Patti Mohr

Britain Considers Joining Trans-Pacific Trade Deal

25Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Britain Considers Joining Trans-Pacific Trade Deal

June 25, 2021-The United Kingdom started talks this week to join one of the world's largest trade agreements. "The launch of negotiations marks a huge milestone in our accession process, and I look forward to talks starting in the coming weeks," Liz Truss, UK's International Trade Secretary, said. CPTPP: 11 Plus One The government announced the CPTPP talks on Tuesday with much fanfare. Japan's Yasutoshi Nishimura is leading the talks on behalf of the pact. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a trade pact with Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The 11 countries signed it in 2016 after years of negotiating. If Britain joins the 11-nation pact, the CPTPP would grow ...

Free Press Dies in Hong Kong As China Freezes Paper’s Assets

22Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Communism, Dictatorship, authoritarian, Democracy, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Analysis

Free Press Dies in Hong Kong As China Freezes Paper’s Assets

June 22, 2021--The writing may have already been on the wall for the forced closure of the Apple Daily paper when China passed its security law. But the news yesterday that China's strong-arm control of Hong Kong would force the pro-democracy tabloid to shut down still stung like an unexpected bite. In the past week, Hong Kong authorities froze the paper's financial assets, arrested two of the paper's senior executives and raided the paper's offices. Unable to pay staff or operations, the paper is expected to close within days. The forced closure of the paper made headline news around the world on Monday. And in Hong Kong, it represents "the biggest sledgehammer blow to Hong Kong's fast-vanishing civil liberties" since the handover to China in 1997, an editorial in the Apple Daily sa...

Inflation Jumps to 4.2 Percent in the United States

12May

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Finance, Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Global Economics, Types of News: Brief

Inflation Jumps to 4.2 Percent in the United States

May 12, 2021--After months of speculation by economists and analysts about the potential for inflation in the United States, new government data shows the concerns were legitimate. Inflation in April rose to 4.2 percent, up from 2.6 percent in March. Moreover, it is the largest 12-month increase since 2008. It's a sign that the U.S. spending spree in the midst of the global pandemic may be hitting a wall. Further exacerbating problems are supply shortages in everything from labor to semiconductors to hot dogs. Highest Rising Prices The energy sector, in particular, draws attention as prices of oil and gas spiked. But even setting aside prices in food and energy, inflation nearly doubled, from 1.6 percent in March to 3 percent in April. Consumers found the highest rising p...

Is the Sky Turning Red Over EU-Member Hungary?

4May

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Communism, Dictatorship, authoritarian, Democracy, Diplomacy and International Law, Domestic Politics, Europe, EU, Eurozone, and United Kingdom, Globalization, Disintegration, Nationalism, Populism, Types of News: Analysis

Is the Sky Turning Red Over EU-Member Hungary?

Hungary And China Strengthen Ties, Will Build Chinese University In Budapest May 4, 2021--As tensions rise between China and the West, one European Union-member country is drawing ever closer to Asia's Red Dragon: Hungary. Situated between seven countries in Central Europe, Hungary is a key outpost of the 27-member European Union. Lately, however, the country appears to be falling out with its European allies and drawing closer to communist China. Hungary Leaning East In March, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban broke with the rest of the EU consensus on COVID-19 by ordering China's Sinopharm and Russia's Sputnik V vaccines. Later that month, Hungary's President Janos Ader met with his Chinese leaders in Budapest and promised to strengthen relations with China on trade, economi...

US Government Gives Notice: No More Business With State-Owned Entreprises in Belarus

19Apr

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Communism, Dictatorship, authoritarian, Eastern Europe, Human rights, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

US Government Gives Notice: No More Business With State-Owned Entreprises in Belarus

April 19, 2021-The U.S. government today announced it is taking action in response to "sharply deteriorating human rights situation in Belarus" since the widely disputed August 2020 election. Since the election, hundreds of thousands of people have protested in the streets to protest the presidential rule of Alexander Lukashenko. The government responded with a violent crackdown. Today the government holds at least 340 people captive as political prisoners, according to the U.S. State Department. The 2020 Elections Russian President Vladimir Putin has recognized Lukashenko as the president of Belarus while the European Union and the United States consider the election to be illegitimate. The EU has said the election was "neither free nor fair" and has issued multiple rounds of san...

