Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić backed Ukraine's EU accession bid during President Volodymyr Zelensky's historic first official visit to Serbia on August 7-8, 2026. The two countries also agreed to finalize a free trade agreement by year's end, marking a significant diplomatic engagement between Ukraine and the traditionally Russia-friendly Balkan nation.
Canada and the United States are in tense trade negotiations with Ottawa considering concessions including ending provincial alcohol bans to avoid new tariffs set to take effect in less than two weeks. Prime Minister Mark Carney characterized the talks as 'nasty' after President Trump criticized Canadian leadership.
The African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat has signed a 20-year, $3.1 billion concession agreement with Nigeria's Bergmans Security Consultants and Supplies Ltd to implement a continent-wide customs system aimed at boosting intra-African trade.
China's Commerce Ministry said China is soliciting views from domestic companies, business associations, local governments, and U.S. business groups, while the United States is separately seeking public comments on the Board of Trade and the reciprocal tariff arrangements. The proposed framework covers about $30 billion worth of goods on each side, while the two countries continue to work out the board's structure, functions, and operating model.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Manila on Wednesday to lay groundwork for Chinese President Xi Jinping's expected visit to Washington in September. Rubio said the two countries were moving toward establishing trade and investment boards, while the diplomats discussed potential areas of cooperation.
President Lee Jae-myung is scheduled to begin an 11-day tour on July 24, visiting San Francisco, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Germany. In San Francisco, he will hold separate meetings with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Broadcom CEO Hock Tan and attend an AI summit. He will then hold summit talks in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina before stopping in Frankfurt to meet members of the Korean community and returning on August 3.
A group of 25 U.S. lawmakers has written to President Donald Trump calling for trade investigations into European Union digital policies, arguing that EU tech rules unfairly target American Big Tech companies. The push comes amid broader tensions over EU technology regulation and Trump administration efforts to challenge European enforcement actions.
Australia has agreed to sell uranium to India for peaceful nuclear energy purposes in a landmark agreement signed by Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and Narendra Modi in Melbourne. The deal supports India's goal of achieving 100 gigawatts of nuclear energy capacity by 2047.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for the first visit by a Philippine leader in over a decade, while separately securing a pipeline investment agreement with British Columbia aimed at reducing Canada's economic dependence on the United States amid ongoing trade tensions.
The European Union and China have agreed to enter three months of negotiations aimed at resolving their massive trade imbalance and avoiding escalating trade tensions. The talks, formalized in their first joint statement in seven years, will focus on the bloc's €360bn annual import/export deficit with China, with an October deadline set for tangible results.
Ten years after Britain voted to leave the European Union on June 23, 2016, economic analyses show the decision has persistently dragged on UK growth, leaving the economy 6-8% smaller than it would have been and making Britons poorer, with nearly 60% now saying the vote was wrong.
A decade after the UK voted 52%-48% to leave the European Union on June 23, 2016, the country faces economic headwinds and political instability, with economists agreeing Brexit has weighed on growth. New surveys show two-thirds of EU citizens would support Britain rejoining, while most UK voters say Brexit has been bad for issues they care about.
Group of Seven leaders agreed to establish a new critical minerals coordination platform and set a target that no single country should supply more than 60% of their rare earth imports by 2030, directly addressing current reliance on China for these strategic resources.
European leaders and G7 nations are responding to concerns about a flood of cheap Chinese exports threatening key industries, echoing fears of the original 'China shock' that disrupted Western manufacturing. The issue has become a central topic at the G7 summit as countries weigh policy responses to growing trade imbalances.
The British government, led by Sir Keir Starmer, proposed creating a single market for goods with the European Union as part of Brexit reset negotiations, but the EU rejected the idea. The proposal was made by Britain's chief negotiator Michael Ellam and would have represented a significant shift in post-Brexit relations.
Asia-Pacific trade envoys gathered in Suzhou, China on May 22, 2026 for an APEC trade ministers' meeting focused on multilateral cooperation, trade imbalances, and supply chain resilience. China's International Trade Representative Li Chenggang chaired the opening as the commerce minister was absent due to urgent official business.
Britain has finalized a trade agreement with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council worth £3.7bn ($5bn) annually in the long term, marking the first such deal between the GCC and a G7 nation. The agreement comes amid regional tensions from the Iran war and concludes negotiations that spanned four UK prime ministers.
President Donald Trump wrapped up a historic summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14-15, 2026, with both leaders claiming progress on bilateral relations. However, the meetings produced few clear breakthroughs on key issues including trade, arms control, and denuclearization.
President Donald Trump will travel to Beijing this week for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, marking the first visit by a U.S. president to China since 2017. The high-stakes meeting comes amid trade tensions, with China signaling readiness for confrontation while also expressing interest in greater stability in bilateral relations.
