Global trade frictions remained at a high level in April, with the United States topping the global trade friction index, according to a monthly press briefing held by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) in Beijing on Tuesday.
The latest Global Trade Friction Index stood at 106 in April, remaining at a high level, with the value involved in global trade friction measures falling 28.7 percent year on year but increasing 5 percent over the previous month, according to the CCPIT.
Among the 20 countries and regions covered by the monitoring, the United States, India and the European Union recorded the highest trade friction index readings.
The United States continued to strengthen unilateral trade measures, including expanding the scope of Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and issuing its Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection, making it the largest source of global trade friction measures by value, said Wang Yifei, spokeswoman for the CCPIT, at the press briefing.
Across the 13 major industries monitored, the highest levels of trade frictions were seen in the electronics, chemicals, machinery, transport equipment, light industry and pharmaceutical sectors, with the electronics industry recording the highest trade friction index, Wang said.
Established in May 1952, the CCPIT comprises VIPS, enterprises and organizations representing the economic and trade sectors in China. It is the most important and the largest institution for the promotion of foreign trade in China.
Global trade friction index remains high in April: China's trade promotion agency
