Thursday, October 8

Sanctions

Sanctions are a key aspect of global diplomacy.  They reveal international relations through a concrete lens. It’s a primary tool for policymakers to implement foreign policy decisions. It has a real-world impact on finance, trade, and investments. A key question is, do they work to implement change or influence another country’s decisions? We look at both international and unilateral sanctions. This topic overlaps with global diplomacy and touches on areas of banking and global finance.

Reactions from Around the World to the Kim-Trump Meeting
Communism, Dictatorship, authoritarian, Diplomacy and International Law, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

Reactions from Around the World to the Kim-Trump Meeting

NEWS ANALYSIS June 12, 2018--People say the devil is in the details. And with the joint statement signed by U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-Un, the world has very little details with which to judge the outcome. In essence, the statement speaks to the leaders' intentions to establish relations between the two countries and to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. It is non-binding, and it probably carries less wait in the world of global politics than any one of Trump's tweets. Still, it made for a good photo opportunity for both leaders. Promises Pledged Trump said he would guarantee security to the North Korean (DPRK) government regime and end joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises. Kim said he would work toward denuclearization of the Korean Pen...
Trump, Kim Meet in Singapore, Agree to Establish U.S.-North Korean Relations
Diplomacy and International Law, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

Trump, Kim Meet in Singapore, Agree to Establish U.S.-North Korean Relations

June 12--U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-Un sign a statement of intentions to establish relations and to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula after meeting in Singapore. According to the non-binding statement, posted on the White House website, the United States and North Korea (DPRK) agree to the following: To establish new U.S.–DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity. To join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. To work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, as outlined in the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration. To recover POW/MIA remains, including the immediate repatriation of those already identified. It was...
Trump-Kim Jong-Un Meeting Called Off
Diplomacy and International Law, Sanctions

Trump-Kim Jong-Un Meeting Called Off

May 24--After a series of diplomatic setbacks, the prospective meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un for June 12 in Singapore is now cancelled. In a letter to Kim posted on the White House, Trump wrote, "Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting." Earlier in the day, North Korean Vice-Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui issued an angry response to a Fox News interview by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, in which Pence referenced a comparison by U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton of North Korea to Libya. Libya underwent a revolution and loss of leadership years after its government agreed to dismantle its nuclear ...
In 2018, Russian Economy Carried On Amid Sanctions
Global Trade, Globalization, Disintegration, Nationalism, Populism, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

In 2018, Russian Economy Carried On Amid Sanctions

March 23, 2018-Despite four years of sanctions, the Russian economy appears stronger and more immune to sanctions from the United States and the European Union. As tensions continue to rise and new sanctions go into effect, many Russians who adapted to trade restrictions with the West appear to shrug off the threat of new measures. The economy now grows at a rate of 1.7 percent, having fully recovered from its recession. It is worth asking, what effect the sanctions are having on the Russian economy? In the following article, the Global Economic Report looks at the ways the country overcame sanctions to resume economic growth. Four Years of Sanctions Since Russia annexed the Crimea from the Ukraine in 2014, it has faced sanctions from the European Union and the United States. In March of...
U.S. Preps for ‘Talks’ — Not Negotiations — with North Korea
Diplomacy and International Law, 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. ...
Trump to Meet N. Korean Leader Kim By May 2018
Diplomacy and International Law, 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...
Military Tensions Ease on the Korean Peninsula as Denuclearization Discussed
Diplomacy and International Law, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

Military Tensions Ease on the Korean Peninsula as Denuclearization Discussed

March 6-North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he would suspend nuclear missile tests if the United States agrees to hold direct talks, according to South Korean delegates who met with Kim on March 5. Furthermore, Kim is willing to remove his country's nuclear weapons if he can be assured that his regime and country no longer face threats, they said. "North Korea made clear its willingness to denuclearize the Korean peninsula and the fact there is no reason for it to have a nuclear program if military threats against the North are resolved and its regime is secure,” Chung Eui-yong, South Korea's led delegate of the talks, told reporters. It is a significant breakthrough for the two countries, which have been in a technical war since 1953. It is a result of both a softening of relations...
South Korean Gov’t Delegates Meet With North Korean Leader Kim in Pyongyang
Diplomacy and International Law, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

South Korean Gov’t Delegates Meet With North Korean Leader Kim in Pyongyang

March 5--Delegates from South Korea traveled to Pyongyang, North Korea today to meet with Kim Jong-un., the country's supreme leader. It was the first meeting South Korean officials have had with the rogue leaders since 2011. The diplomatic trip is a sign of the warming relations between the two countries since their athletes and government officials came together during the 2018 Winter Olympics, which South Korea hosted. The South Korean delegation includes 10 government officials, including two ministerial-level envoys: Intelligence Chief Suh Hoon, National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong and Vice Minister for Unification Chun Haesung. Ri Son-gwon, North Korea's chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, met them at the airport. And Mr. Kim hosted t...
U.S. Targets Chinese, Malaysian Firms in New Sanctions
Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Targets Chinese, Malaysian Firms in New Sanctions

In its latest round of sanctions against Iran, the U.S. Treasury Department targeted two firms based in Shanghai, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Both firms are accused of trading in export-sensitive goods and concealing that the buyers were Iranian firms barred under previous sanctions. And both firms risk having their any U.S.-based assets frozen and losing business ties with banks and companies under U.S. jurisdiction. Middle Men One of the firms is a large manufacturing and global trader with a business office in Shanghai, China. Bochuang Ceramic, Inc., makes and sells a specialized chemical that can be used in military weapons, such as torpedoes, mines, aircraft and surveillance. According to Treasury, Bochuang Ceramic sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of sensitive...
U.S. Rebuffed at UN Security Council Meeting on Iran
Diplomacy and International Law, Middle East, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, UN Security Council, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Rebuffed at UN Security Council Meeting on Iran

At its first formal meeting of the year, the UN Security Council met at the request of the United States to assess the situation in Iran after a near week-long protests in 80 cities. The meeting itself drew criticism from many members who accused the United States of using human rights as an excuse to meddle in Iran's internal affairs. The meeting also comes at a crucial time when leaders are trying to reach a political settlement to end the Syrian civil war. It also comes ahead of a Jan. 13 deadline for the U.S. President Donald Trump to decide whether or not to remove nuclear-related sanctions against Iran based on a 2015 international agreement. Under U.S. law, he must decide every 90 days whether or not to certify the deal, and therefore ease up on nuclear-related sanctions. Trum...