Taiwan and the U.S. had their first official meeting under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement since 2016, and Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Terry McCartin praised Taiwan for improving its enforcement of trade secrets protections, and its plan to change its medical device approval process.

The top trade officials in the U.S., Canada and Mexico gathered virtually to celebrate the one-year anniversary of USMCA, which is July 1, with Canadian and Mexican ministers emphasizing the worth of integrated supply chains and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai emphasizing the elements of USMCA that protect workers in the region and around the world. Tai said at a Wilson Center program June 30, "A good next step in this increased cooperation can be on the issue of forced labor. The USMCA includes a strong obligation to prohibit the importation of goods produced with forced labor. Working together to address this critical economic and moral issue would send a powerful message to the world."

China and Singapore completed their second round of follow-up negotiations last week to upgrade their free trade agreement, China’s Commerce Ministry said in a June 25 notice. The talks, held from June 17 to June 25, included an “in-depth” discussion on rules governing “cross-border service trade, investment, and telecommunications,” according to an unofficial translation of the notice.

The moderator of a panel on the results of the president's visit to Europe asked the European Union's ambassador to the U.S., Stavros Lambrinidis, what he would say to critics who say that nothing was solved on the EU-U.S. irritants? Those critics say that the can was just kicked down the road.

Canada and Indonesia agreed to begin negotiating a trade deal June 20 to boost cooperation and “reinforce both countries’ shared commitment to open markets and rules-based trade,” Canada said June 20. A potential Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Indonesia has large support within Canadian industry, the country said. Canada said it will release its negotiating objectives at least 30 days before the first round of negotiations.

The United Kingdom and the U.S. announced an agreement in the Airbus-Boeing dispute in line with the previously announced agreement between the U.S. and the European Union (see 2106150021). In the agreement, both sides will keep 25% tariffs off a variety of products and 10% tariffs off aircraft for at least five years, and will use a working group to hash out any disagreements on whether either government's support for their large aircraft maker is distorting sales. They also will work together to counter Chinese or other countries' distortions, the June 17 statement said.

In a Swiss readout after a meeting between Switzerland's President Guy Parmelin and President Joe Biden, the Swiss said the two delegations "discussed the status of the exploratory talks for a potential bilateral trade agreement." The U.S. readout of the same meeting did not mention trade.

The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users said the U.S. negotiators aiming to end Section 232 tariffs by addressing steel overcapacity should listen to U.S. industrial users of the metals.

The U.S.-European Union joint statement on trade says: "We will engage in discussions to allow the resolution of existing differences on measures regarding steel and aluminum before the end of the year. In this regard, we are determined to work together to resolve tensions arising from the U.S. application of tariffs on imports from the EU under U.S. Section 232." It also says, "We commit to ensure the long-term viability of our steel and aluminum industries, and to address excess capacity."

The leaders of Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, the U.S. and Italy agreed to work collectively toward eradicating the use of all forms of forced labor in global supply chains, and said they want concrete suggestions ready before the G-7 trade ministers' meeting in October.