The global situation continues to deteriorate. The next tranche of Trump’s China tariffs kick in on 1 September. China has retaliated by imposing its own tariffs and by essentially banning US agricultural imports. Distortions in global markets that have resulted from this trade dispute are becoming increasingly apparent. An essentially political dispute between Japan and Korea is escalating and increasingly flowing over into then trade arena. The US has withdrawn GSP privileges for India. Chances of a hard Brexit are increasing every day. And then there is trade tension between the EU and US. This will be a central feature of the G7 summit next week in France. There are no positive signs from the US that it might reverse course on the appointment of new Appellate judges to the WTO dispute settlement body.