• New NAFTA: as expected, Canada joined the new grouping, but only after the U.S. dropped a number of key points of contention. The deal moves to the U.S. Congress, but the midterm elections could determine its fate – a Democratic majority would likely demand greater concessions from Canada and Mexico. The deal represents a win for Trump and will increase Canadian efforts to diversify trade away from the U.S. • U.S.-China: the FT reported that the Trump administration had previously considered implementing a ban on student visa for Chinese citizens. This would have hit the bilateral relationship very hard but it seems to be in line with actions China considers ‘containment’. The Trump team accused China of attempts to interfere in U.S. elections. The U.S. Senate passed a US$60bn foreign development bill – to counter China. • Taiwan: in an attempt to gain favour with Trump Taiwan pledged to increase its purchases of soybeans from the U.S. – by 1/3rd to US$1.6bn – mitigating the impact of Chinese moves to shun U.S. production. • WTO: the U.S. says it cannot support some of the EU’s ideas for reform – especially longer terms for judges. Former U.S. Congressman (and former chief judge at the WTO) Bacchus called on members of the WTO to unite in opposing Trump’s agenda and to use arbitration instead of standard litigation on U.S. cases.
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