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The Weekly GAB Friday, October 5, 2018
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition | www.usglc.org
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Who's in the News

AP NEWS
Melania Trump Promotes US Agency, Trump Wants to Cut Funding |

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Darlene Superville

Melania Trump spent Thursday in southern Africa promoting the work of
a U.S. international development agency whose funding President Donald
Trump has twice proposed slashing by nearly a third. Lawmakers
essentially ignored those requests... A batch of 1.4 million books
donated Thursday brought to nearly 10 million the total Malawi has
received in recent years under USAID's national reading program,
officials said. Malawi's education minister said the partnership
had "significantly" improved student literacy. But the
Trump administration sought a roughly 30 percent cut in funding for
the State Department and USAID in its first two budgets. Widespread
bipartisan opposition in Congress averted the reductions.

THE DES MOINES REGISTER

Responding to China's Ad in the Des Moines Register, Trump's
Ambassador Calls Out China

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Terry Branstad, U.S. Ambassador to China

On Sept. 23, the China Daily - a newspaper the Chinese Communist
Party uses to circulate propaganda to foreign audiences - took
out a paid advertisement in the Des Moines Register criticizing U.S.
actions on trade... The Trump administration is putting America and
Americans first by calling on China to live up to its pledge when it
joined the World Trade Organization in 2001 to provide greater
economic openness and to compete on a level playing field... In the
meantime, it is simply unsustainable for the world's
second-largest economy to ignore or dismiss fundamental precepts of
free and fair trade, while the United States and the rest of the world
are forced to pay the price for China's misguided and
adversarial economic policies.

Development & Diplomacy

THE FINANCIAL TIMES
US Senate Passes $60bn Foreign Development Bill |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=vni6j5Pi_z7J_Z-UOQDf4A

David Pilling and James Politi

The Senate has passed a bill that will create a $60bn agency to invest
in developing countries in what has been sold to Donald Trump, the US
president, as a way of countering China's growing global
influence. In a rare spirit of bipartisanship, on Wednesday the Senate
passed the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development
(Build) Act by 93 votes to 6... The Build Act has been packaged as
vital to counter what has been described as China's "debt
trap diplomacy" - ensnaring developing countries by
loading them up with unpayable loans.

DEVEX

After UNGA, Crucial Questions Around US Development, Humanitarian Aid,
Technology, and More |

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Adva Saldinger, Michael Igoe, Amy Lieberman, Sophie Edwards, and
Catherine Cheney

As the dust settles from the whirlwind of one of global
development's busiest weeks, it is a time to figure out what
might have a lasting impact... On one hand, U.S. officials and
lawmakers championed new tools and approaches designed to bring
America's engagement in developing countries into a more modern era...
At the same time, President Trump's speech to the General Assembly
rehashed old visions of development assistance as a political tool for
extracting reciprocal favors... What exactly that means for USAID and
other development agencies remains to be seen, but Green told Devex he
feels comfortable with the new arrangement.

NPR
Foreign Aid in the Trump Era |
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Michele Kelemen

President Trump wants to cut aid to countries that don't support U.S.
policies. He made that clear again in his speech this week at the
United Nations. The administration's already cutting aid to
Palestinians to try to pressure them into negotiations with Israel.
It's a big change from the previous administration, and groups working
to address crises and alleviate poverty are worried.

AL-MONITOR

Pence Pressure Prompts USAID to Appoint Liaison for Iraqi Christians |

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Bryant Harris

Displaced Iraqi Christians now have their own special liaison to the
premier US aid agency, thanks to pressure from Vice President Mike
Pence. USAID Administrator Mark Green has appointed Max Primorac as
special representative for minority assistance programs to oversee the
distribution of US aid for Iraqi Christians and Yazidis as they seek
to rebuild their lives... Primorac previously oversaw stabilization
and reconstruction projects in Iraq during the George W. Bush
administration. More recently, he served as president of the Institute
for Stabilization and Transition before leaving in February to become
a senior adviser for USAID's Middle East bureau.

