The U.S. ambassador to the World Trade Organization published a blunt response to reform discussions, arguing that the underpinning of the WTO -- that all countries should receive the same tariff rate, unless there is a comprehensive free-trade agreement between them -- was naive, "and that era has passed."
A bipartisan bill was introduced in the House to ask the U.S. trade representative to push Mexico and Canada to establish an investment screening regime and coordinate on "shared threats from investments in strategically important economic sectors and critical infrastructure in North America."
A bipartisan group of four senators introduced a bill Dec. 16 to impose additional sanctions targeting Russia’s oil revenue.
The Council of the European Union on Dec. 12 agreed to impose a fixed customs duty of around $3.52 on "small parcels" valued at less than $176 entering the EU, "largely via e-commerce," starting on July 1, 2026. The measure comes as the bloc moves to eliminate a provision that exempts low-value imports from tariffs (see 2511130008).
Mexico’s Senate this week voted 76-5, with 35 abstentions, to approve new higher tariffs on a range of products imported from China and other countries that don't have free trade agreements with Mexico, according to an unofficial translation of the Senate's news release.
A group of Ukrainian nationals on Dec. 10 accused Intel, Texas Instruments, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Mouser Electronics of not doing enough to ensure the semiconductor parts they make don't end up in Russian or Iranian hands (Shumylo v. Texas Instruments, Tex. # 25-09714).
Almost 75 House members, from both parties, asked the U.S. trade representative to hold Canada accountable for not meeting its dairy commitments under USMCA. The U.S. already brought two panels against Canada over the issue of its tariff rate quota administration, and while it won some arguments in the first dispute, Canada's fixes were ruled adequate in the second (see 2311240002).
House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said Dec. 4 that he is seeking several changes to a Russia sanctions and tariffs bill that lawmakers are trying to get through Congress this month.
The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament struck a provisional deal on the revised Generalized Scheme of Preferences program, which grants EU trade preferences to developing countries. The provisional deal adds "stronger links to respect for human rights and the environment, and a better monitoring and transparency of the scheme," the council said. New conventions regarding human rights and environmental protections will be added to the program, and the proposal provides for an "urgency procedure for the rapid withdrawal of preferences in case of violations of the principles of these conventions," the council said.
There's concern that Russia-related sanctions coordination among allies could “unravel,” especially as the Trump administration pursues its Russia-Ukraine peace strategy, the U.K. Parliament said in a research briefing last week.