The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) comes into effect today, replacing the 26-year-old North American Free Trade (NAFTA), the US Trade office said in a statement. The revamped trade pact was meant to create a kind of fortress North America, boosting the region’s competitiveness - but cracks are already starting to show in the foundation.

The US Trade Representative’s office added items valued at $3.1bn to its list of European goods eligible to be hit with duties - including black olives, beer and gin - and said it could switch gears to target other items on a previously published list or raise existing duty levels further. The move is part of the latest development in the 16-year dispute over aircraft subsidies between Europe’s Airbus and US rival Boeing.

Japan is aiming to conclude its current trade negotiations with the UK by the end of next month, news wires reported, citing a Japanese government official familiar with the talks. Japan wants to close the deal early as it will need time to check each detail before it can be sent to the Diet for approval, according to the government official. The Diet is expected to start an extra session this autumn.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Chinese Premier Li Keqiang that Beijing needs to take action to open up its market and treat foreign companies fairly, her spokesman said on Thursday following a video conference, during which the two leaders discussed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Britain and Japan launched free trade negotiations Tuesday as the two large economies seek to seal a post-Brexit deal, said British Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss. Talks are held via video conference and kicked off by Truss and Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi.

Vietnam's National Assembly (NA) on Monday approved a wide-ranging free trade agreement with the EU, signed in 2019, news wires reported. It was passed by 457 Vietnamese lawmakers or 100% of deputies present at the voting, with 26 abstentions. In an unusual development and show of transparency, the voting procedures were broadcast live on the national TV.

Although scrappage schemes boost car sales in the short term, they do almost nothing to increase overall sales in the medium term, shows a study conducted by the Dresden Branch of Munich-based ifo Institute. It evaluated 15 data-based surveys on scrapping schemes in Germany, Spain, the US, and other countries.

US and European trade groups are lobbying China to allow foreign workers back into the country after it shut its borders in late March to non-Chinese nationals to curb the coronavirus. Having managed to all but halt domestic transmission of the virus, China now sees cases imported from abroad as the biggest threat.

US President Donald Trump signaled a further deterioration of his relationship with China over the coronavirus outbreak, saying he has no interest in speaking to President Xi Jinping right now and going so far as to suggest he could even cut ties with the world’s second largest economy.

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo announced on Thursday that he will step down from his position on 31 August, more than a year before his second term as global trade body head was due to end. His departure comes at a difficult time for the WTO, which is charged with setting international rules for trade between member states.