Saturday, November 23

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.

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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Market Correction Could See 40 Percent Drop, JP Morgan Exec Says
8Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
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...
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EU to Target U.S. Exports if Trump’s Tariffs Move Forward
7Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
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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U.S.: Top Economic Adviser to Trump Resigns on Brink of New Tariffs
7Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief, United States

U.S.: Top Economic Adviser to Trump Resigns on Brink of New Tariffs

March 7--A top White House economic advised resigned yesterday, reportedly over a disagreement about a recent decision by President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum. Gary Cohn, held the position of the director of the National Economic Council since Trump took office January 20, 2017. Cohn is a 25-year veteran on Wall Street and is the former chief operating officer at Goldman Sachs. His departure from the White House is one of several recent staff changes. Six Trump administration officials resigned in 2018 and several more, including Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, face difficulties with their U.S. security clearances. Trump's spokesperson Sarah Sanders brushed aside reporters' concerns about the staff changes in her March 7 press briefing. "This is an inte...
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‘Real Risk’ of Escalating Global Trade Barriers, Says WTO Head
6Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

‘Real Risk’ of Escalating Global Trade Barriers, Says WTO Head

March 6--Increasing trade barriers puts the global economy at risk for a deep recession, World Trade Organization Director-General Roberto Azevêdo  warned on Monday. "In light of recent announcements on trade policy measures, it is clear that we now see a much higher and real risk of triggering an escalation of trade barriers across the globe," told delegate heads meeting on the Doha negotiations. "We cannot ignore this risk and I urge all parties to consider and reflect on this situation very carefully. Once we start down this path, it will be very difficult to reverse direction. An eye for an eye will leave us all blind and the world in deep recession." New U.S. Tariffs on Steel & Aluminum The remarks follow an announcement late last week by President Donald Trump that the Unite...
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