Wednesday, December 25

Types of News: Brief

News briefs are shorter stories about current events. It’s the who-what-when-and-where. “Just the facts, ma’am.” Please see our writers guidelines.

G7 Summit Ends in Insults And Injury to Global Trade, Western Alliance
10Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Global Trade, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Brief

G7 Summit Ends in Insults And Injury to Global Trade, Western Alliance

June 10, 2018--Just hours after appearing to sign a G7 Joint Communique with the heads of state of six leading Western democracies on Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump reversed course by posting on Twitter that he would not endorse the statement. It was a significant setback for relations among the Western democracies, which have struggled to find a common voice since President Trump threatened to raise trade tariffs on its top trading partners. The Communiqué The 28-point statement includes language on "free, fair and mutually beneficial trade and investment," "a rules-based international trading system," and opposition to protectionism. It also declares joint opposition to tax evasion and shared support for education and equal opportunity to take part in the global econo...
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Putin Calls for Unity Following Landslide Reelection Win
19Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief

Putin Calls for Unity Following Landslide Reelection Win

March 19-A day after easily winning another six-year term in office, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for cohesion in domestic politics and constructive dialogue in international relations. It was a landslide victory for Putin, as expected. He won 75 percent of the vote, securing his place in office through 2024. While Putin is popular in Russia, and considered to be a strong leader, the election itself was not competitive. Furthermore, observers are complaining about large-scale violations, including ballot-box stuffing and voting that was compelled by employers at state-owned companies. The main opposition leader, Aleksei Navalny, was not able to run due to a financial-crimes conviction he says was made up by the government. The other candidates, considered by most observ...
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Merkel Wins 4th Term as German Chancellor
14Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Democracy, Europe, EU, Eurozone, Types of News: Brief

Merkel Wins 4th Term as German Chancellor

March 14-After months of uncertainty over the leadership of Europe's largest economy, the German Bundestag voted 364-315 in favor of giving Angela Merkel a fourth term as chancellor. A coalition of her own Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party elected her today after a standoff among six parties won support in the general election in September. Since Merkel first won the position in 2005, she has wielded a great deal of influence over European Union policy. She advocated for open intra-European borders and migration from abroad, against criticism from far-right nationalists in Germany and Europe. During Merkel's last major policy speech in January, she called on Europe to take its own destiny within its hands in regards to the digital economy, defense and fore...
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Trump Fires Top U.S. Diplomat Rex Tillerson
13Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
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,...
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Amid Tariff Talks, Trade Reps Discuss Joining Forces Against ‘Unfair’ Competition
12Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
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...
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U.S. Preps for ‘Talks’ — Not Negotiations — with North Korea
12Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
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. ...
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U.S. to Consider More Exemptions from Metal Tariffs
9Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
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...
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Trump to Meet N. Korean Leader Kim By May 2018
8Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
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...
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Trump Signs Off On Metal Tariffs
8Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
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...
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European Central Bank Continues Stimulus, Sees 2.4% Growth This Year
8Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
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...
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