Last week, political leaders in the EU debated taking stronger action to address trade imbalances with China, but ultimately put off deciding on a specific action until later in the year.

This past week, CTM covered the following issues. China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) downplayed fears of a "full-blown" trade war with the EU, stating that trade communications remain "smooth" and that Brussels has explicitly indicated that a trade war is not its goal.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney offered some details on the U.S. reaction to Canada's decision to allow a small number of Chinese EVs to be imported into Canada, as well as possible Chinese investment in Canada in this sector.

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) downplayed fears of a "full-blown" trade war with the European Union on Thursday, stating that trade communications remain "smooth" and that Brussels has explicitly indicated a trade war is not its goal.

Today, in a white paper on global governance, China accused unnamed major powers of "politicizing, instrumentalizing, and weaponizing" the global economy in a recent trend of "anti-globalization and protectionism." It then framed itself as a true champion for multilateral cooperation.

The Trump administration has taken action to bar imports of copper and copper products from a Chinese company operating in Serbia, based on forced labor concerns. This follows a similar action last December against a Chinese company making tires in Serbia.

A recent push by an organization affiliated with U.S. manufacturing interests calls on the state of Texas and the federal government to take action against a Chinese company that has been engaged in producing copper products in a facility outside of Houston.