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Experts estimate that about half of the German electric vehicles registered in the United States are leased. While the scale of the U.S. subsidies has attracted most attention, the EU has large potential resources of its own. THE REAL PROBLEM"The amounts of subsidies in Europe are in line or even more than those in the United States, that is not the problem," said one senior European Union official. "The real problems are the incentives to make firms move production to the United States," said the official, referring to the local content requirements. To ensure Europe can compete with the United States, the European Commission on Wednesday proposed measures including loosening EU state aid rules and repurposing existing EU funds.

☆ World Trade Organization head wants to 'double or triple' Africa's share of global trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The World Trade Organization (WTO) projected in October that after growing by 3.5% in 2022, trade volumes will increase by just 1% in 2023. Either way, Africa may start to reap the benefits of a free trade deal that came into effect in 2021. The landmark African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement created the world’s largest new free trade area since the establishment of the WTO. What do they need and what are they telling you in terms of doing cross-border trade on the African continent? What we’ve seen during the pandemic is that Africa needs to get its own manufacturing capacity, and this falls right back into what can make the continental free trade area work.

☆ Explainer: Why the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act has rattled Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The European Commission presented its Green Deal Industrial Plan on Wednesday in response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), with increased levels of state aid to help Europe compete as a manufacturing hub for clean tech products. The Treasury is set to provide guidelines in March for electric vehicles bought by consumers, but there appears less room for manoeuvre. The European Commission and the White House have set up a high-level task force to discuss the issue. France has led calls for Europe to respond with state support of its own for European companies, including through a "buy European act" and large-scale subsidies. Longer term, the European Commission says it will propose a European Sovereignty Fund, but it is unclear how it will operate and how it will be funded.

"I said to him that if you invest in Indonesia, I will give the concession of nickel," Jokowi said, referring to Indonesia's offer of a mining concession. The president said he was "confident" Indonesia had the edge over other countries Tesla might be considering for investment because it has the largest nickel reserves and a big domestic market. "If they want to start from EV battery, it's OK," he added. In addition to Indonesia, South Korea, Canada and Mexico have been vying for Tesla to invest in manufacturing. POSSIBLE FIRST FOR ASIAIf Tesla were to invest in battery production in Indonesia, it would be its first facility of that kind in Asia.

☆ China, U.S. spar at WTO meeting over disputes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China's ambassador to the WTO Li Chenggang spoke at a meeting on trade disputes shortly after the United States lodged an appeal against a series of WTO rulings involving China, Turkey, Norway and Switzerland which found that U.S. metal tariffs breached global rules. Washington, which has long criticized the WTO dispute system for overreach and is leading discussions on reforming it, has criticized both rulings. The United States said it regretted the metal tariffs dispute with China was even on the agenda at the meeting and accused Beijing of imposing "illegal unilateral retaliatory measures" on U.S. exports. "A WTO that serves to shield China's non-market policies and practices is not in anyone's interest," said Deputy United States Trade Representative Maria Pagan, according to a copy of her speech. In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Pagan played down the significance of more vocal criticism of Washington by China at WTO meetings.

☆ U.S. wants World Trade Organization dispute system fixed by 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The WTO's appeals bench, which rules on top disputes, has been mothballed for over two years due to Trump-era blockages of adjudicator appointments. Under President Joe Biden, Washington has resisted calls by WTO members to approve appointments and has instead been leading negotiations on how to reboot the WTO's dispute system. "Our goal is a fully functioning (dispute system) by 2024," Deputy United States Trade Representative Maria Pagan told Reuters in her first public comments on the closed-door talks, saying Washington was "very committed" to reforms. The United States has criticized the WTO's alleged overreach and lengthy processes and it has strongly contested some of its recent rulings against the United States. Pagan described the process as "frustrating" but said she was hopeful a breakthrough had been found, without elaborating.

