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Showing posts with label Donald Trump Administration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Donald Trump Administration. Show all posts

December 6, 2018

China-US relations: Arrest Meng Wanzhou, executive of Huawei, not favorable to improving relations China - US

Huawei arrest: China demands release of Meng Wanzho

Note EU-Digest: Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada at the request of the US, who wants her extradited to US because of business dealings Huawei has with Iran. For those who might have forgotten - the US (Trump Administration) unilattery broke off relations with Iran, when the Trump Administration pulled out of the International Nuclear Agreement, signed between Iran and many other nations around the world, including the EU and the US. Hopefully Canada (Trudeau) will show some "backbone", by not extraditing her to the US, specially since all the other co-signers of the International Nuclear Agreement, including the EU and Canada, are still respecting the agreement with Iran.
 

July 7, 2018

Middle East - Iran: The battle for Iran is underway in the US and Israel: Policy or regime change? - by James M. Dorsey

Israel-USA: Iran in the Crosshair
Iran, in the latest of a series of incidents on its western and south-eastern borders, said it had disbanded a Pakistan-based cell of ant-Shiite militants in a clash this week on the Iranian side of the border.

The clash, shrouded in mystery like similar past incidents in the ethnic Baloch province of Sistan and Baluchistan and Kurdish areas in the West, occurred amid mounting speculation that the Trump administration, backed by Saudi Arabia and Israel, is striving for regime change in Tehran.

Iran and Jaish-al-Adl (the Army of Justice), a splinter group that traces its roots to Saudi-backed anti-Shiite groups in Iran, issued contradictory statements about the incident. Iran said three militants and two of its Revolutionary Guards were killed in the incident. Jaish-al-Adl claimed it had killed 11 Guards while suffering no losses.

US and Israeli officials insist that their anti-Iranian moves aim to increase domestic pressure on Iran to change its policies at a time that the country is witnessing multiple protests related to economic policies and water shortages rather than at regime change

US and Israeli officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, have resorted to social media to support the protests.

At the same time, debate within the Trump administration pits proponents of regime change like national security advisor John Bolton, backed by Mr. Netanyahu, against those that believe that domestic pressure is pushing the Iranian regime to the brink and simply needs a degree of encouragement.

In a series of tweets, Mr. Pompeo supported Iranian protesters and charged that “Iran’s corrupt regime is wasting the country’s resources on Assad, Hezbollah, Hamas & Houthis, while Iranians struggle.”

Mr. Pompeo’s comments were echoed in one of several video clips by Mr. Netanyahu, celebrating the brilliance of Iranians and their achievements in technology. “So why is Iran so poor? Why is unemployment so rampant? The answer is in two words: the regime. Iran’s dictators plunder the country’s wealth… The Iranian people are the ones that suffer,” Mr. Netanyahu said.

The messages appeared to be the result of a joint US-Israeli working plan drafted late last year to counter Iran with covert as well as diplomatic actions.

A participant before joining the Trump administration, Mr. Bolton this year stayed away from an annual gathering in Paris of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, a controversial Iranian opposition group that since being dropped from US, Canadian and European terrorism lists has garnered significant support in Western political, military and security circles.

There is widespread doubt that the Mujahedeen, that advocates the armed overthrow of the Iranian regime, commands popular support in Iran

That did not stop President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, and former House of Representatives speaker and Trump ally, Newt Gingrich from attending alongside former US officials, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and European politicians. The US State Department said the Americans were not representing the administration.

Read more: The battle for Iran: Policy or regime change?

March 8, 2018

Tariff Wars: EU goes on war footing in response to Trumps declaration "that trade wars are good and easy to win" - by RM


"The reincarnation of US Voodoo Economics"
First a look at the "big picture"  of trade between the EU and the US, which Mr. Trump is now ready to undermine with his recent nonsensical "tariffs" statement.
  • Total US investment in the EU is three times higher than in all of Asia.
  • EU investment in the US is around eight times the amount of EU investment in India and China together.
  • EU and US investments are the real driver of the transatlantic relationship, contributing to growth and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. It is estimated that a third of the trade across the Atlantic actually consists of intra-company transfers.
  • The transatlantic relationship also defines the shape of the global economy as a whole. Either the EU or the US is the largest trade and investment partner for almost all other countries in the global economy.
  • The EU and the US economies account together for about half the entire world GDP and for nearly a third of world trade flows.
 The EU response to the Trump Tarrifs announcement was swift and surgical .

