Sunday, July 6

Author: Patti Mohr

Patti Mohr is a U.S.-based journalist. She writes about global diplomacy, economics, and infringements on individual freedom. Patti is the founder of the Global Economic Report. Her goal is to elevate journalistic principles and share the pursuit of truth in concert with others.
Trump Adds ‘Human Rights’ to Foreign Policy Agenda
Democracy, Diplomacy, Human rights, Types of News: Analysis

Trump Adds ‘Human Rights’ to Foreign Policy Agenda

March 13-In an apparent shift in strategy, U.S. President Donald Trump now views human rights as an essential part of its "American First" foreign policy, a White House release said on Monday. The statement carefully interposed the idea of human rights between respect for national sovereignty and American values. "As a corollary, governments have a responsibility to their citizens," the White House statement asserted, while referencing Trump's speech before the UN General Assembly last September. "In other words, legitimate national sovereignty must begin with a respect for human rights." While the United States government has traditionally included democracy promotion and human rights as part of its foreign policy umbrella, Trump differentiated himself by putting forward a differ...
Trump Fires Top U.S. Diplomat Rex Tillerson
Diplomacy, Types of News: Brief, United States

Trump Fires Top U.S. Diplomat Rex Tillerson

March 13-With a simple tweet, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he is replacing his top diplomat with a former congressman and the current head of the Central Intelligence Agency. CIA Director Mike Pompeo will replace Rex Tillerson as the Secretary of State, Trump posted on Twitter this morning. Meanwhile, he is appointing an intelligence officer named Gina Haspel, known for running a "black site" facility in Thailand for the U.S. government, as the new CIA director. Both Pompeo and Haspel would need to clear the Senate confirmation process to take office. Pompeo is a former congressman from Kansas who served on the House intelligence and energy committees. A tea party affiliate, Pompeo is considered a hard-line Republican and Trump loyalist. Prior to serving in Congress,...
Amid Tariff Talks, Trade Reps Discuss Joining Forces Against ‘Unfair’ Competition
Diplomacy, Global Trade, Globalization, Global Disintegration, International Law, Legal Battles, Types of News: Brief

Amid Tariff Talks, Trade Reps Discuss Joining Forces Against ‘Unfair’ Competition

March 12-Amid the backdrop of newly announced tariffs on steel and aluminum in the United States, trade representatives from the European Union and Japan met with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Brussels on Saturday to join forces against "unfair" competition undermining "the proper functioning of international trade." It's a timely discussion considering the new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, scheduled to take effect March 23. Both the EU and Japan are expected to apply for exclusions from the tariffs. EU, Japan Seek Tariff Exemptions Amid other topics, the trade representatives discussed the new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum. Japan and the EU are considering taking actions, as permitted within World Trade Organization rules. "We expressed our concern. It co...
U.S. Preps for ‘Talks’ — Not Negotiations — with North Korea
Diplomacy, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Preps for ‘Talks’ — Not Negotiations — with North Korea

March 12--Returning home a day early from a diplomatic trip in Africa, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is scheduled to attend meetings on North Korea on Tuesday. It will be the first chance the top diplomat has to engage with the U.S. national security team since President Donald Trump announced plans to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un by May. Invitation is 'A Trap' Trump's announcement came as a surprise to many analysts. Some, like long-time diplomacy NBC news reporter Andrea Mitchell, warned that Kim's invitation was a "trap" for the United States. "We do not yet know what [Kim] is even offering," she said on NBC Meet the Press. She said "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" would mean that the United States would have to eliminate its nuclear umbrella in South Korea. ...
U.S. to Consider More Exemptions from Metal Tariffs
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

U.S. to Consider More Exemptions from Metal Tariffs

March 9, 2018-The next two weeks will be critical for global steel and aluminum exporters seeking to win exemptions from new U.S. tariffs, Trump administration officials said today. A day after U.S. President Donald Trump signed proclamations starting tariffs on steel and aluminum that take effect March 23, his Cabinet secretaries downplayed the decision's impact on the global trading system. "We've already exempted out Canada and Mexico," U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC today. "The president can do exemptions. And my expectation is there may be other countries he considers in the next two weeks." Negotiating Leverage The flexibility to exempt products and countries from the tariffs gives Trump extra leverage in negotiations over trade agreements. The United States is cu...
Trump to Meet N. Korean Leader Kim By May 2018
Diplomacy, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