"At the same time, we're estimating a mild recession in Europe and the United States that offset it. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization, pointed out that the reopening could help supply chains work better and also boost consumer demand. CHINA-US TENSIONSAdjacent to the discussions on China's reopening was what it could mean for its existing tensions with the United States over issues such as technology, trade and Taiwan, which several WEF delegates expressed concern over. "I think both the U.S. and China will be hurt, which doesn't just mean the national entities but workforces, people will be hurt." For daily Davos updates in your inbox sign up for the Reuters Daily Briefing here.

☆ DAVOS 2023: WTO sticks with 1% projection for growth in global trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Brenda Goh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Davos, SWITZERLAND Jan 20 (Reuters) - The head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Friday it was sticking with its 1% projection for global trade growth in 2023 - for now. Director general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the WTO was not revising down its projection. World trade is thought likely to have lost momentum in the second half of 2022 and to remain subdued in 2023 as multiple shocks weigh on the global economy. In October, WTO economists predicted a 1% increase in global merchandise trade volumes for 2023, down sharply from the previous estimate of 3.4%. Editing by Leela de Kretser and Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The world's oceans are key to slowing the climate crisis, and this year is critical to guaranteeing their longevity
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Freya Graham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But oceans are an important carbon sink — some more effective than rainforests. Leaders at Davos said the role of the ocean in combating climate change has been underestimated. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest on the culture & business of sustainability — delivered weekly to your inbox. Understanding 'blue carbon'Plants and trees that grow in coastal waters, such as mangroves, kelp, and seagrass, are all forms of "blue carbon," which means they absorb and store carbon. The Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed at COP15 in Montreal in December 2022, was a big step forward for oceans.

☆ Unions press Biden administration to not change EV tax credit rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Major unions and public interest and environmental groups are urging President Joe Biden to reject efforts by the European Union and other foreign governments to revise U.S. electric vehicle tax incentives. Foreign governments have been pressing the Biden administration to do more to expand credit eligibility. The letter rejected the suggestion from foreign governments that the EV tax incentives violate World Trade Organization and free trade rules. The EU in December praised the U.S. Treasury Department decision to allow EVs leased by consumers to qualify for up to $7,500 in commercial clean vehicle tax credits. South Korea, Europe and some automakers in December had sought approval from Treasury to use the commercial electric vehicle tax credit to boost consumer EV access.

☆ Treasury Secretary Yellen and China's Liu He talk U.S. tech policy at their first in-person meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He held their first in-person meeting in Zurich on Jan. 18, 2023. BEIJING — Chinese Vice Premier Liu He discussed U.S. economic and tech policy toward China in a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday, according to a Ministry of Commerce readout. China "hopes the U.S. side pays attention to the policies' impact on both sides," the readout said, according to a CNBC translation. The meeting in Zurich was the first time Yellen and Liu met in person, after three years of Covid-related restrictions on travel. While Beijing retaliated with tariffs of its own, its most substantive response to U.S. tech bans has been filing a dispute with the World Trade Organization in December.

☆ Senior Australian official asks China to remove trade impediments
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Jan 20(Reuters) - Australia's Assistant Minister for Trade Tim Ayres called for the removal of China's "trade impediments" on Australian exports in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, his office said. China's Xinhua news agency earlier reported that Thursday's meeting between Australian and Chinese officials had agreed that trade ministers from the two nations will hold virtual discussions "in the near future." No date has been set for the video meeting between Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and his Australian counterpart, Don Farrell, it said. "Assistant Minister Ayres raised the importance of cooperation to deliver the outcomes of the World Trade Organization 12th Ministerial Conference, and the removal of current trade impediments affecting Australian exports to China in both countries' interests," a spokeswoman for Ayres said in a statement. Canberra has two complaints at the World Trade Organisation against China's tariffs on Australian wine and barley, and is watching to see if Beijing lifts unofficial trade blockages on other Australian exports.

