Trade : Trump seals Indonesia trade deal, with free access for US goods (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
United States President Donald Trump on 15 July announced that he has "finalized an important Deal with the Republic of Indonesia," touting that this "landmark Deal opens up Indonesia's ENTIRE MARKET to the United States for the first time in History," a claim that appears to cast a shadow over Jakarta's multilateral positions on agricultural issues, said people familiar with the development.

WTO : DG presses for "deep reform" amid systemic concerns by South (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
Several countries seemingly raised serious reservations at the World Trade Organization over the ideas floated by the facilitator overseeing the discussions on "WTO reform" on grounds that they are systemically inconsistent with the Marrakesh Agreement that established the WTO in 1995, while other countries in the "Friends of the System" group supported reform to strengthen the global trade body, said people familiar with the development.

WTO : Global trade sees modest rise in Q1 ahead of US reciprocal tariff jolt (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
The volume of world merchandise trade rose by 3.6% quarter-on-quarter and 5.3% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025 due to a surge in imports in North America ahead of the reciprocal tariffs announced by the Trump administration on 2 April, according to the latest data released on 15 July by the World Trade Organization.

UN : Mounting civilian casualties in Ukraine spark calls for ceasefire (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Penang)
At least 139 civilians have reportedly been killed and 791 injured in Ukraine so far this July, amid intense and successive waves of missile and drone strikes launched by the Russian Federation, according to the latest information by the United Nations Human Rights Office.