The European Union’s top trade official mentioned cranberries, orange juice and peanut butter as possible targets Wednesday as the E.U. prepares to strike back if President Trump follows through with tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum.

European officials are also preparing to target $3.5 billion in American goods through a 25 percent "tit-for-tat" levy across consumer, agricultural and steel imports, Bloomberg reported, citing a list compiled by the European Commission.
 

This came after EC President Jean-Claude Junker on Friday mentioned targeted products like Harley-Davidson (HOG) motorcycles, Levi's jeans and bourbon if the U.S. tariffs are implemented. Canada President Justin Trudeau called Mr. Trump Monday evening to register his "serious concer".

"Retaliation against US  by trading partners is likely," Goldman Sachs (GS) economists wrote in a note. "In the past, retaliatory tariffs have focused on the product in dispute (in this case steel and/or aluminum), consumer goods with a particular focus on luxury items and agriculture. We expect a similar pattern this time."

While retaliation is likely to come in  tariff form, "more subtle changes to tax and regulatory policies targeting U.S. companies could also follow," the economists wrote.

Ford (F) and GM (GM) could feel a pinch of about $1 billion each, or 12 percent and 7 percent of each company's respective operating income for 2017, if the 25 percent steel tariff is implemented and prices rise at a similar rate, Goldman Sachs analysts estimated in a recentseparate report.

U.S.-based machinery companies would get squeezed as costs increase. Well-known brands with good distribution, like Deere (DE) and Caterpillar (CAT) might do better than Terex (TEX) and Oshkosh (OSK), Goldman said. Oshkosh is based in House Speaker Paul Ryan's home state of Wisconsin. 

 E.U. Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom also took aim at Trump’s assertion that U.S. national security justified plans to impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum.

The U.S. measures “would mainly impact traditional allies of the United States,” she said.

E.U. officials had previously flagged Kentucky bourbon, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Levi’s jeans among the products they have in their sights for retaliatory tariffs. A draft of European countermeasures published by Bloomberg News targets $3.5 billion in annual imports from the United States, including $1.1 billion in U.S. steel products, along with clothing, makeup, motorcycles, boats, corn, rice, beans and other agricultural products.

E.U. countries exported $6.2 billion worth of steel to the United States in 2016, according to E.U. figures. The E.U. is the top trading partner of the United States in goods, and it is the top U.S. export market.The European Union’s top trade official mentioned cranberries, orange juice and peanut butter as possible targets Wednesday as the E.U. prepares to strike back if President Trump follows through with tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum.

Note EU-Digest  2017 :  See list below of U.S. trade in goods with European Union
 
Please note that: All figures are in millions of U.S. dollars on a nominal basis, not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Details may not equal totals due to rounding. Table reflects only those months for which there was trade.

Month Exports Imports Balance
January 2017 21,290.3 32,828.8 -11,538.5
February 2017 22,994.8 32,386.5 -9,391.7
March 2017 25,691.5 36,881.1 -11,189.6
April 2017 22,960.2 35,498.7 -12,538.5
May 2017 23,732.0 36,488.1 -12,756.1
June 2017 23,768.1 36,237.8 -12,469.7
July 2017 21,438.3 34,892.7 -13,454.5
August 2017 23,383.6 35,772.4 -12,388.8
September 2017 24,277.9 35,702.6 -11,424.7
October 2017 25,689.3 39,411.6 -13,722.3
November 2017 23,528.5 38,256.8 -14,728.3
December 2017 24,762.9 40,575.7 -15,812.8
TOTAL 2017 283,517.4 434,933.1 -151,415.6

Given the low average tariffs (under 3%), the key to unlocking this potential lies in the tackling of non-tariff barriers. These consist mainly of customs procedures and behind the border regulatory restrictions
.
The non-tariff barriers come from diverging regulatory systems (standards definitions notably), but also other non-tariff measures, such as those related to certain aspects of security or consumer protection.

