US and South Korea to scale back major military exercise
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says the United States and South Korea will scale back a major military exercise next spring to avoid setting back diplomacy over North Korea’s nuclear weapons.
Negotiations
Getting rid of me risks delaying Brexit – May
British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday toppling her would risk delaying Brexit and she would not let talk of a leadership challenge distract her from a critical week of negotiations with Brussels.
U.S. think tank says at least 13 undeclared missile bases identified in North Korea
A U.S. think tank said on Monday it had identified at least 13 of an estimated 20 undeclared missile bases inside North Korea, underscoring the challenge for American negotiators hoping to persuade Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
UK PM May dives into diplomacy in bid to clinch Brexit deal
Prime Minister Theresa May steps up attempts to court European support for a Brexit deal on Thursday as negotiations on securing a smooth British divorce from the world’s biggest trading bloc enter their final stages.
Trump said to question Netanyahu commitment to peace, threaten to get ‘tough’
US President Donald Trump has said he is willing to ‘be tough’ on Israel in peace negotiations, mirroring the administration’s combative stance toward the Palestinian Authority, according to an Israeli report Monday.
US to enter trade talks with Japan, European Union, Britain
The Trump administration is formally notifying Congress that it plans to pursue trade agreements with the European Union, Japan and Britain.
Britain sees Brexit progress, again calls on EU to ‘meet us halfway’
Brexit minister Dominic Raab voiced confidence on Tuesday that Britain and the European Union would make progress on their divorce at a summit next week, but again asked the bloc to meet London ‘halfway’ on the most difficult areas.
INSS presents peace plan: Two-states, ‘separation’ from the Palestinians
The Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) will unveil a two-state peace framework on Monday that includes steps it says Israel can take to retain a strategic advantage even if there is no partner on the other side with whom to negotiate.
Auto restrictions in Trump trade deal with Mexico, Canada used to pressure China
President Trump’s ability to wangle a new deal from NAFTA partners Mexico and Canada will give the White House leverage to take a harder line in the escalating trade war with China, administration backers said Monday.
NAFTA overhaul paves the way for US, Canada auto-manufacturing rally
The revised trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the U.S. should buoy automotive manufacturing in North America and give the Trump administration heightened leverage in its trade negotiations with China.
Canada-US reach deal to stay in trade pact with Mexico
Canada was back in a revamped North American free trade deal with the United States and Mexico late Sunday after weeks of bitter, high-pressure negotiations that brushed up against a midnight deadline.
Trump eagerly awaiting meeting with Netanyahu, U.S. envoy says
U.S. Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt on Monday refuted a report claiming that President Donald Trump was planning to rebuke Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York this week.
Brexit deadlock: Theresa May urges EU to compromise
European leaders gathered in the Austrian city of Salzburg on Thursday for the second day of an informal summit. One of the main issues are the deadlocked negotiations on Brexit, the final agreement on which is supposed to be laid out in October. Immigration, a major policy point for Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, whose government holds the rotating EU presidency, and security in the bloc are the other major talking points.
Trump broadens pressure on PA, closing its DC offices
The Trump administration ordered the closure of Palestine Liberation Organization offices in Washington on Monday, broadening its pressure campaign on Ramallah to return to peace talks with Israel.
Senate comes together to fight opioid crisis
The Senate will vote this week on a massive bipartisan bill that combines 70 different measures aimed at reducing addiction and drug overdose deaths from opioids such as heroin and prescription painkillers.
Envoy: US won’t present peace plan that fails to meet Israel’s security needs
‘We will not put forth a plan or endorse a plan that doesn’t meet all of Israel’s security issues because they are of extreme importance to us,’ U.S. Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt said in an interview to the Land of Israel Network over the weekend.
Canada’s Freeland says NAFTA trade talks with U.S. ‘very intense’
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Wednesday that NAFTA trade negotiations with the United States were at a ‘very intense moment’ and Canada was looking for compromises that were ‘win-win’ for all sides.
Trump makes trade agreement with Mexico to replace NAFTA, puts pressure on Canada to deal
President Trump heralded a tentative trade deal with Mexico on Monday as a big win for his get-tough trade policies, which he said put Canada on the spot to start its own negotiations with the U.S. or face higher tariffs on autos.
With new special envoy, Pompeo heading to N Korea amid ‘deadlock’ over denuclearization
Amid what North Korea calls a ‘deadlock’ in denuclearization talks, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Pyongyang next week, with the new Special Representative for North Korea, Steve Biegun, in tow.
$675 billion Pentagon spending bill approved by the Senate
The Senate passed its version of a $675 billion appropriations bill Thursday to fund the Pentagon in fiscal 2019, setting up negotiations with the House on a final spending plan.