Climate Change Driving a Global ‘Race to the New Technology,’ US Envoy Says

25Mar

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Climate Action, ESG, Sustainable Finance, Diplomacy and International Law, Types of News: Brief

Climate Change Driving a Global ‘Race to the New Technology,’ US Envoy Says

March 25, 2021--Climate change is driving a massive shift in investment and industry in the United States and around the world, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said today. 'Massive Transformation' "We are on the cusp of a massive transformation and ultimately the market is going to make the moves, not the government," Kerry said, during a virtural conference held by the Washington-based Institute of International Finance. In a conversation with IIE President and CEO Tim Adams, Kerry said climate change is driving widespread changes in industries and opening up markets in the future. "This is not something for people to be scared of. This is the biggest economic opportunity we have seen," Kerry said. White House Priority To emphasize the importance he p...

22Mar

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Diplomacy and International Law, Domestic Politics, Global Trade, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

Kid Gloves Come Off At US-China Meeting

March 22, 2021--The kid-gloves came off at the first in-person meeting between the United States and China under the new U.S. administration. In a sign that tensions between the world's two largest economies are rising, the diplomats exchanged political punches from the beginning. They met first in front of cameras at the beginning of two-day strategic dialogue in Anchorage, Alaska. Typically, televised remarks might be a brief exchange of niceties. But , this exchange was anything but typical. It wasn't brief. And it wasn't polite. In fact, the opening remarks turned into an extended exchange of insults and condemnations between the countries' top diplomats. The United States launched the first blows. U.S. Cites Concerns on Hong Kong, Human Rights and Coercion U.S. Secr...

Biden Hosts ‘Quad’ Virtual Conference with India, Japan, Australia

12Mar

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Diplomacy and International Law, Geopolitics, Global Trade, Globalization, Disintegration, Nationalism, Populism, Types of News: Brief

Biden Hosts ‘Quad’ Virtual Conference with India, Japan, Australia

Quad Meeting Comes a Week After China Strengthens Ties with ASEAN March 12, 2021--In his first multilateral summit since taking office in January, U.S. President Joe Biden hosted a virtual conference today with the leaders of Japan, India and Australia. "The Quad is going to be a vital arena for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific," Biden said. "The United States is committed to working with you our partners and all our allies in the region to achieve stability." The talks, known formally as the “Quadrilateral Security Dialogue” since their start in 2007, are designed to strengthen diplomatic, military and economic ties among the members. While not an alliance, the informal dialogue provides a structure for the leaders to work together. During the opening statements, the leaders e...

China’s Leaders Want Hong Kong to Only Elect ‘Patriots’

7Mar

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Communism, Dictatorship, authoritarian, Democracy, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief

China’s Leaders Want Hong Kong to Only Elect ‘Patriots’

China Plans to Change Hong Kong's Election System; West Says Freedoms Are At Risk March 7, 2021-As China's National Legislature opened its annual legislative session on Friday, pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong and around the world watched with bated breath. This week, delegates at the National People's Congress (NPC) are taking up reforms to Hong Kong's electoral system that would guarantee only "patriots" serve. The proposed changes would effectively bring Hong Kong representatives under the control of China. China Wants Hong Kong 'Patriots' According to a transcribed statement of a speech by Wang Chen, China intends to change the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The senior Chinese lawmaker said the goal is to bring the politica...

World Recovers on Divergent Economic And Income Paths

3Mar

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Global Economics, Types of News: Brief

World Recovers on Divergent Economic And Income Paths

Projections for Global Growth and Income March 3, 2021 -- If vaccine distribution throughout the world is effective in fighting off the COVID-19 virus and its related variants, the global economy is likely to rebound with strength. The International Monetary Fund projects global growth to reach 5.5 percent by the year's end. Not surprisingly, however, as businesses resume activity, economies are likely to recover at different rates. In January, the IMF projected that the recovery would "vary significantly" based on countries' access to medical interventions of the virus, policy supports for the economy, exposure to other countries, and their pre-crisis structural issues. Economic Projections According to the fund's data mapper for 2021, regions like the Middle East, Sub-Sahar...