Canada's outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has suggested that President-elect Donald Trump's remarks about Canada becoming America's "51st state" has distracted attention from the harm that steep tariffs would inflict on U.S. consumers.

Trump has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian imports.

The Biden administration is proposing a new framework for the exporting of the advanced computer chips used to develop artificial intelligence, an attempt to balance national security concerns about the technology with the economic interests of producers and other countries.

But the framework proposed Monday also raised concerns of chip industry executives who say the rules would limit access to existing chips used for video games and restrict in 120 countries the chips used for data centers and AI products. Mexico, Portugal, Israel and Switzerland are among the nations that could have limited access.

China's exports in December grew at a faster pace than expected, as factories rushed to fill orders to beat higher tariffs that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose once he takes office.

Exports rose 10.7% from a year earlier, according to official customs data released Monday. Economists had forecast they would grow about 7%. Imports rose 1% year-on-year. Analysts had expected them to shrink about 1.5%. With exports outpacing imports, China's trade surplus grew to $104.84 billion in December, and nearly $1 trillion for the year, at $992.2 billion.

European Union foreign ministers will meet in late January to discuss easing sanctions imposed on Syria, the bloc's foreign policy chief said Sunday. However, she said the move would depend on Syria's new rulers carrying out an inclusive political transition after last month's overthrow of President Bashar Assad.

Kaja Kallas' comments came at a gathering of top European and Middle Eastern diplomats in the Saudi capital of Riyadh to discuss Syria's future.

The United States and Britain have announced sanctions against Russia's energy sector, including oil giant Gazprom Neft, just days before outgoing President Joe Biden leaves office.

Iran is reeling from a cratering economy and stinging military setbacks across its sphere of influence in the Middle East. Its bad times are likely to get worse once President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House with his policy of "maximum pressure" on Iran.

Facing difficulties at home and abroad, Iran last week began an unusual two-month-long military drill. It includes testing air defenses near a key nuclear facility and preparing for exercises in waterways vital to the global oil trade.

Getting a clear view of the U.S. job market hasn't been easy the past few months.

Hurricanes and a big strike at Boeing threw off the October jobs numbers, pushing them down and setting up a payback rebound in November that likely exaggerated the strength of hiring.

Britain's Treasury chief is travelling to China this weekend to discuss economic and financial cooperation between the countries, as the U.K.'s Labour government seeks to reset strained ties with Beijing.

The Treasury said Friday that Rachel Reeves will travel to Beijing and Shanghai and will meet with her Chinese government counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng.

Elon Musk's father says his billionaire son has expressed interest in buying English soccer club Liverpool.

The Premier League club is privately owned by Fenway Sports Group, which has not indicated it wants to sell but has accepted external investment in the past.

China's leaders are bracing for shocks to the economy from higher tariffs threatened by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump once he takes office.

To help rev up an economy bogged down by a property crisis and disruptions during the pandemic, the ruling Communist Party is rolling out a slew of measures to get Chinese consumers and businesses to spend more money and counter a slump in the Chinese currency and stock prices.