 2017 WITA-Registrar Corp FDA Bootcamp

10/19/17: WITA NAFTA Series: North American Supply Chains

11/13/2017: ITAR Defense Trade Controls / EAR Export Controls SEMINAR SERIES

06/11/2018: Washington DC 2018 Reexports

Past Events

7/20/2017 WITA NAFTA Series- Kickoff Event

On Thursday, July 20th, WITA launched it’s signature NAFTA Series to examine some of the more vexing issues that will face the three governments as they work to update the 25 year-old trade agreement. Panelists discussed critical issues for the negotiations including dispute settlement procedures, the interests of organized labor, and what the American business and agriculture communities hope to see in an updated agreement.

2017 Annual Dinner Recap

On Wednesday, July 12, 2017 the Washington International Trade Association (WITA) and Washington International Trade Foundation (WITF) hosted their 23nd Annual Awards Dinner (#TradeProm) at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. Honorees included Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Congressman Rick Larsen (D-WA), and Meredith Broadbent, former Chairwoman of the United States International Trade Commission (USITC).

WITA’s NextGenTrade™: The Future of US-Brazil Trade Relations

On Thursday, June 22nd, WITA held a NextGenTrade™ Event on the Future of US-Brazil Trade Relations. The Event focused on the future of US-Brazil trade relations and examined the US-Brazil trade relationship and opportunities for the future.

WITA’s NextGenTrade™: Is Blockchain the Future for Trade?

On June 15th, 2017 the Washington International Trade Association held an event: Is Blockchain the Future for Trade?. At this event WITA’s speakers explored the future of trade through the lens of the business and work in the 21st Century.

Intensive Trade Seminar: Spring Session

On Wednesday, May 3rd, WITA held the second event in its NextGenTrade™ signature series on the Future of Trade and Global Value Chains. Discussants examined how trade policy should be adapted to anticipate the future of global value chains and supply chains.

Global Value Chains and the Trade Policy of the Future

The Future of Trade, Business, Work and Politics in a 5G World

On Friday, April 28th WITA hosted the first event on its NextGenTrade’s ™ signature series on Global Value Chains looking at five mega trends that are shaping the future of trade, business, work and politics.

Do Trade Deficits Matter?

On March 31st, the same day that President Trump is issuing his Executive Orders on trade enforcement and trade deficits, WITA hosted an event that looked at the significance of trade deficits to our overall economy. A panel of experts debated whether bilateral trade deficits are a measure of an effective trade policy and if they should they drive a renegotiation of existing trade agreements.

The Trade Law Toolbox

On March 23rd, WITA hosted an event that examined the various enforcement provisions in U.S. trade laws that could be used by the new administration. A panel of experts discussed how this agenda may unfold over the next four years and analyzed the impact it might have on U.S. jobs, American consumers, and the global trading system.

The Past, Present, and Future of US-China Trade

The US and China have been trading with each other for over 200 years. On Thursday, February 17, WITA examined the past, present, and future direction of US-China trade relations.

NAFTA 2.0?

On Thursday, February 9, before a standing-room only crowd, WITA examined what revisiting the 23-year old agreement might look like. Experts discussed the legal and political implications of renegotiating NAFTA, and and did a deep dive into several critical industries and what changes to the Agreement might mean for their sectors.

Border Adjustment Taxes, Tax Reform and Trade

WITA held a signature event looking at the Brady-Ryan tax reform blueprint, and their proposal to tax imports from around the world. The event
featured two expert panels, one examined the Brady-Ryan plan in the context of existing US
and global tax regimes, and the second heard from industry supporters and opponents of the
proposal.