The US is “not ready” to lift USD 370 bn worth of tariffs on China, with newly appointed Trade Representative Katherine Tai telling the Wall Street Journal that tariffs should be lifted gradually so as not to harm the economy, and that the US would continue to use tariffs as leverage to ensure China’s compliance with the terms of 2020 accord to end the trade war.

China added individuals from the US and Canada to its tit-for-tat sanctions list, prohibiting two American officials, a Canadian lawmaker, and members of a rights advocacy body from entering the country or doing business with China over their criticism of Beijing's detention of 1 mn Muslim Uyghurs, the Financial Times reports. China had last week imposed sanctions on entities and individuals from the EU and UK in retaliation against coordinated sanctions by the four countries against four senior Chinese officials involved in the detentions.

The World Bank has normalized its relations with Sudan after nearly three decades, following Khartoum clearing its arrears to the bank’s International Development Association, paving the way for the country to access about USD 2 bn in grants for sustainable economic recovery and poverty alleviation, according to a statement.

IN DIPLOMACY: El Sisi, Macron talk Libya, anti-terrorism, GERD: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the latest developments in Libya, anti-terrorism cooperation, and the stalled Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations in a phone call yesterday, according to an Ittihadiya statement.

Also covering GERD: US Envoy to Sudan Donald Booth, head of the EU Delegation in Egypt’s political division Marina Vraila, and Water Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty, who met in Cairo yesterday, according to a cabinet statement.