WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders for long-lasting U.S. factory goods declined for the second straight month in May, as demand for cars, metal products and aircraft fell.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday durable goods orders — items meant to last at least three years, from washing machines to tractors — dropped 0.6 percent last month. That followed a steeper drop of 1 percent in April. A category that tracks business investment slipped 0.2 percent, after a healthy gain of 2.3 percent in April.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Harley-Davidson, the iconic brand that sells its customers an image of freedom and adventure, found itself in an unwanted role this week: poster child for the damage of an international trade war.

BEIJING (AP) — China and the European Union agreed Monday to launch a group that will work to update global trade rules to address technology policy, subsidies and other emerging irritants and preserve support for international trade amid U.S. threats of import controls.

Actions such as U.S. President Donald Trump's unilateral tariff hikes in a technology dispute with Beijing show World Trade Organization rules need to keep pace with changes in business, said an EU vice president, Jyrki Katainen.

BERLIN (AP) — WHAT'S HAPPENING

TAYLOR, N.D. (AP) — A pair of U.S. senators urged Congress on Friday to consider legislation that would rein in President Donald Trump on trade in light of tariffs his administration imposed on imported steel and aluminum.

Speaking to farmers in North Dakota, Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp said "maybe we need to rethink" policies that give the president broad authority over international trade. She said Congress has to "assert the role that we have."

The Trump administration has so far avoided a trade fight with Europe by temporarily exempting it from hefty steel and aluminum tariffs. Yet the move also extends the uncertainty weighing on small businesses that use those materials, a much broader group than you might think.

BERLIN (AP) — The German government trimmed its economic growth forecast for this year to 2.3 percent on Wednesday, though it said the outlook remains good and is predicting that growth next year will be almost as strong.

The new forecast is slightly lower than the government's prediction in January of 2.4 percent growth in 2018. For 2019, officials are forecasting that gross domestic product will expand by 2.1 percent.

LONDON (AP) — After decades of sidelining the Commonwealth as a relic of their imperial past, many in Britain are now promoting the group of ex-colonies as a ready-made market for what they hope to be the country's buccaneering global business spirit after the exit from the European Union.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Fears about international trade disputes and the conflict in Syria have sent the economic outlook lower among investment professionals in Germany, the largest economy in the 19-country euro currency union.

It's only the latest sign that looming trade conflict between the U.S. and China is weighing on the outlook in Europe, after several other economic indicators dropped recently.

GENEVA (AP) — China has filed a World Trade Organization complaint challenging U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff hike on imported steel and aluminum, the trade body said Tuesday.

The tariff spat is one element of a wide-ranging trade dispute between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping's government. Trump also has threatened to increase duties on $50 billion of Chinese goods in a separate conflict over technology policy.

MADRID (AP) — Spanish and Portuguese authorities announced Friday that they have taken down a criminal network that has been making large profits by smuggling glass eels to Asia.

Authorities across the continent have been trying to tackle the smugglers, who take European glass eels to Asian countries, where they are raised into adults and their meat commands high prices for local delicacies.

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Cherry and apple growers in Washington state are worried their exports to China will be hurt by a growing trade war that escalated Monday when that country raised import duties on a $3 billion list of products.

China buys Washington-grown cherries, apples and pears, which are all included in the trade dispute.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's economy minister says he is confident that Europe and the United States can reach a "sensible compromise" by summer to resolve tensions over trade.

President Donald Trump's administration has granted the European Union an exemption from punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, but only until May 1. Several European leaders have criticized the little time that leaves for talks.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Wednesday hailed a revamped trade agreement with South Korea as a vindication of President Donald Trump's hard-nosed approach to international trade.

"It's a big deal and a major win for American workers and American businesses," said White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the trade agreement reached between the U.S. and South Korea (all times local):

BEIJING (AP) — China's newly appointed economic czar told U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Saturday that Beijing is ready to defend its interests after President Donald Trump announced plans to slap tariffs on nearly $50 billion in Chinese imports.

Vice Premier Liu He told Mnuchin in a phone call that the order Trump signed Thursday violates international trade rules, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported.

LONDON (AP) — One of the British government's biggest Brexit cheerleaders has taken aim at those in the European Union he accuses of looking to punish Britain for its decision to leave the bloc as exhibiting gang-like tendencies.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany says a hike in U.S. import duties for European-made products would hurt both sides.

U.S. President Donald Trump has backed tariffs on foreign-made aluminum and steel and warned European cars might be taxed more, too.

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert says such measures "would sorely affect international trade flows," European industries and in particular "workers and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic."

BEIJING (AP) — China has warned that U.S. President Donald Trump's vow to impose high tariffs on steel and aluminum would have a "huge impact" on the global trading order and said Beijing would work with other nations to protect its interests.

LONDON (AP) — Britain must leave the EU customs union to strike new trade deals after Brexit, the country's trade minister said Tuesday, widening a major fissure within British politics over future trade relations with the bloc.

In Brussels, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator warned that the bloc and Britain have significant differences, with only months until a deadline to agree on a divorce deal.