The political difficulties that arose in relation to appointing a Chair of the WTO's GPA Committee may be continuing in the context of appointments to the WTO's subsidy expert group.

Last month, the Beijing government issued a ruling that imposes a US$1.5 million penalty on due-diligence firm Mintz, and provided some details on the legal reasoning behind the investigation that shocked many western businesses and observers.

This past week, CTM covered the following issues. In China: * U.S. Commerce Secretary visit to China * Trade agreement with Nicaragua * China-Africa leaders' meetings * Anti-dumping review on chlorobutyl rubber In the U.S.: * Proposed AD/CVD rule changes * Final determinations in solar circumvention case * Court challenge to UFLPA Entity

Today, China and Nicaragua signed a free trade agreement after four rounds of negotiations that took place over the past year. The agreement has 22 chapters, including four chapters on services trade and investment.

A Chinese company and its subsidiaries have filed a complaint in U.S. federal court challenging a U.S. government decision to include them on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List.

During this week's trip to China, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo discussed export controls, China's business environment and U.S.-China trade relations at meetings with Chinese officials and made additional statements in media interviews. Here are some highlights of her statements.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced proposed rule changes that would take into account "inaction" by foreign governments in a number of policy areas as part of the calculation of anti-dumping and countervailing duties.