Author: Editorial Desk

Pakistan and Canada are exploring deeper cooperation in the minerals and energy sectors as Islamabad steps up efforts to revive long-delayed mining projects, including the Reko Diq copper-gold mine, one of the world’s largest undeveloped mineral deposits, according to a statement issued by Pakistan’s Information Ministry this week. The Reko Diq project, located in Balochistan’s Chagai district, holds an estimated 5.9 billion tons of ore containing copper and gold. The project remained stalled for more than a decade due to international legal disputes before being restructured in 2022. Under the revived framework, Canadian mining major Barrick Gold holds a 50%…

The European Union has suspended preferential export benefits for key Indian sectors, including textiles, plastics, and several industrial categories, under its Generalized Scheme of Preferences. This move is set to raise tariffs on most Indian shipments to the 27-nation bloc from January 1, 2026. The decision comes at a sensitive time, as India and the EU are expected to announce the closure of negotiations for a long-pending free trade agreement on January 27. The implementation of any trade pact is likely to take at least a year, leaving exporters exposed to higher duties in the interim. According to the Official…

The European Parliament has suspended its approval process for a major trade agreement with the United States, escalating transatlantic tensions after President Donald Trump renewed calls for the U.S. to take control of Greenland. The suspension was announced in Strasbourg on Wednesday as Trump addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos. Lawmakers said the decision followed fresh trade uncertainty triggered by Trump’s remarks on Greenland, which unsettled financial markets and revived fears of a renewed trade confrontation between Washington and Brussels. The agreement, reached in July at Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland, had lowered U.S. tariffs on most European…

Japan’s exports to the United States declined sharply in December and weakened overall in 2025, reflecting the continued impact of higher tariffs and shifting trade flows, according to official data released Thursday. Exports to the U.S. fell 11.1% in December to 1.81 trillion yen, or about $11.4 billion. During the same month, Japan’s trade surplus with Washington shrank 31.7% to 690.6 billion yen, equivalent to roughly $4.4 billion, finance ministry figures showed. For the full year, exports to the United States dropped 4.1%, contributing to a 12.6% decline in Japan’s bilateral trade surplus with the U.S. to 7.5 trillion yen,…

The Chattogram Port Authority has launched a new automated system aimed at speeding up and improving transparency in export-import operations at the country’s largest seaport. Under a revenue-sharing outsourcing model, CPA has engaged Magnetic Tech Limited to operate a newly introduced help point known as the ‘CPA Agent Desk System.’ A web-based platform has also been developed to support port users in handling export-import documentation and related processes. CPA Secretary Omar Faruk said the system will allow users to carry out data entry, delivery order processing, and a wide range of documentation services, including corrections to Bills of Lading, Export…

The Union Fisheries Ministry will host ambassadors and high commissioners from around 80 countries at a ‘Fisheries Round Table’ in New Delhi on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, as part of efforts to identify new export destinations for Indian seafood and strengthen bilateral trade linkages. The meeting will be chaired by Union Minister for Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Rajiv Ranjan Singh and will focus on expanding international market access while promoting sustainable, traceable, and value-added seafood trade. According to the ministry, the discussions will also explore opportunities for investment, joint ventures, technology transfer, and capacity building across the fisheries sector. A…

The Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina has urged national authorities to file a formal complaint with Serbia and the joint committee of the Central European Free Trade Agreement over Serbia’s newly introduced quotas on steel imports, according to a report by N1. The Chamber said the measures are affecting Bosnian exports of ribbed reinforcing steel for concrete, hot-rolled wire in coils, and ribbed reinforcing bars. It argued that the quota levels do not reflect actual trade flows or current market conditions. According to the Chamber, Serbia calculated the quotas using trade data from 2020 to 2024, while Bosnian…

China has asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) to bring a case against India over New Delhi’s incentive schemes for automobiles, batteries, and electric vehicles, after bilateral consultations failed to resolve the matter. In a communication to the WTO dated January 16, China said consultations were held with India on November 25, 2025, and January 6, 2026, in an effort to reach a mutually agreed solution, but the talks did not yield a settlement. Beijing has now requested that the panel request be placed on the agenda of the next Dispute Settlement Body meeting scheduled for January 27 in Geneva.…

Brazil could expand its access to the global goods import market from 8% to 36% following the Mercosur–European Union trade agreement, according to a new survey released by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI). The figures were published on Saturday, Jan. 17, after representatives of Mercosur and the European Union signed the treaty in Asunción, Paraguay. The agreement must still be ratified by the European Parliament and the national legislatures of each Mercosur member country. CNI said the deal represents a structural turning point for the Brazilian industry, both in market access and regulatory alignment. The survey estimates that 54.3%…

China’s customs authorities will introduce a new set of policy measures during the 15th Five-Year Plan period from 2026 to 2030 to promote innovative growth in foreign trade and achieve a more balanced expansion of exports and imports, the General Administration of Customs said on Saturday. Speaking at the National Customs Work Conference in Beijing, General Administration of Customs head Sun Meijun reviewed key developments in China’s foreign trade during the previous five-year plan and outlined plans to deploy more effective policy tools in the opening year of the next planning cycle to support high-quality trade growth. Sun said that…