☆ Davos 2023-Be careful on 'friend-shoring', WTO's Ngozi warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Trade blocs seeking to skirt geopolitical risk by "friend-shoring" activities to like-minded countries should be careful which commerce partners they favour, World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said on Thursday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and others have used the term to encourage countries to diversify supply chains away from China to market-oriented democracies such as India. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Okonjo-Iweala urged caution, citing the need to explore trade opportunities more widely with those countries and regions that until now have been left on the margins of world trade. "If you do it outside, you are in for a free-for-all and I don't think that would be for the benefit for anyone." Reporting by Mark John in Davos Editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Davos 2023: Global trade rethink: 'race of the big pockets'?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Mark John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SummarySummary Companies US climate bill concerns dominate Davos trade talkSome fear "rich-country game" of rising state subsidiesRevamped globalisation must benefit all, Davos toldDAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The United States pitched its vision of "worker-centric" trade. "I am very concerned," World Trade Organization (WTO) chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters on the sidelines of the meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Three decades of free global trade have, the International Monetary Fund estimates, lifted more than a billion people out of extreme poverty. The United States notably built into its trade pact with Mexico a mechanism for identifying and dealing with the denial of worker rights. U.S. Trade Representative Tai told a panel on Wednesday the United States wanted to "lead a conversation" on a new version of globalisation.

☆ Growing tensions between Asian palm oil producers and the European Union
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Here is a timeline of the rising tensions between the Asian palm oil producers and the EU over the matter. JUNE 14, 2017EU negotiators agree to phase out the use of palm oil in transport fuels from 2030. APRIL 16, 2018British supermarket chain Iceland says it would remove palm oil from its own-brand food products due to concerns over rainforest destruction. MARCH 13, 2019The European Commission concludes that palm oil cultivation results in excessive deforestation and the use of harmful biofuel feedstocks, including palm oil, should be capped until 2023 and phased out by 2030. JAN 9, 2023Indonesian and Malaysia agree to work together and strengthen cooperation to fight discrimination against palm oil.

☆ Explainer: How strained China-Australia relations hit trade in coal, barley, beef and wine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Jan 6 (Reuters) - China is resuming coal trade with Australia after a three-year halt following strained relations between the two countries over wider issues. Aside from coal, exports of barley, beef, cotton, wine, lobsters and grapes were all hit with restrictions of varying degrees during 2020. China issued verbal instructions to buyers to avoid Australian goods such as coal and cotton, and imposed anti-dumping tariffs on barley and wine. The barley trade with the world's biggest beer maker had previously amounted to between A$1.5 billion ($1.01 billion) and A$2 billion a year. Winemakers in South Africa have seen demand boom, while barley exports from France, Canada, Argentina and Ukraine to China also surged.

☆ WTO rules against U.S. in Hong Kong labelling dispute
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO: A logo is seen at the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters before a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, October 5, 2022. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseUntil 2020, the United States had treated Hong Kong, which is a separate WTO member, in the same manner as before it passed from British control in July 1997. A three-person WTO adjudicating panel found that the United States violated an obligation towards Hong Kong, by giving it less favourable treatment than other WTO members in terms of marks of origin on its products. The United States said it had applied an exception allowing for measures to protect a country’s “essential security interests”. The Hong Kong government welcomed the ruling and said it had affirmed its special status as a separate customs territory.

☆ Indonesia confirms bauxite export ban to proceed as scheduled
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Fransiska Nangoy | Bernadette Christina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The timing of Indonesia’s ban, however, is in line with its current mining law. The measure, which led to a dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO), also helped boost the value of Indonesia’s exports. China was the biggest importer of Indonesia’s bauxite until Jakarta introduced a mineral export ban in 2014, which it lifted in 2017. Indonesia’s bauxite reserves are enough for up to 100 years production, he said. He said there was a possibility that legal action could be pursued against Indonesia for banning bauxite exports, but it would not deter him.

☆ Indonesia says bauxite export ban to proceed as scheduled in June 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia will ban exports of bauxite, the main ore source of aluminium, starting from June next year to encourage domestic processing of the material, President Joko Widodo announced on Wednesday. The timing of the bauxite export ban is in line with Indonesia’s current mining law. The World Trade Organization last month ruled in favour of the European Union in a dispute on nickel ore exports, which Indonesia is appealing. Jokowi on Wednesday said he is certain Indonesia’s next export ban would face lawsuit, but said it will not deter him. The president has previously said he wanted to expand the export ban to cover tin, bauxite, gold, copper and palm oil.

