The U.S. Senate Finance Committee held a confirmation hearing today for agriculture negotiator Douglas McKalip, and during the hearing McKalip brought up the issue of Chinese restrictions on urea and similar products.

Two Republican Senators have introduced legislation that would ban the export of oil and petroleum products to China.

On July 29, China announced that it would again adjust the export tariffs for certain steel products (including ferrochrome and high-purity pig iron), and cancel export tax rebates for some steel products (including cold-rolled products and hot-dipped galvanized coil). The decisions were announced through two separate notices and will take