News about International trade
On Tuesday, July 7, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would like the United States to control Greenland.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Moldova (AmCham Moldova) proposes imposing sanctions proportional to the material severity of the violation and its actual tax consequences. It also recommends reviewing certain mechanisms for holding parties accountable.
Russia has increased its seaborne oil exports to their highest level since 2022. Over the past four weeks, average shipments have reached 4.22 million barrels per day, Bloomberg reports, citing tanker tracking data.
The Trans-Oil Group of Companies denies allegations against its founder, Vazha Jashi, regarding an alleged scheme to ship Ukrainian grain to Iran through a company it controls. This information was published by the newspaper *Ukrainska Pravda*.
On June 26, 2026, the Iași Court of Appeals handed down a final ruling in a major case involving the smuggling of cigarettes from Moldova. The most serious charge, involving an organized criminal group, was dropped against all 21 defendants. Eight of them will not face criminal charges. The rest received reduced sentences on the merits of the case, some of which were suspended. The case lasted ten years.
The Russian government and the state corporation Roscosmos have established procedures for the procurement and planning of Earth remote sensing data. This marks the first time that rules governing the ordering and sale of satellite imagery have been introduced.
In the first half of 2026, exports by companies located on the left bank of the Dniester to European Union countries accounted for 76.9% of total foreign trade. This figure remained at the same level as in the corresponding period of 2025.
Moldova exported just over 7,000 metric tons of apples from the 2025 harvest (totaling $6.4 million, at $0.9 per kilogram) in June 2026. This is a very significant volume of exports for a month that traditionally marks the end of the marketing season.
For the first time since the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran and the reopening of shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, a Qatari gas tanker was attacked and caught fire on July 7.
An analysis of macroeconomic trends shows that closing the gap between the country’s obligations and its revenues is increasingly dependent on external financing and remittances.
Global pork production will continue to grow at a moderate pace in 2026. According to a forecast by analysts at AMI, total production will increase by 0.6% to reach 129.5 million metric tons. The main drivers of growth will be China, Brazil, and the United States, which are ramping up production and offsetting the decline in pig farming in European Union countries.
The global diamond market continued to show mixed trends in June: prices for smaller stones continued to rise, while prices for one-carat diamonds fell.
Corn futures surged sharply on major commodity exchanges after an abnormal heat wave caused serious damage to the crop in France, one of the European Union’s key corn-producing countries.
The Republic of Moldova is experiencing a period of steady decline in walnut exports to the European Union. In the first half of 2026, Moldova’s share of the European walnut market fell to 2.2%, with exports totaling just 1,700 metric tons. In 2025, Moldova’s walnut exports totaled just 3,690 metric tons, accounting for 2.5% of the EU’s total imports of this product. This is the lowest level in the past decade.
The export season for last year’s sunflower seed harvest from Argentina is nearing its end with a record volume of nearly 1.3 million metric tons. The geography of shipments shows that the Black Sea region—specifically Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey—is the epicenter of these exports. Indirectly, but significantly, this also affects the oilseed market in the Republic of Moldova.
Otokar, a Turkish manufacturer of land systems, has taken an important step toward expanding its presence in Europe by acquiring the Romanian company Automecanica S.A. This investment will establish Otokar’s first production facility in the European Union and support local production of COBRA II 4×4 tactical wheeled light armored vehicles for the Romanian Ministry of National Defense and, potentially, for the Moldovan Armed Forces.
AmCham proposes maintaining the VAT exemption for international mail.
A Chinese court ordered the tea beverage chain Molly Tea to pay the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton Malletier 10.3 million yuan (about $1.5 million) for trademark infringement. The ruling marks one of the most high-profile intellectual property cases in China in recent years and underscores a trend toward stricter protection of registered trademarks, including those owned by foreign companies.
Leading OPEC+ members agreed to another moderate increase in oil production quotas for next month. On Sunday, during a video conference, seven countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to increase the production target by 188,000 barrels per day. This decision increases the likelihood of rising supply in the market, provided the interim peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran remains in place. Since the start of the military conflict, the alliance has increased its quotas by a total of 940,000 barrels per day—a volume equivalent to nearly 1% of global demand.
In June, the adjusted volume of transactions in “stablecoins” reached a record high of $1.79 trillion. This is according to data from Visa’s Allium-powered analytics dashboard.
