Progress towards new global trade agreements underlined how countries globally are looking to diversify their economic relationships in response to Washington’s protectionism. Kenya, subject to a 10% US levy, signed a preliminary agreement with China that would give 98% of its exports duty-free access to the Chinese market , Reuters reported. Meanwhile, the prime minister of Canada — which sends three-quarters of its exports to the US — is in Beijing seeking to boost bilateral trade . The European Union and India have also made progress toward a trade agreement, with a Le Monde columnist saying both sides were “ discovering new geostrategic affinities ” amid a global realignment in the face of hostility from Washington. — Jeronimo Gonzalez