China announced that it would impose duties as high as 22 percent on US imports of large autos and sport utility vehicles for the next two years, in a sign of rising trade friction between the two countries. The move was seen as largely symbolic. The US shipped just USD3.5 billion worth of motor vehicles to China last year, representing 4 percent of US exports to China and less than 0.3 percent of total US exports. Chinese car buyers already pay a 25 percent duty on imported vehicles, which means the additional tariff will likely have little effect on purchases of already-expensive US cars. However, the move signals rising trade tensions between the two countries amid a fraught political and economic climate in the US and a once-in-a-decade orderly transfer of power in Beijing. The US commerce secretary John Bryson on Thursday issued stern words toward China’s government, though he did not mention the recent tariffs. “The United States has reached a point where we cannot quietly accept China ignoring many of the trade rules,” he told the US Chamber of Commerce in Beijing. “China still substantially subsidizes its own companies, discriminates against foreign companies and has poor intellectual-property protections.” US export volumes to Chin are expected to grow by 6.7 percent in 2011, though analysts believe US exports to all countries could halve in 2012.

After an 18-year campaign, Russia is expected to gain final approval to joint the World Trade Organization (WTO), barring any extraordinary developments. To gain accession to the WTO, Moscow agreed to cut its tariff ceiling from an average of 10 percent for all products to 7.8 percent. Russia will also limit farm subsidies to USD9 billion in 2012 and reduce subsidies to USD4.4 billion by 2018. The country also promised that its natural gas companies would “operate on the basis of normal commercial considerations.” The US invoked an Article 13 clause that declares it would not treat Russia equally as other WTO members until it receives Congressional approval.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left a key interest rate–the repo rate, or the rate at which the central bank lends to central banks–unchanged at 8.50 percent, suggesting that the country has halted its aggressive campaign of monetary policy tightening to combat rising inflation. “While inflation remains on its projected trajectory, downside risks to growth have clearly increased,” the RBI said in a statement. “From this point on, monetary policy actions are likely to reverse the cycle, responding to the risks to growth.” India’s central bank has raised rates 13 times since March 2010 to tamp down rising inflation. India’s economy grew at an annualized rate of 6.9 percent for the fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30, the slowest pace of growth for two years. Some analysts believe that the RBI may lower rates in order to boost economic growth.