#Trade Policy

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared the intention to offer Canada the status of the first-ever associated member of the EU. The decision requires the consent of all member states of the bloc, and the mechanism has not yet been developed.

Serhiy Kudriavtsev, a representative of the ferroalloy industry, called on Ukraine to use WTO mechanisms to protect the domestic scrap metal market and to stimulate its processing within the country rather than exporting it.

The Trump administration is discussing a new tariff package on semiconductors that could cover laptops, gaming consoles, and servers. The final structure of the duties has not been determined.

The Trump administration is preparing to grant Apple permission to buy DRAM and NAND memory from Chinese CXMT and YMTC ahead of a September meeting with Xi Jinping. Congress is demanding that Apple abandon the plan, while CXMT faces capacity constraints.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford publicly accused Trump of systemic unpredictability after the US introduced 50-percent tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian exports. Ottawa is preparing mirror tariffs effective September 8, 2026.

🇺🇸 The US Ambassador to the EU called the CBAM carbon tax hidden protectionism. In an article for the Financial Times, the diplomat compared the European mechanism to US steel tariffs, noting Brussels' double standards. 🇺🇦 As of January 1, 2026, CBAM will be fully applied to Ukraine, which experts consider a blow to the country's industry, deprived of the ability to modernize due to the war. The European Commission refused exemptions despite force majeure. #CBAM #Ukraine #Trade #Economy