China’s military has warned it is ready to “smash” Taiwan's independence, as the US reportedly prepares to accelerate the sale of defensive weapons and other military assistance to the self-governing island. China claims the 23 million-person island as its own territory and is prepared to bring it under its control by force if necessary. While China's actions thus far, including daily air and sea incursions around Taiwan, have had limited effect, analysts have warned of the likelihood of a major conflict involving all three sides and possibly US allies including Japan.
US President Joe Biden will visit Australia next week, amid uncertainty over negotiations to lift the debt ceiling in his country. The president will attend the first Quad security dialogue leaders’ summit in Australia, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also present. The leaders will discuss joint measures against issues such as illegal fishing vessels, a supply chain for critical minerals, and the climate crisis. Biden will speak to the Australian parliament and hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. This trip marks the first visit of a US president to the country since 2014.
US President Joe Biden is set to discuss the debt ceiling with congressional leaders at the White House as early outlines of a possible deal emerge. The Tuesday meeting comes as the US Treasury prepares to run out of cash to pay bills as early as June 1, heightening the need for a budget agreement between Democrats and Republicans. Among the ideas being discussed is clawing back some $30bn in unused COVID-19 funds and tweaking work requirements for recipients of government aid. White House and congressional staff have held days of closed-doors discussions to try to thrash out the agreement.
E Jean Carroll has won a victory in her defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump. Carroll was one of 20 women to allege that Trump had sexually assaulted them. In a statement, Carroll called the ruling a “great day for all women” and suggested she was ready to sue the former president again. She also made observations about the way in which Democrats have dealt with Trump, saying that they should be more vocal in calling Trump out. This article calls for the Democrats to take a leaf out of Carroll’s book and fight agnosticism and distaste with the same determination.
Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau has arrived in South Korea for talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. The two leaders are expected to discuss expanding trade between the two countries, as well as the challenges posed by North Korea. The talks are likely to cover North Korea’s human rights record and security cooperation, along with Canadian materials used by South Korean companies to manufacture electric car batteries or semiconductors. Trudeau is the first Canadian leader to visit South Korea in nine years. He will deliver a speech at the National Assembly in Seoul before meeting President Yoon.
A group of US senators has proposed the Taiwan Tax Agreement Act of 2023 that would permit tax breaks for Taiwanese investors. The senators said that this will help to increase investment between the US and Taiwan by removing the double-taxation currently in place in relations between the countries. Offering tax relief could inspire further Taiwanese tech firms to move to the US to set up shop, including the construction of a TSMC $40bn plant in the state of Arizona. According to data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taipei, Taiwan invested $23.73bn in the US between 1952 and 2022, the second highest amount after mainland China. Analysis from experts suggested that this move would increase economic, capital, and personnel mobility between the two countries, disrupting China's chip-making lithography machines and shifting the focus into tech collaboration and development based around US-led tax-friendly policies.
Bill banning uranium imports from Russia passes US House subcommittee
Reuters
23-05-16 17:26
A bill that would prohibit Russian uranium imports to the US passed a committee in the House of Representatives, paving the way for it to become law. The US imported around 14% of its uranium from Russia in 2021, compared to 35% from Kazakhstan and 15% from Canada, with the US the source of around 5% of the mineral used domestically that year. The House bill includes waivers which would allow for Russia to export low-enriched uranium, provided alternative sources are not accessible for nuclear reactors or US nuclear energy firms and if shipments are in the national interest.
The aides of President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are discussing tightening work requirements for low-income Americans' food and other programs ahead of a debt ceiling meeting. The discussion has been primarily centered around the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Tightening work requirements for low-income programs has been demanded by Republicans who are pushing for federal spending cuts before raising the government's debt ceiling of $31.4tn. However, the proposal would face opposition from Biden's Democratic party, who have already shown their disagreement with an idea they consider cruel. The federal SNAP program helped 41.2 million Americans pay for food and groceries in 2022, costing taxpayers $119.4 billion.
President Joe Biden has vetoed legislation that would have repealed exemptions for Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam to US tariffs on imported solar panels. The waivers were granted in June 2022 and will be in place for two years, with imports from these countries accounting for around 80% of US solar panel supplies. Biden said the waivers would bridge the gap while domestic US manufacturing ramps up, allowing it to supply sufficient products to achieve domestic climate goals. Domestic manufacturers, however, argue that the tariffs were needed immediately to combat cheaper overseas panels.
US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has said he will take "more aggressive actions" after the postal service said it would not break even in 2023. US Postal Service (USPS) losses have been reduced from $160bn to $70bn over 10 years after implementing reforms and winning financial relief from Congress. However, inflationary pressures have added $3bn in USPS costs over two years, while declines in mail volume and businesses reducing advertising spend will continue to impact revenues. USPS is raising prices more regularly, while DeJoy called for government accounting changes for retirement contributions which he said would save USPS up to $34.6bn over 10 years.
