As part of a regular series of meetings, the Premiers of all of Canada's provinces and territories gathered this week, along with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

A high-level summit between the European Union and China this week underscored persistent deep divisions over trade imbalances and market access, with some progress on export controls. While both sides expressed a desire for cooperation, the detailed exchanges revealed significant hurdles to easing economic friction.

Beijing announced an expansion of its Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) policies, revealing new measures that will take effect with the launch of island-wide independent customs operations on December 18, 2025. The move, supported by a multi-ministerial rollout and confirmed at a high-profile State Council Information Office press conference, marks

At today's meeting of the WTO's General Council, China and Brazil raised concerns with unilateral measures that undermine the multilateral trading system. These countries did not mention the United States by name, but the comments were clearly directed at recent U.S. actions and behavior.

Yesterday, China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced that it had suspended the antitrust investigation into DuPont China, a subsidiary of the U.S. firm DuPont. The move is seen as a goodwill gesture ahead of next week's trade talks.

China's Ministry of Commerce offered a mixed reaction to a recent award issued by the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) over an intellectual property-related dispute between the EU and China, while indicating its intention to comply with the ruling.

Canada has escalated its trade dispute with China, announcing an additional 25% surtax on imports containing Chinese-melted and poured steel, effective by the end of July. The move, which Ottawa says aims to boost supply chain transparency and prevent circumvention of existing trade measures, drew swift condemnation from Beijing.