Yesterday, news reports indicated that Ford Motor Co. would temporarily halt construction of a $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant project in Michigan that would see Ford rely on technology from Chinese company CATL.

Last week, China submitted a WTO communication entitled "Position Paper of China Regarding Japan's Discharge of Nuclear-Contaminated Water into the Ocean."

Commenting on the ongoing review of the Section 301 tariffs being undertaken by the U.S. Trade Representative's Office, U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai stated on Friday that the goal "is to wrap this up, hopefully by the end of this year."

At a recent think tank event, EU and U.S. trade officials responded to questions about the recently announced European Commission anti-subsidy investigation on imports of Chinese electric vehicles.

This past week, CTM covered the following issues. In China: * Sanctions on U.S. companies for arms sales to Taiwan * Customs announcements related to fruit, beef, and dairy * Extension of countervailing measures on EU potato starch * Comments on China's industrial policy In other countries: * U.S. members of

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), U.S. Representative John Moolenaar (R-MI), and several other House Republicans from Michigan and Illinois sent a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, "urging the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review the ownership of Gotion, Inc.

At the September 19 meeting of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body, several WTO disputes involving China were on the agenda, one involving an appeal, one implementation, and another the systemic implications of a prior ruling.