Japan's GDP figures for the first quarter are set to be the highlight for Asian markets on Wednesday, with expectations of annualised growth of 0.7%, the fastest rate in three quarters, leading to Tokyo stocks opening up 0.2%. China's weaker than expected economic data for April has resulted in slumps across Chinese financial assets, with April house prices also due on Wednesday. Although offshore investors have a new scheme to link Hong Kong with the mainland in order to access interest rate derivatives to help hedge their Chinese bond exposure, concerns about debt demand have cast extra doubt over the yuan's ability to gain reserve currency status.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that his government is in discussions with the prime ministers of Japan and India after US President Joe Biden postponed his upcoming visit to Australia. Biden had been due to attend a Quad leaders' meeting in Sydney on May 24, but cancelled the trip because of the US debt ceiling crisis. Albanese stated that he and Biden had agreed to work to reschedule the visit as soon as possible.
Canada and the United States are joining forces to construct an electric vehicle (EV) corridor of charging stations to promote EV adoption. The corridor will have charging infrastructure every 80 kilometres from Quebec City to Kalamazoo, Michigan, covering 1,400 kilometres. The 215 charging stations will fuel one of the busiest passenger and trade routes between the two countries. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed on a cross-border EV charging network in March. The move will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which the Canadian government says accounts for 23% of Canada's total emissions.
Leaders from six African countries are to hold peace talks in Moscow and Kyiv to end the conflict in Ukraine. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he had spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin and both men had agreed to host an African-led peace mission. The six countries taking part are South Africa, Uganda, the Republic of Congo, Egypt, Zambia and Senegal although there is no timeframe for the talks. The joint Russian-Ukrainian declaration is surprising given recent disruption within the relationship between Russia, South Africa and the US.
The United States Department of the Treasury has warned that it could run out of funds to cover the country’s bills by June 1, heightening fears over the threat of a possible US default. Republican lawmakers are looking to cut social program spending, such as food assistance, in order to raise spending limits. Democrats have said that the situation is particularly galling as the same Republican lawmakers raised spending limits with little resistance when their party was in power. A default in US debt would stump the global economy; leading experts to call for a solution.
US President Joe Biden is expected to emphasise unity and Washington's dedication to the Asia-Pacific during his planned trip for the G7 Summit in Japan whilst navigating a delicate balance between countering China's economic coercion and avoiding further division among US allies. Biden also seeks to build a "little Nato" in Asia to contain Russia and China. While the G7 is expected to outline proposals on countering China's "economic coercion", it is important to not inflame nationalistic tendencies or put smaller countries in a difficult position where they become the target of coercive activities. The trick, according to experts, is to build more robust trade agreements, maritime security measures, and reinforcing supply chains rather than setting up divisions. China carried out 73 incidents of economic coercion aimed at 19 countries between 2020 and 2022, including trade sanctions, investment restrictions, tourism bans and popular boycotts.
US President Joe Biden's historic visit to Papua New Guinea and his planned trip to Australia have been cancelled as he flies back to Washington to deal with ongoing debt limit talks. The decision could be seen as a blow to the US' hopes of being more present in the Indo-Pacific amid its competition with China in the region. The president had planned to sign two security agreements with Papua New Guinea in an effort to counter China's reach in the area.
US President Joe Biden has cancelled his trip to Australia and Papua New Guinea as his team attempts to reach an agreement on the debt ceiling crisis. Although the president will still travel to Japan for the G7 summit, he has shortened his visit in order to return to the US on Sunday. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has argued that a default on the country's debt would trigger a global economic downturn. The US government could run out of money as soon as June if no resolution is found.
A Group of Seven summit is expected to face significant tensions on the issue of nuclear disarmament. Many atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima fear that the summit may be the last time that world leaders will call for disarmament. For those in the West, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has reminded them of the important role played by nuclear deterrence. The summit is also expected to discuss ways of curbing nuclear programmes in Iran and North Korea. Barack Obama, the last US President to visit Hiroshima, chose the city as an opportunity to express his hope for a world without nuclear weapons.
The Quad, an informal alliance of democracies consisting of the US, Japan, India and Australia, has been given new momentum under President Biden, who is set to visit Japan this month. The last summit of Quad leaders, held in Tokyo, led to a programme aimed at curbing illegal fishing across the Indo-Pacific. The group initially came together as a “core group” in response to the devastating Boxing Day tsunami in 2004, while its origins as a formal Quadrilateral Security Dialogue go back to a call by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007. The Quad essentially fell apart the following year, amid concerns that it would alienate China. However, nationalist governments in Japan and India have renewed interest in the group in recent times. China has dismissed the Quad as a means of undermining its interests, with Beijing warning that it contains the “obsolete Cold War and zero-sum mentality”.
