This past week, CTM covered the following issues.

Starting in China, China and South Korea signed a sweeping package of government and private-sector agreements this week during a state visit by South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced that it will tighten export controls on dual-use items destined for Japan, citing a need to curb Japanese military capabilities and safeguard national security. 

MOFCOM issued a rebuke of the European Union, accusing Brussels of using climate policy as a "guise" for trade protectionism.

China imposed sanctions on twenty U.S. defense companies and ten executives in retaliation for a new approval by the U.S. government of arms sales to Taiwan.

In the area of trade remedies:

• MOFCOM's Trade Remedy Investigation Bureau concluded its safeguard investigation on beef, with a new tariff-rate-quota mechanism effective on January 1, 2026.
• MOFCOM reached a preliminary ruling imposing anti-subsidy duties as high as 42.7% on EU dairy imports.
• MOFCOM announced an anti-dumping investigation on a key semiconductor chemical from Japan.

Turning to the U.S., the Trump administration ordered the divestment of an asset purchase involving a semiconductor company, on the basis that one of the founders of the purchasing company is a Chinese citizen. 

The U.S. Commerce Department's final determination in a countervailing duty case involving file folders from Cambodia found that subsidies from the Government of China can be considered as part of the assessment of foreign subsidies.

The U.S. Trade Representative's Office announced that it had determined that China's policies and practices in the semiconductor sector were unreasonable, and also burdened or restricted U.S. commerce, and that tariffs would be imposed in response in mid-2027.

The Federal Communications Commission took action that will prevent the authorization of new imported drones, with Chinese industry leaders DJI and Autel Robotics to feel the biggest impact.

At the WTO, China filed its second WTO complaint against India in recent months, targeting clean energy policies and broader industrialization policies.

After China notified the WTO's Safeguards Committee of a finding of serious injury or threat thereof to its domestic beef industry as part of the safeguards investigation described above, the U.S. and Australia pushed back with requests for consultations under the Safeguards Agreement.