State Department

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talked trade during meetings with high-level officials in India, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Indonesia this week, stressing U.S. hopes for stronger economic ties throughout the region -- and Jakarta in particular.

United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab met with administration officials and lawmakers on Wednesday in an attempt to ease concerns over the Good Friday Agreement as the UK tries to ensure trade talks with the U.S. are not deterred by a Brexit fallout.

Mohammad Lutfi reportedly predicted negotiations on a deal “to exempt products to the U.S. that have duties below 5 percent without having to go through Congress.”

“I’m proud to have played a part in bringing about bipartisan consensus in trade policy. I’d like to think that’s still possible in foreign policy as well. I’m certainly committed to that goal.”

Kenya must focus on improving logistics to ensure a trade deal with the U.S. can function as intended, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter and Betty Maina, Kenya’s trade and industrialization minister, said on Monday.

Prieto’s arrest “sends the wrong signal that the renegotiated NAFTA is not on track to deliver the improved Mexican labor conditions,” they wrote.

Data released Thursday by China’s Customs Administration shows China is importing less from the U.S. than it was a year ago through April, despite Beijing’s promise to increase its purchases of American goods by about 60 percent from last year’s totals.

The U.S. agricultural community is urging the Trump administration to ensure temporary foreign workers will be able to reach farms in the U.S. amid fears that the coronavirus pandemic could result in a labor shortage that might leave crops that are normally exported unharvested.