☆ Indonesia to announce ban on exports of a commodity, without saying which
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Once the world’s biggest exporter of nickel ore, Indonesia stopped exports in January 2020, a move that had enticed foreign investors, mostly from China, to build smelters in the resource-rich country. Today, later, we will announce (an export ban on) one more commodity,” Jokowi told an economic forum. Jokowi said his nickel export ban had helped Indonesia jumped up the value chain for nickel-based exports, which then boosted overall shipments and improved its current account position. The World Trade Organization last month ruled in favour for the European Union over dispute on nickel ore exports, which Indonesia is appealing. Jokowi on Wednesday said he is certain Indonesia’s next export ban would face lawsuit, but said it will not deter him.

☆ WTO chief rebukes countries over stalled fishing negotiations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The head of the World Trade Organization chided countries for failing to make headway on negotiations covering fishing and agriculture because of infighting over who should lead them. Delegates told Reuters that a proposal was floated for Turkey and Norway's ambassadors to lead the agricultural and fisheries negotiations but these choices were rejected by India, delegates said. "Six months of not negotiating is not acceptable," WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told countries in a closed-door meeting of its General Council, according to remarks relayed by the body's spokesperson late on Monday. "While WTO members are not doing the job, fish stocks continue to decline at an alarming rate," said Remi Parmentier, director of the Varda Group, a think-tank focused on biodiversity. WTO spokesperson Dan Pruzin told journalists it was "never easy" to choose chairs of negotiations but said this case was proving "particularly difficult", without elaborating.

☆ WTO chief rebukes countries over stalled negotiations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The head of the World Trade Organization on Monday chided countries for failing to make headway on negotiations because of infighting over who should lead them. The WTO broke a multi-year deal-making drought in June by clinching a series of agreements at a major trade conference in Geneva in June, including a fisheries deal. "Six months of not negotiating is not acceptable," WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told countries in a closed-door meeting of its General Council on Monday, according to remarks relayed by the body's spokesperson. Delegates told Reuters that a proposal was floated for Turkey and Norway's ambassadors to lead the agricultural and fisheries negotiations but these choices were rejected by India and Pakistan. WTO spokesperson Dan Pruzin told journalists it was "never easy" to choose chairs of negotiations but said this case was proving "particularly difficult", without elaborating.

☆ China officially launches WTO dispute against U.S. chip export curbs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Dec 15 (Reuters) - China has officially launched a trade dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the United States, challenging Washington's chip export curbs, the WTO said on Thursday. The move was announced by China's commerce ministry earlier this week, saying that U.S. curbs "threatened the stability of the global industrial supply chains". read moreReporting by Akanksha Khushi in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ European Union reaches landmark agreement on a pollution tax for imports
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The EU wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by the year 2030, compared to 1990. Plans for the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism took a significant step forward Tuesday morning after a provisional deal between the Council of the EU and members of the European Parliament was reached. The European Parliament's statement described the new bill as being "the first of its kind." "CBAM will be a crucial pillar of European climate policies," Mohammed Chahim, a member of the European Parliament, said. In its own statement, the Council of the EU (government ministers from each EU country) said Tuesday's agreement still had to be confirmed by the European Parliament, EU member states' ambassadors, and then "adopted by both institutions before it is final."

☆ China challenges US chip curbs at WTO, citing ‘trade protectionism’
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

On October 7, the Biden administration unveiled a sweeping set of export controls that ban Chinese companies from buying advanced chips and chip-making equipment without a license. The commerce ministry blasted the US move as threatening global supply chain stability and called it “a typical practice of trade protectionism.” The complaint is the first action China has taken at the global trade body against the US chip sanctions. It also comes as the United States is looking to bolster its domestic chip manufacturing abilities, after chip shortages earlier in the pandemic highlighted the country’s dependence on imports from abroad. He called for both countries to boost cooperation in high-tech manufacturing and avoid “the politicization of economic and trade issues.”Chips are a growing source of tension between the United States and China. Before the October sanctions, the US government had already banned sales of certain tech products to specific Chinese companies, such as Huawei.

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