The World Trade Organization case that the U.S. opened against China on intellectual property (see 1804090020) has been suspended. The announcement, published June 14 by the WTO, gave no indication as to why the U.S. asked the dispute panel to pause in its consideration of the case. Under WTO rules, a case can be suspended for 12 months.

Canada will try to "move in tandem" with Mexico and the U.S. as legislatures in the three countries work to ratify the replacement for NAFTA, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters June 13. Freeland, who was in Washington to talk about ratification of the trade pact, said: "We think of it as a kind of Goldilocks approach, not too hot, not too cold, we’re not going to go too fast, we’re not going to go too slow. It does mean we are going to be spending a lot of time talking with our American counterparts to get that pacing right, and I do want to say, our excellent ambassador is here, David MacNaughton. The embassy is working extremely hard on this issue and spending a lot of time on the Hill, meeting with Democrats, with Republicans both to help people understand here how the Canadian legislative process works and also to get a better understanding of where the U.S. is and where individual members of Congress and senators are."

Vietnam is cracking down on transshipment schemes that falsely claim Vietnamese country of origin to avoid high tariffs on Chinese goods, according to a June 13 report in CustomsNews. Vietnam Customs has discovered dozens of certificate of origin violations so far, particularly in the textiles and apparel, seafood, agricultural, steel, aluminum and timber sectors, the report said.

The U.S. will evaluate how much the flow of migrants to the southern border has eased in 45 days, and if U.S. officials are not satisfied, the Mexican government will consider further action to coordinate with other countries, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said June 11. He said that all the countries that are part of the increase in asylum seekers should consider a regional solution. He said migrants from many countries arrive in Mexico, and Mexico can't be wholly responsible for that. So far, Mexico has resisted what's called a "third safe country" standard, which would prevent Guatemalans from applying for asylum in the U.S. if they crossed Mexican territory. Instead, they'd have to apply for asylum in Mexico. Trump has said that if the numbers don't fall enough, he will return to his plan of raising tariffs on Mexican imports.

China appears to be formally laying the groundwork for export restrictions on rare earths, after previously only hinting in state media reports that they could be used to counter U.S. trade restrictions, according to an emailed update from the China-based consultancy Trivium. Citing a report from China's state-run Xinhua news service, Trivium said three Chinese ministries sent out survey teams June 10 to gather input from rare earths producers in several provinces. That follows three recent China National Development and Reform Commission symposiums where experts called for stricter export controls on rare earths, Trivium said. Though the survey was aimed at gathering “suggestions on how to improve protection and value of rare earths,” they also sought input on “further exerting the strategic value of rare earths and other resources,” according to an unofficial translation of the Xinhua report. The surveys signal that “Beijing is no longer hinting that it has the rare earths card at its disposal,” Trivium said. “Authorities have moved forward, and are seriously looking into the details of how exactly to implement export controls,” Trivium said. “Specifically, they are trying to understand how to minimize any negative impact on the domestic industry while maximizing external leverage.”

As promised back in April (see 1904150016), Canada has filed an appeal at the World Trade Organization covering certain elements of a ruling on U.S. treatment of Canadian softwood lumber imports. The decision, which Canada said questioned some aspects of the U.S. duties' calculation, did allow for zeroing, which had always been ruled out of bounds in previous WTO cases (see 1904100046). The appeal was filed June 4 in Geneva.

India's Commerce Department said it had "offered resolution on significant U.S. requests" for better market access, but they were not accepted. The statement was issued June 1, after an evening announcement from the U.S. the day before that India would no longer receive Generalized System of Preferences program benefits after June 5 (see 1905310072). "India, like the US and other nations shall always uphold its national interest in these matters. We have significant development imperatives and concerns and our people also aspire for better standards of living. This will remain the guiding factor in the Government’s approach," the government said. But it said it will continue to work intensively with the U.S. to resolve economic issues to mutual benefit.

Consultations with the European Union on the Spanish olives AD/CVD case failed in March, and the European Union has requested a dispute panel at the World Trade Organization. At the May 28th meeting of the WTO Dispute Settlement body, according to a Geneva trade official, the U.S, blocked the formation of a panel, saying its AD/CVD case was within WTO rules and that the EU request included claims that were not part of the consultations. Antidumping duties are between 16.88 percent and 25.5 percent, and countervailing duties are between 7.52 percent and 27.02 percent (see 1807310076).

Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland submitted a notice "of a Ways and Means motion to introduce an Act to implement the Agreement between Canada, the United States of America and the United Mexican States," in the House of Commons on May 27, according to the official record. That notice marks the beginning of the process for Canada's parliament to ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

That the U.S. made “unreasonable demands” on China “through maximum pressure” is the “underlying reason” why 11 rounds of negotiations “failed to yield an agreement,” a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said May 20. “This wouldn't work from the very beginning.” When U.S. threats didn't work and “instead led to widespread doubts at home and abroad as well as market fluctuations, the U.S. “resorted to muddying the waters and shifting the blame,” he said. “The international community bears witness to the sincere and constructive attitude China has shown in the past 11 rounds of negotiations.” There’s “hope for success only when the consultations proceed on the right track of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit,” he said. The Office of U.S. Trade Representative didn’t comment.