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IN TRADE

Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s plans to visit the country earlier this year were postponed indefinitely amid tensions over a Chinese surveillance balloon.

Fri, 5:52 PM

The top stories from this week’s weekly.

Fri, 12:29 PM

The event, hosted in Sweden and virtually, will take place two weeks before the northern European country hosts the fourth meeting of the Trade and Technology Council.

Fri, 8:30 AM

Bloomberg reports that government officials have developed a three-stage plan that could lead to FTA negotiations.

Thu, 5:01 PM

“The key members of ASEAN want to also invite all member countries, because ASEAN is the heart of the Indo-Pacific.”

Thu, 1:56 PM

In Trade

USMCA corn talks extend past compulsory stage as other spats linger
By Margaret Spiegelman

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative does not have imminent plans to escalate a row over Mexico’s biotechnology policies to a dispute under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, an agency spokesperson said this week after a preliminary, mandated consultation period elapsed.

Presidential advisory group on business in Africa set to resume meetings
By Jason Asenso

The Commerce Department next week will convene a meeting of private-sector advisers focused on expanding U.S.-Africa businesses ties to hear recommendations for how the Biden administration should deal with countries on the continent.

WTO deputy DG pleads for acceptance of fisheries subsidies deal ASAP
By Dan Dupont

World Trade Organization members should move quickly to bring a deal on fisheries subsidies “to life” and engage “actively” in ongoing negotiations that could lead to a new agreement next year, Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard said this week.

Tai: Regionalization efforts, like APEP, can forge stronger supply chains
By Margaret Spiegelman

Short supply chains provide “more shock absorption” to protect against disruptions, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Wednesday, touting the Biden administration’s developing economic initiative with Western Hemisphere partners as a key effort to develop stronger, closer links.

U.S., others say India exceeds WTO support limits for rice, wheat
By Hannah Monicken

India has far exceeded its World Trade Organization domestic support limits for rice and wheat, the U.S. and several other countries argued in a new WTO submission on Thursday, just days after New Delhi again invoked the “peace clause” in admitting it had indeed breached its limits for rice.

News Analysis
Chinese government restructures science, tech agency with U.S. in mind
By Brett Fortnam

Beijing’s decision last month to reorganize its government by narrowing the role of its Ministry of Science and Technology and creating the Central Science and Technology Commission was a logical progression of China’s continued focus on advancing indigenous innovation -- and spurred as well by recent U.S. actions to limits its access to critical and emerging technologies, according to analysts and academics.

  • Lawmakers introduce bills focused on Chinese ‘coercive action’ against Taiwan

    House and Senate lawmakers in the past week have introduced a handful of bills crafted to put pressure on China by supporting Taiwan against future “coercive action” and reducing U.S. dependency on critical goods from China.

  • G7 trade ministers push WTO reform, export controls, critical minerals

    Following their meetings on Tuesday, the G7 trade ministers are pushing for progress on World Trade Organization reform – including by endorsing upcoming deadlines for dispute settlement reform and concluding the plurilateral e-commerce talks – as well as for continued cooperation on issues the U.S. frequently invokes in its efforts to counter China, such as economic coercion, export controls on high-tech products and reducing supply chain dependency on Beijing.

  • USTR: Canada’s dairy TRQs still largely favor processors

    Canada continues to provide the major share of its dairy tariff-rate quotas to processors -- and in some cases might be providing them even greater access than it had prior to an adverse ruling on the practice by a U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement dispute settlement panel, the U.S. contends in its second challenge of Ottawa’s dairy policies.

  • Business groups to Biden: Raise trade concerns during Canada visit

    “[W]e are concerned that Canada is pursuing a number of problematic proposals and actions that could significantly limit the ability of U.S. companies to export their goods and services.”