Trump to Meet N. Korean Leader Kim By May 2018

March 8--Just days after meeting with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jung Un, South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong announced a major diplomatic breakthrough: U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim will meet by May of this year. Speaking before at an impromptu press conference outside the White House, Chung announced the two leaders have agreed to meet by May. Chung had just delivered a message from Kim to Trump that the North Korean leader is committed to denuclearization, would refrain from conducting further nuclear tests, and understands that routine joint-military exercises between the Republic of Korea and the United States would continue. The announcement came just hours after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters that Trump and Kim were "a l...
Trump Signs Off On Metal Tariffs
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

Trump Signs Off On Metal Tariffs

March 8--Amid threats of countervailing trade measures from Europe, Asia and South America, U.S. President Donald Trump signed two proclamations this afternoon to impose new tariffs on steel and aluminum starting March 23. The proclamations include waivers to exempt Canada and Mexico from the tariff, provided they do not provide transport of other countries' steel and aluminum products to the United States. They also allow U.S. consumers to apply for exclusions for specific types of steel and aluminum imports that the domestic market does not provide. Surrounded by U.S. workers, Trump said "aggressive foreign trade practices" act as an "assault"  on the U.S. economy, displacing producers and workers. "Our industries have been targeted for years and years, decades in fact, by unfai...
European Central Bank Continues Stimulus, Sees 2.4% Growth This Year
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Types of News: Brief

European Central Bank Continues Stimulus, Sees 2.4% Growth This Year

March 8--The Governing Council of the European Central Bank left three key interest rates at their current rates and said it would continue to do so "an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of the net asset purchases." The ECB Governing Council said inflation is "consistent" with its aim of 2 percent. The three key interest rates are the 1.) main refinancing operations, 2.) the marginal lending facility, and 3.) the deposit facility. Those will remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.40% respectively. Continued Liquidity The ECB plans to continue to purchase net assets at the current rate of €30 billion per month, putting liquidity back into the system through at least the end of September 2018. "This will contribute both to favorable liquidity conditions and to an...
Market Correction Could See 40 Percent Drop, JP Morgan Exec Says
Finance, Investing, Global Economics, Types of News: Brief

Market Correction Could See 40 Percent Drop, JP Morgan Exec Says

March 8--Although equity markets are still in a growth cycle, an eventual correction could mean a decline of 20 to 40 percent, according to a top executive at JP Morgan Chase & Co. "Markets are functioning, and we're doing well," Daniel Pinto, JP Morgan Co-President and Co-Chief Operating Officer, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday. "We know there will be a correction at some point." Pinto estimated that the markets have two to three years before the end of the growth cycle. He said that while volatility has come down, markets are still going to react to "anything that relates to inflation or growth." Eventually, when liquidity dries up, markets could fall as much as 40 percent. "The most important thing for someone like us is just to be prepared. Be...
EU to Target U.S. Exports if Trump’s Tariffs Move Forward
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

EU to Target U.S. Exports if Trump’s Tariffs Move Forward

March 7--As U.S. President Donald Trump stood by his plan to raise import tariffs on steel and aluminum, the European Union threatened to retaliate with tariffs on U.S. exports of industrial, steel and agricultural products, a top EU trade official said. If the United States goes forward with imposing tariffs, the EU will respond in a "proportionate and balanced way," Cecilia Malmström , the EU Commissioner for Trade, said on March 7 in Brussels. Malmström pointed out that the United States has not yet taken action on the tariffs Trump announced late last week. If Trump moves forward -- as he is expected to do -- the EU would likely impose its own across-the-board tariffs on steel and aluminum to make up for an expected surge in imports. Furthermore, she said, the EU would likely tak...

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