The tariffs statement  by President Trump, if he persists to follow through on his threat, could  eventually also turn into a total trade war between the EU and US, and mean the end of the Atlantic Alliance, which has brought stability, peace and prosperity to Europe and the US,  since the end of the second world war. 

It must not be allowed to happen.   

EU-Digest  The above article can be republished only if EU-Digest is referred to as its source

July 27, 2017

USA - Transgenders: Donald Trump’s transgenders ban announcement is met with swift backlash - Michael Glassman

Immediately after President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that he was barring transgender Americans from serving in the military, the head of the U.S. armed forces was met with stunned disbelief over the slap in the face to thousands of service members.

Read more: Donald Trump’s transgender ban announcement is met with swift backlash - Salon.com

June 1, 2017

The Global Order Shuffling The Cards: China and Europe are moving forward without Trump

The EU looks ahead at the future without TRUMPLAND
Beijing is in prime position to capitalize on major policy fissures that have emerged between Europe and the Trump administration on climate, trade and defense.

The new dynamic will be on full display on Thursday (June 1)  in Brussels, when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with EU counterparts at the annual EU-China Summit. 

Hours later, President Trump is expected to announce the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement.

"If peace and prosperity are the object of the global economic order, the Trump administration offers neither to Europeans," wrote analysts at High Frequency Economics, a research firm. "A new axis of power, based on economic power, will form between Europe and China if the U.S. continues to shirk its role as global leader."

Beijing appears to be chomping at the bit, having asked for the summit to be moved forward to June.

A closer relationship between the two giant economies is easier said than done, however. There are major questions over the compatibility of the economic systems promoted by Europe and China, as well as differences over flashpoint issues including human rights.

"If peace and prosperity are the object of the global economic order, the Trump administration offers neither to Europeans," wrote analysts at High Frequency Economics, a research firm. "A new axis of power, based on economic power, will form between Europe and China if the U.S. continues to shirk its role as global leader." 

Note EU=Digest: "The United States and Europe appear to be hurtling toward a messy breakup. China, meanwhile, is ready to pounce. The EU, however, better not jump in bed with China immediately, before making certain all bases are covered", said an EU Commissioner

EU-Digest

March 2, 2017

EU-US Privacy Pact: If Trump Spoils Privacy Pact, We'll Pull It, EU Official Warns - by Stephanie Bodoni

Vera Jourova spent months working with the Obama administration on a deal to protect Europeans from digital surveillance by U.S. spies. With a new occupant now in the White House, the EU’s privacy czar says she’s prepared to rip up the pact if the Americans don’t adhere to its terms.

“If there is a significant change, we will suspend” the accord, Jourova, the European Union’s justice commissioner, said in a Bloomberg interview. “I will not hesitate to do it. There’s too much at stake.”

The pact, clinched last year, was meant to keep data flowing across the Atlantic while ensuring that Europeans enjoyed safeguards from the snooping by American security services. The Privacy Shield plugged holes that led EU judges to overturn a previous accord dating back to 2000, and was greeted with relief by U.S. companies that process personal data from billing details to messaging platforms.

At the end of March -- the exact date still has to be finalized -- the former Czech regional development minister will travel to Washington to meet with the administration of new U.S. President Donald Trump on the privacy shield. Jourova said she’s hopeful she won’t have to suspend the pact, but conceded that Trump’s unpredictability has raised concern among European regulators.

“Unpredictability is a problem if you need to trust something,” Jourova said, adding that she remains “vigilant” about the government’s stance. The EU “expects continuity” and “I will want reconfirmation and reassurances when I will go to Washington.”

In a sign of rising concern, the commission on Feb. 7 sought clarification from the U.S. that EU citizens wouldn’t be affected by a Jan. 25 executive order by Trump on Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the U.S.

One section in the presidential order said that U.S. “agencies shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law, ensure that their privacy policies exclude persons who are not United States citizens” from the U.S. Privacy Act “regarding personally identifiable information.”

In a letter to Jourova’s office dated Feb. 22, the Department of Justice assured the EU of the U.S.’s continued commitment to the Privacy Shield.

The letter was written by Bruce Swartz, deputy assistant attorney general, who told Jourova that the U.S. government “looks forward to working closely with the commission in the weeks and months ahead to protect the privacy and security” of U.S. and EU citizens.

