Violating a commitment when it joined the World Trade Organization, China has issued new procurement guidelines which would affect foreign suppliers by requiring total local content on hundreds of items, including a range of medical equipment. Issued May 14, the new policy has only now come to light. [node:read-more:link]
China and Australia are clashing over COVID-19 vaccines and their distribution to Papua New Guinea. China has accused Australia of “sabotage.” In the latest of a series of spats on various issues, China says Australia has tried to denigrate and block use of the Sinopharm vaccine. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. has slapped new tariffs on Airbus parts and some European wines in an ongoing spat about aerospace subsidies and has accused the European Union of unfair calculations in its own tariffs. It’s the latest development in a regulatory dispute which began in 1994 and centres mainly on counterclaims about government support of Airbus and Boeing in the airline market. [node:read-more:link]
British PM Boris Johnson is trying to rejoin an international treaty which also involves the European Union. The Lugano Convention essentially establishes the jurisdiction of national courts as they deal with cross-border disputes. While some non-EU states have agreed to readmit Britain in the post-Brexit era, the European Commission has recommended that it be denied. [node:read-more:link]
More than 8,500 Canada Border Services Agency employees have voted in favour of strike action, which could begin as early as Aug. 6, two days before the border is reopened to fully vaccinated U.S. residents. The Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Customs and Immigration Union acknowledged today that while many staff could be deemed essential, a strike could impact commercial traffic. [node:read-more:link]
Iran has opened its first oil terminal in the Gulf of Oman, enabling it to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, which has become a chokepoint for shipping. a move that will allow it to avoid using the Strait of Hormuz shipping route that has been a focus of regional tension for decades. “This is a strategic move and an important step for Iran,” outgoing President Hassan Rouhani Rouhani said in a televised speech. “It will secure the continuation of our oil exports.” [node:read-more:link]
The European Commission’s new climate change initiative has drawn fire from Australia, one of the world’s largest resource exporters, which is particularly upset by a proposed surtax on carbon-intense imports such as steel and cement. “The last thing the world now needs is extra protectionist policies,” says Trade Minister Dan Tehan. Even though only four per cent of Australia’s exports go to Europe, he says the commission’s plan could set the stage for increased costs to export to major Asian markets. [node:read-more:link]
Mounting concern about Chinese influence The European Union’s foreign ministers are pressing for more global linkages as a potential counter to China's Belt and Road Initiative to link Asia with Europe. “We must offer alternatives,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass told reporters July 12. “It is important that the European Union . . . coordinates them very closely with the United States.” [node:read-more:link]
The Japanese-owned container ship which blocked the Suez Canal in March was permitted to leave today after its owners and insurers had signed a compensation agreement with Egypt. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. [node:read-more:link]
Calgary-based TC Energy is trying to recoup more than $15 billion in damages from the U.S. over the administration’s cancellation of construction permits for the Keystone XL pipeline project. In a claim filed with the State Department, the company says the decision breached bilateral free trade rules. [node:read-more:link]
An Ottawa-based workers-rights group, Above Ground, reports that Canadian measures designed to block imports of goods from countries which employ forced labour are often ineffectual. Moreover, unlike in the U.S., getting information about offending importers is frustrated by regulations. [node:read-more:link]
North Korea Leader Kim Jong-un says his counry is facing food shortages due to crop losses from last year’s typhoons and a drop in trade with China possibly due to North Korea’s border closures due to COVID-19. “The people's food situation is now getting tense,” he disclosed at this week’s meeting of his ruling Workers' Party central committee in Pyongyang. [node:read-more:link]
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, said today that a European Union plan to impose carbon emissions costs on imports is a potential breach of global trading rules and threat to energy security. “Artificial restrictive measures of the traditional fuel and energy sectors may reduce the profitability and investment attractiveness of the sector, and as the result, the threat to the safety of energy supplies will emerge,” the former energy minister added. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. and the European Union agreed today to a truce in a 17-year trade spat over government support for Boeing and Airbus, removing billions of dollars in taxes on an array of non-aerospace products for an initial five years. Both companies welcomed the agreement; Airbus said it would be “the basis to create a level-playing field.” [node:read-more:link]
