China this week launched an antidumping duty probe on imports of polyoxymethylene copolymers, an industrial plastic, from the U.S., the EU, Japan and Taiwan, the country’s Ministry of Commerce said, according to an unofficial translation. China said the plastic has "high mechanical strength” and can “partially replace metal materials such as copper, zinc, tin, and lead,” including in auto parts and industrial machinery. The ministry is accepting public comments on the scope of the probe within 20 days and is expecting to complete the investigation within one year, although it can extend that timeline by six months.

U.S. export controls may not be the best way to counter China’s legacy semiconductor industry, especially because the EU and other allies aren’t likely to adopt similar restrictions, researchers said this month. The researchers said they expect the U.S. to turn more frequently to entity-based controls -- including through the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Entity List -- and other national security tools to address risks relating to more mature-node chips.

The World Trade Organization's published agenda for the Dispute Settlement Body's May 24 meeting includes U.S. status reports on the implementation of DSB recommendations on: antidumping measures on certain hot-rolled steel products from Japan; antidumping and countervailing measures on large residential washers from South Korea; certain methodologies and their application to antidumping proceedings involving China; and Section 110(5) of the U.S. Copyright Act. Status reports also are expected from Indonesia on measures related to the import of horticultural products, animals and animal products; from the EU on measures affecting the approval and marketing of biotech products; and from China on AD measures on stainless steel products from Japan.

The European Commission on May 14 extended its antidumping duties on birch plywood from Russia to cover goods from Kazakhstan and Turkey. The extension was made after an investigation showed that the duties were being circumvented by "imports transshipped from Russia" to Kazakhstan and Turkey, "or sent for final completion to these countries," before shipment to the EU. The commission said Russian birch plywood makers have been trying to find new ways to sell their goods since imports of birch plywood from Russia were banned after that country's invasion of Ukraine.

The European Commission on May 7 extended its antidumping and countervailing duties on cold-rolled stainless steel from Indonesia to cover Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam, the Directorate-General for Trade announced. The commission said the extension of the measures is needed to "ensure the efficacy of the original measures on stainless steel from Indonesia."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Paris this week to discuss trade, Russia’s war against Ukraine and other topics, von der Leyen said in a statement.

The U.K. lowered the antidumping duty rate on exporter Hunan Jewelmoon Ceramics' entries of ceramic tableware and kitchenware to 17.9%, the Department for International Trade announced. The Trade Remedies Authority recommended the lower AD rate after finding that the company didn't export to the EU in the period of investigation, isn't related to another company subject to AD, and exported to the U.K. in the period after the EU period of the investigation. The new duty rate is effective Sept. 20, 2023.

German automakers don't want the EU to impose trade restrictions on Chinese electric vehicles, Hildegard Muller, president of the German Automotive Industry Association, told Beijing in a meeting with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao this week.

The World Trade Organization's Dispute Settlement Body met on April 26 and was introduced to the new facilitator of the dispute settlement reform talks: Mauritius's Usha Dwarka-Canabady, the WTO announced. The chair of the DSB, Norway's Petter Olberg, said that Dwarka-Canabady accepted the role on April 18 after the "convenor" of the reform process left.

Japan opened an antidumping duty investigation on graphite electrodes from China, the ministries of Finance and Economy, Trade and Industry announced, according to an unofficial translation. The ministries decided to conduct the joint investigation following a petition from Japanese companies SEC Carbon, Tokai Carbon Co. and Nippon Carbon Co. The investigation will take one year and will allow for interested parties to comment on the proceeding.