Wilbur Ross, the new Secretary of Commerce, offered some words of encouragement when he addressed Department of Commerce staff March 1, saying that “we must build on the hard work that many of you have done in supporting Privacy Shield.”

Tim Truman, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, declined to immediately comment other than to highlight Ross’s statements. The Department of Justice didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Still, “the disruptive political style of the new U.S. administration fills anyone working in the field of privacy with concern,” said Johannes Caspar, one of Germany’s most outspoken data protection commissioners.

“You don’t need to gaze into a crystal ball to see that the air surrounding the Privacy Shield is becoming thinner,” said Caspar, who is the Hamburg privacy regulator.

What the last few weeks have shown is that “everything is possible now,” according to Jan Philipp Albrecht, the European Parliament’s chief negotiator on stricter EU privacy rules. The bloc’s new data protection rules will from May 2018 give European data watchdogs the power to fine companies as much as 4 percent of their global annual sales for violations.

“There are some really dangerous announcements around that would endanger cooperation, but which would also put at risk the possibilities for business to operate as normal,” said Albrecht. “As soon as it’s clear that any orders will change the legal protections for Europeans in the U.S. system, the already widely criticized Privacy Shield, from a European perspective, cannot be upheld. It’s a very fragile thing,” he said.

“Unpredictability is a problem if you need to trust something,” Jourova said, adding that she remains “vigilant” about the government’s stance. The EU “expects continuity” and “I will want reconfirmation and reassurances when I will go to Washington.”

In a sign of rising concern, the commission on Feb. 7 sought clarification from the U.S. that EU citizens wouldn’t be affected by a Jan. 25 executive order by Trump on Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the U.S.

One section in the presidential order said that U.S. “agencies shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law, ensure that their privacy policies exclude persons who are not United States citizens” from the U.S. Privacy Act “regarding personally identifiable information.”

Still, “the disruptive political style of the new U.S. administration fills anyone working in the field of privacy with concern,” said Johannes Caspar, one of Germany’s most outspoken data protection commissioners.

“You don’t need to gaze into a crystal ball to see that the air surrounding the Privacy Shield is becoming thinner,” said Caspar, who is the Hamburg privacy regulator.

What the last few weeks have shown is that “everything is possible now,” according to Jan Philipp Albrecht, the European Parliament’s chief negotiator on stricter EU privacy rules. The bloc’s new data protection rules will from May 2018 give European data watchdogs the power to fine companies as much as 4 percent of their global annual sales for violations.

“There are some really dangerous announcements around that would endanger cooperation, but which would also put at risk the possibilities for business to operate as normal,” said Albrecht. “As soon as it’s clear that any orders will change the legal protections for Europeans in the U.S. system, the already widely criticized Privacy Shield, from a European perspective, cannot be upheld. It’s a very fragile thing,” he said.

The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield was enacted in July, months after both sides were forced back to the drawing board when the bloc’s top court annulled a “safe-harbor” accord dating back to 2000 for failing to offer sufficient safeguards. The new deal seeks to address concerns that American spies had unfettered access to European citizens’ private data.

One upcoming test of whether the U.S. has stuck to its commitments will be an annual joint review with the U.S. Department of Commerce.

While Jourova raised the possibility of pulling the deal, she first pledged to “engage in dialog” if there are signs that “somebody isn’t doing what he is committed to do.”

Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, France’s data privacy regulator, said she was hopeful that President Trump’s background in commerce would mean he will be keen to preserve the pact.

“U.S. economic interests behind the shield are considerable too, so I think that Mr Trump, who is a businessman after all, isn’t completely oblivious to what’s at risk,” said Falque-Pierrotin, who’s also the head of the group of EU privacy watchdogs.

If the shield is abandoned, companies that transfer data as part of their day-to-day business would be thrown back into the legal limbo they were in before the deal, forcing them to revert to other, less straightforward data transfer tools.

“I don’t think it’s the aim of anyone in the EU, whether in the European Commission, in the Parliament or in the member states, to cause disruption to companies,” said Albrecht. “But there are certain actions, if Trump or his administration take them, that will leave the EU with no alternative than to take clear actions.”

Read more: If Trump Spoils Privacy Pact, We'll Pull It, EU Official Warns - Bloomberg