“The post-Brexit EU is getting ever more protectionist, certainly with the French EU Presidency, which is pushing for a protectionist external EU ‘climate’ tariff, something that will hit EU consumers hard. “French President Macron is obviously using this to try to get re-elected, appealing to profound protectionist French instincts.” Read the article.

The second year of the Biden presidency opens with a widening realization that a Democrat-run White House is keeping Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policies: tariffs on steel, aluminum, and Chinese imports; domestic content requirements; and dim prospects for trade talks. Read the article.

Canada violated its promise to allow slightly more dairy imports by imposing unfairly complicated rules. The U.S. says Canada now has a few weeks to comply with the ruling, or face the possibility of a trade penalty such as a tariff. Canada left domestic processors in charge of allocating import permissions, known as tariff-rate quotas. … Read More

The U.S. became the world’s No. 1 exporter of liquefied natural gas for the first time ever last month, as deliveries surged to energy-starved Europe. Output from American facilities edged above Qatar in December after a jump in exports from the Sabine Pass and Freeport facilities… Read the article.

The U.S. must now roll back its countervailing duties, which are as high as 27%, on various Spanish olive producers, including Aceitunas Guadalquivir SLU; Agro Sevilla Aceitunas S. Coop. And.; and Angel Camacho Alimentacion SL, among others. Read the article.

Food imports into China from next year will have to meet new registration, inspection and labeling requirements, customs authorities said in a notice dated Dec. 13. The measures, which were first announced in April, cover a broad range of products from royal jelly to vegetable oils and infant food. Read the article.

The U.S. made an offer to Japan aimed at resolving disputes over tariffs imposed on Japanese steel and aluminum under former President Donald Trump in 2018, people familiar with the situation said. The Japanese government is currently holding out for a better deal, according to an official with knowledge of the talks. Read the article.

Millions of American factory workers were laid off as a result; still more lost work to intense import competition. They have been rewarded for their loss of reliable middle-class incomes with marginally cheaper prices at big box stores stocked with products that aren’t made here. In 2021, Walmarts and Dollar Generals dot the landscape formerly … Read More

“We predicted then that Chinese accession to the WTO would undermine America’s manufacturing base as transnational corporate and investment elites moved production to China, and history has proved us right. America’s massive trade deficit with China has cost nearly 4 million American jobs. Read the article.

A delegation of Canadian politicians is in Washington this week to fight back against the United States’ doubling of softwood lumber tariffs. “The ongoing softwood lumber dispute continues to threaten our economy in northern Ontario and right across the country. Hundreds of thousands of jobs in Canada rely on this industry, and the government’s approach … Read More