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TPP Trade Deal Resuscitated in Santiago

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Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. March 8, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA TPP Trade Deal Resuscitated in Santiago Eleven countries are expected to sign a transpacific trade pact in Chile today, resuscitating an earlier proposed accord that U.S. President Donald J. Trump abandoned shortly after taking office. The new version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, which would have covered 40 percent of the global economy with U.S. participation, will now comprise about 13 percent (Reuters). Japan's chief negotiator said that discussions on additional members entering the pact (FT), potentially including the Philippines, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, could begin once the agreement takes effect. After the signing, countries will still need national legislatures to ratify the deal (WSJ), now called CPTPP. ANALYSIS "Japan took up the torch for promoting a retooled TPP after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew last year," Jun Yamazaki writes for the Nikkei Asian Review. "While there's always a chance the U.S. will return to the fold, the TPP—with a new tongue-twister of a name—will prove an economic and political force regardless, not to mention a rival to a proposed new trade agreement including China," Isabel Reynolds and David Tweed write for Bloomberg. "Being outside the TPP deprives U.S. negotiators of meaningful leverage to address, curtail, and reverse China's objectionable practices in the realm of forced technology transfer, intellectual property theft, discrimination, and state intervention," Daniel J. Ikenson writes for the Cato Institute. PACIFIC RIM Japan's Abe Warns Over North Korea Talks Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned that past offers by North Korea to engage in talks "earned" the country time to develop its weapons capabilities (Japan Times) and said that international sanctions should not be eased until the regime takes "concrete" steps. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Germany Proposes Troop Increase in Afghanistan The government agreed on a proposal to raise its number of service personnel in Afghanistan (DW) from 980 to 1,300, a plan which must still be approved by lawmakers. This CFR Timeline looks at the sixteen-year U.S. war in Afghanistan. INDIA/PAKISTAN: Islamabad agreed to a humanitarian prisoner swap offer (Dawn) from New Delhi that will include the exchange of inmates who are women, older than seventy, or have special needs.  MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Far-Right German MPs Visit With Assad Regime A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized a visit to Syria by lawmakers from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to meet with officials close to President Bashar al-Assad. One of the AfD delegates said the group sought to determine if Syria is safe enough (FT) to return asylum seekers because German media coverage is "not trustworthy." ISRAEL: The Knesset passed legislation allowing the interior minister to revoke the permanent residency of Palestinians in East Jerusalem (Middle East Eye) who engage in acts deemed a "breach of allegiance" to Israel. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Cape Town Day Zero Pushed to August The region's governing party said seasonal rains have helped to avert an expected "Day Zero" (BBC) in April, when taps in the city would run dry. The city said that if residents maintain current water-saving habits, a Day Zero could be avoided for the rest of 2018 (capetown.gov). RWANDA: Human Rights Watch's regional director disputed a complaint by the Rwandan government (BBC) that the organization did not consult Rwandan officials before publishing reports on the country. The statement comes after the government said it will cease cooperation with the rights group (New Times). EUROPE UK to Build $973,000 Prison Wing in Nigeria The government announced it will build a new wing at Kirikiri Prison in Lagos to facilitate the transfer of Nigerian prisoners from the United Kingdom (Reuters) so inmates can complete their sentences in their home country. EUROPE: The UN refugee agency said it has temporarily suspended a resettlement program in Europe (VOA) for African asylum seekers in Niger because too few countries have agreed to take them.  AMERICAS Former Petrobras Boss Gets Eleven-Year Sentence A former chief executive for the Brazilian state oil firm Petrobras was found guilty of taking nearly $1 million in bribes (FT) from the construction giant Odebrecht, which is at the center of a hemisphere-wide corruption probe.  This CFR Backgrounder looks at Brazil's corruption fallout.  MEXICO: The government said a potential meeting between President Enrique Pena Nieto and U.S. President Trump will "depend on the level of progress achieved" (LA Times) in talks between White House Advisor Jared Kushner and top Mexican officials this week. UNITED STATES Trump to Announce Tariffs Despite GOP Opposition President Trump is expected to announce in a Thursday meeting with steel union workers new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that would go into effect within the next month (WaPo). A hundred Republican lawmakers wrote to Trump urging him against the move (WSJ). This CFR Backgrounder looks at the potential impact of the tariffs on the U.S. economy. Turkish and U.S. envoys will begin meetings in Washington today to address ongoing disputes between the NATO allies (Hurriyet), including U.S. support for Kurdish militias in Syria and Turkish efforts to extradite a U.S.-based cleric.         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: March 08, 2018 at 11:03PM