This past week, CTM covered the following issues.

China will eliminate tariffs on all products from 53 African nations by May, President Xi Jinping announced in a message sent last week to the African Union (AU) Summit.

Official data reveals that the 2024–2025 period marked a historic peak in global trade remedy actions targeting Chinese exports, reflecting an unprecedented level of international scrutiny.

Chinese market regulators released a series of "typical cases" of unfair competition in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. 

The U.S. and Taiwan published the details of their Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART), negotiated in the shadow of the "reciprocal" tariffs imposed on Taiwan and other countries by the Trump administration. Taiwan's president said the agreement will overhaul market access in both directions by cutting tariffs and tightening rules on non‑tariff measures, putting Taiwan on par with other major U.S. partners.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit in state court against China-owned company TP-Link, accusing it of deceptive practices in terms of its representation of itself as a company producing in Vietnam.

Having earlier filed a contract-based investment claim against the Panamanian government, Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison is now bringing a treaty-based investment claim as well.

In a communication submitted to the WTO, China has put forward a statement on WTO reform that criticizes recent U.S. "disruptions" to the trading system and pushes back against criticisms of its non-market policies and practices.

At the WTO Committee on Market Access meeting of 15-16 October, several previous trade concerns involving China and Hong Kong/Macao were on the agenda: Restrictions on coffee and macadamia nuts from Guatemala, the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Measure, and the bans on aquatic products from Japan imposed by Hong Kong and Macao.