Trade
China
China factory PMI drops to 49.2 in first contraction since March
Watch the new-orders line and you know where China's factories are heading before output figures arrive. In July 2026, that line dropped to 48.5, the weakest new-orders reading since 2023, and the headline manufacturing PMI followed it down to 49.2, the first sub-50 reading in five months.
World
EU sanctions 14 Chinese firms over Russia war supply links
Beijing has lodged a formal protest after Brussels named 14 Chinese companies in its latest round of Russia sanctions, and is threatening countermeasures against European firms.
Geopolitics
China hits back as Australia hardens its Pacific line
China's 55 per cent beef tariff, an angry ambassador and the Darwin port fight: the events behind the NYT's verdict on Australia's China pushback.
Australia
Trump's 100% Pharmaceutical Tariff Hits Australia. The PBS Won't Move.
The United States imposed a 100% tariff on pharmaceutical exports from Australia, citing the PBS pricing system as a trade barrier. Health Minister Mark Butler and Opposition Leader Angus Taylor both said the PBS will not change. CSL, Australia's largest pharma exporter, is reviewing the impact.
Trade
Liberation Day, One Year On: How Australia's 10% Tariff Played Out
A year after Trump's Liberation Day tariffs hit 185 countries, Australia remains at the 10% floor rate, the lowest applied globally. Exports have shifted, the trade relationship has held, but new pharmaceutical tariffs and an escalating Iran situation are adding fresh complications.
Trade
Trump's 100% pharma tariffs hit Australia's $1.3bn export pipeline
White House frames drug import levies as national security. Health Minister Butler says PBS pricing non-negotiable. CSL likely exempt.