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Daily Brief: North Korea, Trade to Dominate Trump's Asia Tour

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Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. November 3, 2017 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA North Korea, Trade to Dominate Trump's Asia Tour U.S. President Donald J. Trump begins today a twelve-day trip that will take him to five Asian nations (NPR) and two international summits, his longest stint abroad since taking office. Before heading to Japan to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday (Japan Times), Trump will stop in Hawaii (White House) for a briefing by the U.S. Pacific Command. During the trip, he is expected to focus on the North Korean weapons threat (DW) and trade with the region following his decision to pull the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. Trump will also make visits to South Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines. ANALYSIS "It now appears there will be no grand bargain—not on North Korea, not on trade, and not on the South China Sea. That is ok. A grand bargain should take time and thought, and the administration has not had much of either over the past ten months," writes CFR's Elizabeth C. Economy. "Trade with Southeast Asia, taken together, creates over a half million jobs in the United States. Having ten non-threatening countries at the center of Asia is geopolitically stabilizing," former U.S. Ambassador to ASEAN Nina Hachigian said in an interview with Foreign Policy Interrupted. "Barack Obama called himself America's 'first Pacific president', and spoke of 'rebalancing' the U.S. to Asia. Mr. Trump's outlook is unlikely to take in much beyond domestic political considerations and his vows to defend the American worker," writes the Guardian. PACIFIC RIM U.S. Lawmakers Propose Myanmar Sanctions A bipartisan group of senators has proposed reinstating some sanctions on Myanmar that were lifted in 2016 in light of the the country's steps toward democracy as well as barring most U.S. assistance to Myanmar's military (Reuters). The proposed sanctions do not target State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick writes that the sanctions bill is important but belated.  SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Modi Lauds India Business Ranking Prime Minister Narendra Modi has credited recent reforms, including easing requirements for compliance, with boosting India's ranking (PTI) on the World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business" index into the top one hundred countries. AFGHANISTAN: The international health insurer Cigna, a major supplier to defense contractors, said Thursday that "business has dissipated" (Bloomberg) as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have winded down. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Syrian Forces Say Deir Ez-Zor Recaptured State media reported Friday that the military and allied forces have retaken Deir ez-Zour (Al Jazeera), the last of the self-proclaimed Islamic State's urban strongholds. The militant group, which had controlled the city since 2014, has lost the vast majority of the territory (NYT) in its so-called caliphate. ISRAEL: UK Prime Minister Theresa May said that Britain is "proud" of its role in creating the state of Israel at a Thursday dinner with her Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu (Guardian) celebrating the centenary of the Balfour Declaration, which announced UK support for a "home" in Palestine for Jewish people. Thousands protested the anniversary (DW) near the British consulate in Ramallah. Jonathan Schneer looks at why Britain made the Balfour Declaration in Foreign Affairs. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA IMF Predicts Modest Growth Recovery for Africa The International Monetary Fund has predicted that growth in sub-Saharan African economies will rebound to 2.6 percent this year (VOA) and increase to 3.4 percent in 2018. The forecasted boost follows growth last year of 1.4 percent, a twenty-year low for the region. MALI: A military force with troops from five African nations and backed by France and the United States, known as the G5 Sahel, has launched operations this week (Reuters). The force is expected to work with four thousand French troops deployed to the region since 2013. EUROPE Arrest Warrant Expected for Catalan Leader A lawyer for deposed Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, now in Belgium, said he expects an arrest warrant and extradition request (EUobserver) for Puigdemont to be issued from Madrid on Friday.  ITALY: Sicily's regional election on Sunday will pit the antiestablishment Five Star Movement against a center-right coalition backed by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The vote is seen as a test of the political mood (Politico) ahead of national parliamentary elections in 2018. AMERICAS Venezuela Sets Out to Restructure Debt President Nicolas Maduro said Thursday that the state oil company will make good on a $1.1 billion bond payment due in 2017 (FT), at which point Venezuela will begin restructuring and refinancing its remaining foreign debt. Economic sanctions by the United States could prevent the country from contracting new debt (NYT). HONDURAS: A new report by an international panel of experts says the death of environmental activist Berta Caceres (BBC) involved state security forces and an energy company whose dam project she opposed. The report was commissioned by Caceres's rights organization. UNITED STATES Trump Nominates New Fed Chair President Trump has announced Jerome Powell, currently a Federal Reserve governor, as his pick to lead the country's central bank (Economist). Powell's views on monetary policy are viewed as similar to those of current Fed Chair Janet Yellen. This CFR Backgrounder looks at the role of the U.S. Federal Reserve. A top U.S. Navy officer said a "gradual erosion of the margins of safety" was behind a series of naval vessel collisions this year and announced revisions to address preparedness at sea (Reuters) following a review by the navy that showed sailors are overworked and insufficiently trained.         Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org

Date: November 03, 2017 at 10:05PM