A court-appointed special master recommended a nearly $7.4 billion bid from Venezuela creditor Gold Reserve for the country’s state-owned oil refiner Citgo Petroleum, roughly double the prior leading offer, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Robert Pincus, the special master overseeing the forced sale of Venezuela’s stake in Citgo, said in court papers filed Wednesday that the bid from Gold Reserve’s Dalinar Energy is the highest and best offer.

Indonesia will sign a pact worth $34 billion with business partners next week to boost purchases from the U.S., as part of efforts to strike a trade deal with Washington ahead of the July 9 deadline, Indonesia's chief economic minister said on Thursday, Reuters reported. The deal would include increasing imports of fuels and investment by Indonesian companies in energy and agriculture sectors in the U.S. Separately, flag carrier Garuda Indonesia (GIAA.JK), opens new tab also said it is in talks to buy up to 75 jets from Boeing BA.N. Jakarta is facing a 32% tariff in U.S.

Italy risks losing 20 billion euros ($23.6 billion) in exports and 118,000 jobs next year if the U.S. imposes tariffs of 10% on all European products, the head of the main Italian business lobby said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. "Italy does not just export luxury products - with a demand that isn't very sensitive to prices - but mainly machinery, means of transport, and leather goods," Confindustria President Emanuele Orsini told daily Il Corriere della Sera in an interview.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he has reached a trade deal with Vietnam, just ahead of the 90-day pause on “reciprocal” tariffs ending for more than 90 countries that barter with the U.S., Freight Waves reported. Goods from Vietnam to the U.S. will now face a 20% import tax, instead of the 46% duty rate Trump said he would impose on merchandise from the country during his “Liberation Day” announcement on April 2. Trump paused the reciprocal tariffs on imports from most countries for 90 days on April 9, but kept a 10% baseline import tax in place for almost all U.S.

A U.S. judge ordered Argentina to give up its 51% stake in oil and gas company YPF to partially satisfy a $16.1 billion court judgment against the country, Investing.com reported. U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan ruled yesterday that Argentina must transfer its YPF shares within 14 days to a BNY Mellon custody account. The country must also instruct the bank to transfer the shares within one business day to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs in the case are Petersen Energia Inversora and Eton Park Capital Management, which are represented by litigation funder Burford Capital.

The European Union wants immediate relief from tariffs in key sectors as part of any trade deal with the United States due by a July 9 deadline, but the bloc expects even a best-case deal to include a degree of asymmetry, EU diplomats told Reuters. The European Commission, which coordinates EU trade policy, is pushing three key points in Washington this week even as it accepts the U.S. baseline tariff of 10% as unavoidable. Both sides are working towards an agreement in principle, with the final details to be ironed out later.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said warned on Monday that countries could still face sharply higher tariffs on July 9 even if they are negotiating in good faith, adding that any potential extensions will be up to President Donald Trump, Reuters reported. Bessent, who earlier floated the idea of negotiating extensions, told Bloomberg Television that he expects there to be "a flurry" of trade deals leading up to the July 9 deadline, after which 10% U.S. tariff rates on goods from many countries are set to snap back to Trump's April 2 announced rates of 11% to 50%.

The European Union is considering lowering tariffs on a range of U.S. imports in a bid to clinch a speedy trade deal with President Trump, the Wall Street Journal reported. EU leaders are set to debate how much they are willing to sacrifice to win over Trump at a meeting in Brussels on Thursday evening. Other concessions under consideration include lowering nontariff barriers, buying more American products including liquefied natural gas, and offering to cooperate with the U.S. to tackle its economic concerns about China.

The European Union plans to impose retaliatory tariffs on US imports, including on Boeing Co. (BA) aircraft, if President Donald Trump puts a baseline levy on the bloc’s goods as many expect, Bloomberg News reported. EU officials expect the US to keep some duties in place, even after trade negotiations are concluded. Until now, the European Commission, which handles trade matters for the EU, hasn’t indicated if that would trigger retaliation from the bloc.