FREE LANCE-STAR
Tsunami Shows Why Foreign Aid Is Still Vital |

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William Lambers, Author, Ending World Hunger

The earthquake and tsunami that struck Indonesia over the weekend is a
call to action to help those in need overseas. It's also a
reminder as to why our foreign aid programs are so vital... Help from
the United States is crucial for Indonesia, but also for the many
other countries victimized by disasters and conflict... While
President Trump has taken an approach toward reducing foreign aid, the
reality is we cannot become isolationist. We cannot ignore those
suffering from hunger and poverty, even in lands far away... United
States Food for Peace is one of the aid programs that President Trump
has threatened to eliminate. Yet this initiative has done great work
in funding the humanitarian agencies in the Sahel. Food for Peace,
with more funding from Congress, could do a lot more to help the Sahel
and other regions in distress.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
Viruses on a Plane: What Emirates Flight EK203 Teaches Us

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=8S5RnLm-YnBJ0MQqGpcURg

Marian W. Wentworth, President and CEO of Management Sciences for
Health

Even before Emirates flight EK203 arrived in New York on September 5
carrying dozens of ill passengers, the crisis response was under
way... It was an excellent dry run to test our capabilities for fast
detection, reporting and interagency coordination... But what if an
airplane carrying passengers harboring an unknown and possibly deadly
pathogen landed in a country without a robust health system? ...
Preparedness doesn't happen by chance. A responsive, resilient
health system requires commitment and investments of money and time.

USGLC GLOBAL IMPACT BLOG
Nobel Laureates, Lasers, and A Path to Curing Blindness in Armenia |

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Allison Taylor

The Nobel Prize is a celebration of revolutionary achievements and
discoveries in science, literature, and peace, and recognizes the
global impact that these achievements have had. This week, the Nobel
Prize in Physics was awarded to three scientists for their
groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physics. Donna
Strickland who joins the ranks of just two other female Nobel
Laureates in physics and her colleague Gérard Mourou were awarded the
prize for developing a technique to create extremely brief,
high-intensity laser pulses. Since the 1960s, lasers have been used to
deliver extremely precise treatments to patients suffering from a
range of eye problems often preventing (or even curing) total
blindness.

Politics & Foreign Policy

THE WASHINGTON POST
Trump's Growing Diplomatic Isolation on Iran |

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Ishaan Tharoor

President Trump's reintroduction of sanctions on Iran
isn't going over well with the international community. On
Wednesday, the United Nations' highest court ordered the United
States to remove any restrictions on the export of humanitarian goods
and services to Iran. Iranian officials had appealed to the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, arguing that
Trump's move to pull out of the nuclear deal with Iran and
reimpose sanctions violated, among other things, a 1955 Treaty of
Amity between the two countries.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

U.S. Weighed Penalizing El Salvador Over Support for China, Then
Backed Off |

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Gardiner Harris

The Trump administration considered severely penalizing El Salvador
this month for severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan in a move that
officials said was intended to signal a significant widening of the
administration's pushback against China... The threat set off a
furious internal debate between the White House and State Department,
and pit American diplomats focused on China against those working on
issues in the Western Hemisphere. It also displayed the
administration's determination to challenge China beyond a
growing trade war, even before it settles on a clear strategy... [The
White House Statement] was followed by a threat from key Republican
senators - Marco Rubio of Florida and Cory Gardner of Colorado
- to push legislation to end foreign aid to El Salvador.

HOUSTON CHRONICLE
When It Comes to North Korea, Diplomacy, Not Flattery, Gets Results

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=xuVy8Ap4H6vrEzcNWPsCIA

Erik Vidor, Truman National Security Project

The new push toward peace that we're seeing on the Korean
Peninsula is welcome, even if it has more to do with the hard work of
South Korean diplomats than President Trump's dance of flattery
with his new friend... Diplomacy has to be our first, best option for
resolving the North Korean nuclear problem. We know that tough,
principled, and U.S.-led diplomatic efforts - not empty flattery
- are what really gets us results... Ultimately, President Trump
may not always know where he stands with Kim Jong Un and North Korea,
and we may not either. But the risks of a conflict on the peninsula
are as certain as they would be catastrophic, and that's reason
enough to stay engaged on this critical issue.

