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"U.S. Treasury Secretary arrives in China for talks on tech production glut."

Views expressed in this geopolitical news update are those of the reporters and correspondents. Accessed on 04 April 2024, 1614 UTC.

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Russ Roberts (https://trendsingeopolitics.blogspot.com).

Daily News Brief April 4, 2024

Top of the Agenda

U.S. Treasury Secretary Arrives in China for Talks on Tech Production Glut

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will use meetings (FT) with senior Chinese officials on her four-day trip to address concerns that Chinese oversupply of green technologies is unfairly flooding global markets (NYT) and poses particular harm to U.S. manufacturing. Yellen said she would not rule out the possibility of putting up new U.S. trade barriers to address the issue. Beijing, meanwhile, has argued that U.S. objections on the matter are a pretext for decoupling the world’s two largest economies. Other countries have also voiced concerns about Chinese subsidies and oversaturation of green tech in recent months. The European Union (EU) this week launched two probes (DW, Reuters, AP) into subsidies on Chinese solar manufacturers that are suspected to have breached EU competition laws by undercutting local suppliers.

Analysis “It is hard to have a balanced global economy if the world’s second-largest economy is so underweight [on] consumption & so overweight [on] manufacturing exports,” CFR expert Brad W. Setser posts.   “I think [the U.S. warning is] extremely important particularly coming from Secretary Yellen because China views Treasury as the agency that’s the most open to working with them,” the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Wendy Cutler tells the Wall Street Journal. “I assume her pitch will be that we’re willing to take action but we’d prefer to work with you to head this off—because, if not, this is going to take our delicate détente into choppy waters.” CFR’s new RealEcon initiative assesses the role of the United States in the international economy and identifies the trade-offs of different policy approaches.

Pacific Rim

Indonesian President-Elect Travels to Malaysia

Prabowo Subianto met with (Nikkei) Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in the city of Putrajaya to reaffirm close relations with Malaysia, Prabowo’s first stop in Southeast Asia since winning the February election. Under Indonesia’s former president, the two countries partnered on issues such as fighting agricultural regulations from the EU.

South and Central Asia

UNICEF: Civilian Deaths in Myanmar From Landmines Nearly Tripled in 2023

More than one thousand civilians died from landmines and other explosive ordnance last year amid the country’s civil war, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said. A UNICEF official called for the end of landmine use in Myanmar and noted that the weapons are being used by all sides of the conflict. India/Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka said it sees no need (Reuters) to reopen talks with India over New Delhi’s 1976 cession of the uninhabited island of Katchatheevu. India’s ruling party has criticized the cession during the current campaign period for the national election, saying the opposition Indian National Congress party was wrong to cede the island when it was in power at the time.

Middle East and North Africa

Benny Gantz of Israel’s War Cabinet Calls for Elections in September

Gantz said yesterday that an early vote is a chance for the Israeli people to “renew their trust in us,” appearing to be responding (Reuters) to thousands of Israelis who have protested calling for early elections in recent days. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Gantz’s proposal, while his Likud Party said that elections would bring about “paralysis” and “division” in the country.   On this episode of The President’s Inbox, CFR expert Steven A. Cook gives an update on the war in Gaza.  U.S./Yemen: Washington would consider revoking (Bloomberg) a terrorist designation for Yemen’s Houthi rebels if they stop attacking ships in the Red Sea, the U.S. special envoy for Yemen said yesterday. The United States named the Houthis a terrorist group in January, and in recent months has tried to deter their attacks by striking Houthi positions.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Zimbabwe Declares National State of Disaster Over Drought

The country followed neighboring Malawi and Zambia in declaring a national disaster over a drought that is sweeping across southern Africa, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa appealing to international and local aid groups to provide $2 billion in humanitarian aid. Climate change has exacerbated (BBC) drought conditions in the region; this could mark one of the worst in decades.   Uganda: The country’s Constitutional Court upheld (NYT) a strict anti-LGBTQ+ law yesterday that has strained Uganda’s relations with Western countries. The court’s judges said the law violated some rights granted in Uganda’s constitution but declined to fully strike it down. This article by CFR’s Mariel Ferragamo and Kali Robinson explores Africa’s struggle for LGBTQ+ rights.

Europe

Russia Warns France Against Sending Troops to Ukraine

The admonition came (AP) when Russia’s and France’s defense ministers spoke on the phone yesterday for the first time since October 2022. Russia’s defense minister also said Moscow is ready to participate in talks to end the war.   Brussels: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) marked (Reuters) its seventy-fifth anniversary at a ceremony today. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that “Europe needs North America for its security,” at the same time that “North America also needs Europe.” The group has grown from twelve to thirty-two members since it was founded in 1949. In this YouTube Short, CFR expert Charles A. Kupchan discusses NATO’s enduring relevance.

Americas

Brazil, Colombia Helped Slow Tropical Forest Loss in 2023

While the two countries made major strides (NYT) in slowing tropical forest destruction from 2022 levels, wildfires in Canada and the expansion of agriculture elsewhere in the world rolled back progress, according to the World Resources Institute. Currently, the world is not on track to meet its goal of halting all forest loss by 2030.  Colombia: A committee in Colombia’s senate rejected (Reuters) yesterday President Gustavo Petro’s attempt to extend government control over the health-care sector, one of his flagship political goals. The administration would only be able to propose a new version of its reform during the next legislative session that begins in July.

United States

EPA Lays Out Process for Spending $20 Billion on Green Projects in Low-Income Communities

Eight organizations will distribute (Reuters) money approved in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to projects such as off-grid renewable energy and home energy retrofitting programs, Vice President Kamala Harris and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan said today.

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