Immigrant Families | EU and India Tariffs | Colombia Peace Tribunal

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. June 21, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Legal Fight Looms as Trump Reverses Family Separation U.S. President Donald J. Trump said at a Minnesota rally that border policy “is going to be just as tough as it’s been” (Politico), hours after he signed an executive order to reverse his administration’s policy of separating immigrant parents from their children when they enter the United States undocumented. The executive order instructs border authorities to keep families detained together for at least twenty days and directs Attorney General Jeff Sessions (WSJ) to seek to modify a 1997 settlement that bars the U.S. government from detaining families for longer. The federal government is expected to face legal obstacles (NYT) if it seeks to detain families beyond the twenty-day period. The fate of some 2,300 immigrant children who have already been separated from their parents is unclear. ANALYSIS "No successful immigration policy can begin at the border. Yes, we need comprehensive reform, but we also need trade and aid policies in Central America to reduce the poverty and help governments contend with violence so that people will not feel compelled to risk their lives to flee," says CFR's President Richard N. Haass. "[There is] a huge backlog of cases at the border, not enough judges, not enough space to house families together, and limited funding to increase these resources. Without congressional action, or without Trump rescinding his 'zero-tolerance policy,' these issues would pose a logistical nightmare and complicate the president’s plan," Salvador Rizzo and Meg Kelly write for the Washington Post. "Most critics don’t grapple with the fact that the administration literally doesn’t have the option of holding parents and kids together for more than a few weeks, which isn’t long enough to resolve an asylum claim," writes the National Review. PACIFIC RIM South Korea Suspends Military Drill The defense ministry announced the suspension of the Taegeuk drills, held annually since 1995, to promote the United States’ nuclear negotiations with North Korea (Korea Times). The announcement follows the suspension of an August joint drill with the United States. NEW ZEALAND: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern became the first elected world leader to give birth while in office (BBC) since Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto did so in 1990. Ardern called New Zealand’s acceptance of her combining a career and family “a sign of our maturity” (NZ Herald). SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA India Retaliates Against U.S. Tariffs In response to U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, India raised duties on American-made products including food items and construction wares (Hindustan Times). The duties are set to take effect on August 4 (Bloomberg). AFGHANISTAN: Denmark and Norway are exploring setting up a center in Kabul to which unaccompanied Afghan minors denied asylum (Reuters) could be deported. Only minors older than fifteen would be returned to Afghanistan under the plan, a Norwegian official said. UN member states should adopt a global framework for migration, Patrycja Sasnal argues in a Council of Councils working paper. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Trump Administration Team Begins Middle East Tour White House advisor Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss the administration’s not-yet-released plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace (Middle East Eye), a day after Kushner met with Jordanian King Abdullah II. They are expected to travel to Qatar today, and then on to Israel (AP). SYRIA: UN investigators accuse government-backed forces of likely crimes against humanity, including the deliberate starvation of civilians (Al Jazeera), during the government’s five-year siege of the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta. Their report omits details on chemical attacks this year included in earlier drafts, according to the New York Times. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Eritrea to Send Delegation to Ethiopia for Peace Talks The delegation, the first of its kind since 1998, when a the two countries fought a war (AP), follows new Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s surprise announcement that he would fully accept a 2000 peace agreement. CFR’s Michelle D. Gavin looks at Ethiopia’s long political transition. GAMBIA: The death toll from a protest this week against pollution, at which police fired on demonstrators, rose to three on Wednesday (BBC). President Adama Barrow said he has ordered an investigation into the security forces and suspended mining in the region (Amnesty). EUROPE EU Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. to Start Friday The European Commission gave its final approval for new duties of 25 percent on a range of U.S. imports, including motorcycles, jeans, food products, and cosmetics (Bloomberg). CFR’s Benn Steil and Benjamin Della Rocca write that the Trump administration’s tariffs are hurting U.S. competitiveness. UK: An EU withdrawal bill backed by Prime Minister Theresa May (FT) narrowly passed Parliament after Brexit secretary David Davis said lawmakers will be given a say next year once the UK’s deal with the European Union has been negotiated. AMERICAS Future of Colombia Tribunal Uncertain After Vote Congress postponed debate on a bill that would establish procedures for the Special Jurisdiction for Peace at the request of President-Elect Ivan Duque. The right-wing Duque has been an outspoken critic of Colombia’s peace deal with the FARC rebel group (Colombia Reports), of which the war crimes tribunal is a part. PANAMA: The firm at the heart of the Panama Papers exposé (Guardian), which revealed offshore accounts used to avoid taxes, did not know the identities of as many as three-fourths of its clients, according to a new report. UNITED STATES Mattis Hails German Defense Spending Increase Meeting German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen in Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis welcomed Germany’s commitment to increase its defense spending by 80 percent (DW) by 2024. That would bring Germany’s total to 1.5 percent of GDP, shy of its NATO obligation of 2 percent.         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: June 21, 2018 at 10:14PM