FEATURED
ANALYSIS: Trump’s new 232 is about more than silicon
The new Section 232 order sets minimum prices for polysilicon and solar components, but it looks like a test-run for the critical minerals deal Washington has been chasing since January.
Latest Official News
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Costa Rica Successfully Accedes to the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA)Indonesia
Indonesia Strengthens Trade Ties with UK, Accelerates I-UK CEPA Exploration and Strategic Commodity CooperationIndonesia
Trade Minister Pushes for Continuation of Indonesia-Sri Lanka PTA NegotiationsIndonesia
Indonesia Launches Anti-Dumping Investigation on Galvanized Steel from ChinaIndonesia
Reference Price and Export Price Benchmark for Gold Rise 1.63% in September 2026 Second PeriodJapan
Lifting of Import Suspension on Poultry Meat from ColombiaTOP STORIES
China answers Washington with drone curbs, sanctions on labor-audit firms
Beijing’s four-part package targets the firms that make US import enforcement work, and opens the first national security investigation in the history of China’s foreign trade law.
Brazil takes US Section 301 duties to the WTO
Consultations request circulated on Thursday targets both the 25 per cent country action and the 12.5 per cent forced-labour tariff, which together lift duties on some Brazilian goods to 37.5 per cent.
US drops Scotch whisky tariffs to zero under UK trade deal
The US has eliminated tariffs on whisky from the UK with effect from July 24, restoring duty-free access to the Scotch industry’s largest export market under the agreement reached during the King’s state visit to Washington in April.
TRADE POLICY
Canada and UAE conclude trade pact talks eight months after launch
Canada and the United Arab Emirates have concluded negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement, closing out in roughly eight months what Ottawa described as among the fastest trade negotiations it has ever completed.
Philippines concludes first Latin American trade deal with Chile
Manila and Santiago have wrapped up negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership aimed at securing copper for the country’s electronics industry
Brasília answers Washington as 25% tariffs take effect
Brazil’s rebuttal disputes every part of the Section 301 finding, but its stated remedies run through a dispute system that cannot deliver. Brazil has published a heading-by-heading rebuttal of the United States case against it and begun preparing countermeasures, after Washington imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Brazilian goods at the close of a year-long…
War chokes fertiliser trade; export curbs hit quarter of global supply
WTO finds shipments through Hormuz still near zero five months on, with 18 economies, seven of them least developed, most exposed. Fertiliser shipments out of the Persian Gulf have been close to zero since the Strait of Hormuz closed in the opening weeks of the conflict, and had not resumed on any stable basis by…
SEA AND REGIONS
Indonesia’s parliament clears Russian FTA and three ASEAN deals
Jakarta will bring the agreements into force by presidential regulation, a lighter instrument than the statutes used for RCEP and the Australia pact. A parliamentary commission in Jakarta approved the ratification of four trade agreements on Tuesday, clearing the way for Indonesia to bring into force a free trade deal with the five-member Eurasian Economic…
Trump revives 1930 tariff law in strike on Canadian goods
Canada’s most senior trade officials briefed business and labour leaders in Ottawa this week on Washington’s decision to invoke a tariff power that has lain unused since the 1940s, opening a new front in a dispute that has already outlasted the North American trade pact’s renewal deadline.
US threatens 25% tariffs on Brazil over digital, ethanol disputes
The United States on Monday proposed imposing 25 per cent tariffs on most imports from Brazil, escalating a year-long trade probe into Latin America’s largest economy while sparing two of its most valuable exports to the American market.
Kemendag Signals Compliance Steps in DS593 Implementation Review
Indonesia’s trade ministry outlines adjustments it argues address the panel findings, as the complainant reserves its position on conformity.
COMMODITIES
Crude Palm Oil Export Levy Adjustment: BPDPKS Signals Tiered Rate Structure
The fund management agency is consulting on a reference-price-linked levy schedule intended to smooth grower receipts while protecting biodiesel financing.
ICE Robusta Spreads Widen as EUDR Compliance Costs Filter Into Q3 Contracts
Traders are pricing a deforestation-regulation premium into nearby robusta as origin documentation requirements tighten ahead of the application date.
Indonesia Nickel Ore Export Ban Faces Fresh DS592 Compliance Scrutiny
A compliance review reopens questions about how Jakarta has responded to the panel findings on its raw nickel export restrictions.
SUSTAINABILITY
EUDR Country Risk Classification Methodology Released: Indonesia, Malaysia Risk High-Risk Designation
The Commission’s published methodology leans on deforestation-rate and governance proxies; producer states warn a high-risk label would impose disproportionate due diligence on already-compliant supply.
CBAM Default Values Update: Embedded Carbon Charges Rise for Steel, Aluminum, Cement
Revised default emissions factors lift the implied charge on importers that cannot supply verified installation-level data, sharpening the incentive to obtain primary measurements.
RED III Annex IX Review Opens: Intermediate Crops Face Tightened Sustainability Criteria
The review reopens the eligible-feedstock list, with intermediate and sequential crops in focus; obligated parties face possible recalibration of advanced-biofuel eligibility.
ANALYSIS
Lowy: Beyond green iron: what China’s steel transition means
China’s steel decarbonisation is likely to proceed through a combination of efficiency improvements, greater scrap use, and gradual electrification rather than a wholesale shift to hydrogen-based steelmaking, meaning Australian green iron demand will emerge more slowly and unevenly than anticipated.
Atlantic Council: A visual guide to the new US tariff wall
The Trump administration’s post-IEEPA tariff regime is a fragmented patchwork of national security tariffs, forced labour investigations, exemptions, and bilateral deals that produces vastly different effective rates across trading partners.
PALM OIL MONITOR
EU MOAH Notification G/SPS/N/EU/930 Triggers Stakeholder Comment Frenzy
A draft measure on mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons in food has drawn an unusually heavy comment docket from edible oil exporters.
Malaysian MSPO Certification Reaches Smallholder Threshold, MPOB Reports
The board reports a milestone in independent smallholder certification, though verification depth and market recognition remain open questions.
EUDR Geolocation Pilot: Traceability Gaps Persist in Independent Supply
Field pilots show polygon mapping works at estate scale but still breaks down in aggregated independent smallholder channels.
ISPO Revision Decree Tightens Legality Verification for Plantation Permits
A revised presidential instrument strengthens the legality basis of the Indonesian scheme, with implications for permit-disputed estates.
Think Tank Latest
Lowy Institute
Lowy: Beyond green iron: what China’s steel transition meansChina's steel decarbonisation is likely to proceed through a combination of efficiency improvements, greater scrap use, and gradual electrification rather than a wholesale shift to hydrogen-based steelmaking, meaning Australian green iron demand will emerge more slowly and unevenly than anticipated.
Atlantic Council
Atlantic Council: A visual guide to the new US tariff wallThe Trump administration's post-IEEPA tariff regime is a fragmented patchwork of national security tariffs, forced labour investigations, exemptions, and bilateral deals that produces vastly different effective rates across trading partners.
Brookings
Brookings: Tracking Trump’s tariffs and other trade actionsSince January 2025, President Trump has significantly raised tariffs on major US trading partners including Canada, Mexico, China, the EU and Japan, with rates shifting as trade deals are negotiated.
PIIE
PIIE: Global supply chains and the limits of US decouplingUS tariffs have failed to meaningfully reduce America's dependence on Chinese goods because suppliers rerouted products through third countries, leaving Chinese value added in US imports largely intact.