POLITICO
U.S. Tells China: We Want Competition Not Cooperation |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=xrZL9O1EmokRFH2lECswtw

Keegan Elmer

The United States sees its relationship with China as a competition, a
senior member of the Trump administration has told Chinese diplomats
at an event that highlighted the gulf between the two sides'
world views. While Cui Tiankai, China's ambassador to the U.S.,
used the reception at his country's embassy in Washington to
highlight the importance of cooperation, Matt Pottinger, a senior
director for Asian affairs on the National Security Council, made
America's intentions clear... The notion of freedom and
competition sat "at the core" of America's democracy
and market economy, Pottinger said, adding that failing to acknowledge
the competition between the two sides would lead to misunderstandings
and miscalculations.

CNN

US Secretary of Defense Mattis Cancels Trip to Beijing Amid Worsening
Ties |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=ckHnhhubqqji4d_6jxTpWg

Ryan Browne and Ben Westcott

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis has pulled out of a planned visit
to Beijing in October, a US official tells CNN, the latest sign of
deteriorating ties between the United States and China... The decision
to pull out of the trip comes amid growing tensions between Washington
and Beijing across multiple fronts, from the Trump administration's
tariffs on Chinese goods to new sanctions announced against the
Chinese military... In a sign of growing tensions, the Chinese
government canceled a port visit to Hong Kong by the USS Wasp, a US
Navy amphibious assault ship, last week.

POLITICO

Trump's New Loyalty Test: Don't Make Trade Deal with China
|

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=WQ6VjjHw0Hk0AQt-Bkc3OQ

Luiza Ch. Savage, Adam Behsudi, Alexander Panetta and Lauren Gardner

The fine print of the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement
includes a provision that requires any country in the pact to give
three months' notice to other parties if it is entering into trade
negotiations with a nonmarket economy, which the U.S. considers China
to be. If one country enters into a deal with China or another similar
economy, then that nation can be kicked out of the newly negotiated
trade pact... The clause represents a loyalty test that is expected to
serve as a template for future U.S. trade agreements with other
countries... White House National Economic Council Director Larry
Kudlow emphasized the significance of the provision, saying it sends a
signal to China "that we are acting as one."

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

Trump's 'America First' Agenda Meant America Was Mostly Alone at the
U.N. |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=CZn5ZK_aRXIgcSEFpXiy8g

Tracy Wilkinson

President Trump's second appearance at the U.N. General Assembly
did not get the response he probably sought from the 193 countries
gathered in New York this week. Some leaders and diplomats openly
laughed at his boasts. He failed to win support for his hard-line
policies on Iran, Venezuela, an international war crimes court,
climate change and migration... Leaders who once courted Trump,
attempted to gain his ear, or tried to persuade him to support global
institutions that long were U.S. foreign policy priorities, made clear
they would forge on without him on multiple issues of concern.

THE FINANCIAL TIMES
Canada and US Negotiators Reach Deal to Revamp Nafta |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=eYD4ou0APDcV4UEPeKu_oQ

James Politi and Jude Webber

Donald Trump has hailed Canada's decision to sign up to a deal
with the US and Mexico to revamp Nafta as "the most important
trade deal we've ever made so far," ending months of
uncertainty that had affected all three countries' economies
since Mr Trump took office... Officials from the US and Canada said
the agreement had been reached late on Sunday, just hours before a
deadline for the US and Mexico to send the text of the deal to
Congress... The US-Canada agreement followed weeks of tension between
Mr Trump and the Canadian negotiating team, as they hashed out a
compromise over measures relating to the dairy sector, dispute
settlement mechanisms, car tariffs and cultural provisions.

REUTERS

Tariff Deal with U.S. Not Yet Even in 'Pre-Work' Stage: EU Trade Chief
|

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=XNReXwTRg9HfGox_buzIFQ

Philip Blenkinsop

The European Union has yet to begin even "pre-work"
towards a transatlantic trade agreement on industrial goods aimed at
averting a tariff war with U.S. President Donald Trump, Trade
Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Friday. Addressing a meeting of
EU trade ministers, Malmstrom said there was progress in ongoing
efforts to improve trade ties with the United States by cooperating on
regulations, but she suggested a deal on reducing import duties was a
long way off... The EU ministers met to debate what to offer the
United States to ease trade tensions and avert a return to a
tit-for-tat tariff conflict.


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