News about International trade
Volvo Cars shares jumped more than 6% after the Swedish automaker got the green light from US authorities to import and sell connected cars. The decision was an important signal for the entire industry: Washington is increasing its control over digital technologies in cars, but Volvo managed to pass the test.
In Europe, “winter” electricity is trading at the highest premium since 2022 due to gas and hydropower shortages. Low gas reserves and shrinking hydropower reserves increase the risk of even higher energy prices for businesses and households.
Ukraine may face the threat of suspension of financing from the IMF and the EU as early as this summer. The reason for this is delays with the law on taxation of international parcels, which international partners are demanding.
Chile stops growing sugar beets. And this is after more than seven decades of history of production of this atypical (for South America) agricultural crop. The reason is low sugar prices and rising costs of agricultural production in the world.
It refers to the 2013 intergovernmental agreement under which Russia indefinitely canceled export duties on supplies of natural gas, oil products and rough diamonds to Armenia. The letter says that Moscow may suspend the document or denounce it unilaterally if Yerevan continues its course of integration with the EU.
The question of whether the EU should enter direct negotiations with Russia continues to divide its members. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna warns that such a move would turn the EU into a “neutral mediator” expected to ease sanctions and meet Moscow’s maximalist demands.
Exports are still one of the most visible indicators of the economic clout of nations on the world stage. Meanwhile, the top 30 food exporters alone account for more than 80 percent of the global agricultural export market, worth about $1.5 trillion.
Wheat futures are down for the longest period this year. Traders returning from a long weekend in the U.S. are “wagering” on news of “progress in negotiations” in the Middle East.
Uzbekistan, one of the world’s largest gold producers, resumed full-scale gold exports in April after a six-month hiatus.
A delegation of businessmen from the People’s Republic of China visited the free economic zone “Ungheni-Business” on May 26.
Russia is changing the rules for importing goods from Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries from June 1, 2026, strengthening preliminary control over shipments and introducing mandatory electronic confirmation for importers.
The Russian Volga brand, whose relaunch was announced a year ago, has revealed prices for new cars, saying sales will start in June.
The Russian railway authority is raising tariffs for freight transportation to and from the Baltic States and Finland to Russia. Among other things, from June 15, a coefficient of 1.359 will be applied to transit tariffs on the territory of Russian Railways through Russian-Latvian, Russian-Estonian, Russian-Finnish border railway crossings. This will affect exports of grain and oilseeds from Central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan, to these EU countries.
Romanian company MAS, backed by Africa’s largest pension fund, has reached an agreement with AFI Europe (Netherlands), controlled by Israeli billionaires Roni and Yehuda Naftali, to acquire 6 open-air shopping centers in Romania for almost 200 million euros.
Public transport companies carried 82.8 million passengers in January-March 2026, 0.7% more than in the same period last year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.
Tehran has once again sharpened its oil rhetoric amid a new round of conflict with Washington. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for the Iranian military command, said that continued U.S. strikes in the Middle East could trigger a sharp jump in global oil prices.
Rising gold prices have forced the authorities in Ghana, the largest producer of this precious metal in Africa, to change the role of the state in the gold trade.
“Flower City” of Uzbekistan Namangan is hosting the 65th International Flower Festival from May 24 to July 12.
Official statistics records in the first quarter of 2026 an increase in the volume of goods transported (+15.1%) and their range (+14.7%). These indicators indicate the intensification of domestic and international trade. The growth in tonnage and range of cargo transportation is directly related to the increase in exports, where the leading exports are agro-products to the EU and Turkey.
The case of importing Brazilian chicken to Israel has taken an unexpected turn. The country’s chicken meat market remains closed to foreign products, and Baladi’s attempt to obtain permission to import chicken meat from Brazil, from where Israel has been importing beef for many years, has met with stiff resistance from local producers.
