Progress towards new global trade agreements underlined how countries globally are looking to diversify their economic relationships in response to Washington’s protectionism.
Kenya, subject to a 10% US levy, signed a preliminary agreement with China that would give 98% of its exports duty-free access to the Chinese market, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, the prime minister of Canada — which sends three-quarters of its exports to the US — is in Beijing seeking to boost bilateral trade.
The European Union and India have also made progress toward a trade agreement, with a Le Monde columnist saying both sides were “discovering new geostrategic affinities” amid a global realignment in the face of hostility from Washington.