A spokesman for the European Commission said the EU is not viewing the new Aug. 1 effective date of higher country-specific reciprocal tariffs as a sign they have more weeks to reach an agreement with the U.S. on tariffs. "Our aim remains to find an agreement before the ninth of July," Olof Gill told reporters in Brussels on July 7.

Days after U.S. officials said they secured an agreement for Beijing to rein in its export curbs on critical minerals (see 2506110044), China announced it has approved license applications for those exports, but didn't offer more details.

Canada is preparing new and revised tariffs, along with a tariff quota, to address what it said is the Trump administration’s “unfair trade” measures in the steel and aluminum sectors. The new tariffs and other measures will be in place as Canada negotiates a new “economic and security partnership” with the U.S., the country’s Department of Finance announced June 19.

Negotiators from the Council of the European Union's presidency and the European Parliament struck a provisional deal June 18 to exempt most importers from the bloc's carbon border adjustment mechanism, the council announced.

Bloomberg reported that an Indonesian delegation's trip to Washington that had been scheduled for next week was canceled because its proposal to address its trade surplus was considered sufficient.

The U.S. has the power to force some manufacturing out of Canada and Mexico and have it locate in the U.S., so that those cars or other products avoid tariffs, a think-tank analyst said at a Washington International Trade Association event.

A Polish official expressed optimism that the U.S. and European countries could hash out a trade deal soon, even as the 90-day timeline for the pause of reciprocal tariffs ends in less than a month.

China is reviewing export license applications for rare earths "in accordance with laws and regulations," a Commerce Ministry spokesperson said in response to concerns from other countries that China is curbing those exports. China "has approved a certain number of compliant applications in accordance with the law, and will continue to strengthen the approval of compliant applications," the spokesperson said at a press conference with reporters, according to an unofficial translation. "China is willing to further strengthen export control communication and dialogue with relevant countries in this regard to promote convenient and compliant trade."

China this week criticized the Trump administration's decision to double tariffs on steel and aluminum, saying the tariffs will backfire on the U.S. and “seriously disrupt the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum promised unspecified retaliatory measures against the U.S. for doubling tariffs on steel and aluminum, unless a deal is struck between the two countries before next week.