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The Weekly GAB Friday, September 7, 2018
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition | www.usglc.org
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Who's in the News

THE KANSAS CITY STAR

Full Funding for International Affairs Budget Crucial to American
Priorities

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Michael Symanski, U.S. Army Reserve (Ret.)

In late July, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a $100
million-plus plan for American investment in the Indo-Pacific region,
in close coordination with regional allies Australia and Japan. This
significant commitment to American engagement is good news for the
U.S. and Western interests in one of the world's fastest-growing
regions - particularly as China continues to grow its
influence... American interests are more closely aligned with the rest
of the world than ever, creating both historic opportunities and also
unprecedented risks for our national security and economy. Keeping
America secure requires serious investment in all of our foreign
policy tools - diplomacy, development and defense.

THE WASHINGTON POST

The U.S. Can Counter China's 'Belt and Road
Initiative'

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=7N4vCFs5bPdnSxBJ7U-gNg

Ray W. Washburne, President, Overseas Private Investment Corporation

The Aug. 31 editorial "China's version of
colonialism" was right that the United States needs to be
actively promoting a "real alternative" to the Chinese
state-directed model that can leave developing countries worse off.
Fortunately, the Trump administration is actively working with
Congress on a proposal that would do just that. Now making its way
through Congress, the bipartisan Build Act would reform, modernize and
consolidate the development finance capabilities of the U.S.
government, including the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

Development & Diplomacy

THE ECONOMIST

America's Foreign-Aid Budget Has Proved Surprisingly Resilient
|

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Economist Staff

The foreign-aid budget for 2018, passed by Congress in March, looked
very different from the one the White House asked for. Last year the
administration proposed slashing it by a third... Then the
Republican-controlled Congress maintained foreign aid at $35bn, as in
2017, with funding for health and food largely unchanged... Democrats
often champion overseas aid, but this item in the federal budget is
surprisingly popular among Republican politicians too. A non-Trumpian
attachment to American global leadership, a feeling of moral duty and
a belief that foreign aid is in America's national interest all
help to explain why.

NEWSWEEK

Why China Is Giving Africa $60 Billion in "No Political Strings
Attached" Investment |
-60-billion-no-political-strings-attached-investment-1104360

Cristina Maza

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday that his country would give
$60 billion in aid and loans to Africa over the next three years
without asking for any political concessions in return. The
announcement, made during the visit of more than 40 African leaders to
China, appeared aimed at naysayers who claimed China was investing
abroad in order to trap developing nations with large amounts of debt
and make them beholden to Beijing... China is quickly becoming the
largest foreign investor in Africa, with bilateral trade between
Beijing and the continent growing by about 20 percent each year. Some
analysts claimed that the Chinese were investing in African
infrastructure and other industries to gain access to key transport
and supply routes and natural resources, and to win political
influence outside of Asia.

CNN
US Ends All Funding to UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=JAOH-lXhdQiEF-u4i17iVA

Clare Foran and Elise Labott

The United States is ending all funding to the United Nations agency
tasked with supporting Palestinian refugees, the US State Department
said Friday, describing the body as "irredeemably flawed." The United
States has long been the biggest single donor to the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, known
as UNRWA, donating more than $350 million to the agency in 2017. The
agency offers educational, health and social services across the West
Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon to more than 5 million
registered Palestinian refugees. It educates about 500,000 children in
nearly 700 schools and its doctors see more than 9 million patients in
nearly 150 primary health clinics every year.

USGLC GLOBAL IMPACT BLOG
What's Next After the BUILD Act Crosses the Finish Line? |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=szWnMePh_C4rY5cUzcLWmg

John Glenn

President Trump's National Security Strategy, released in
December 2017, said the Administration would seek to "modernize
its development finance tools so that U.S. companies have incentives
to capitalize on opportunities in developing countries." A mere
seven months later, the BUILD Act which proposes a new International
Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) that would double the financing
authority of the existing Overseas Private Investment Corporation
passed in the House and out of committee in the Senate with broad
bipartisan support. This is remarkable in today's Washington and
a step that has been widely applauded. As we approach the finish line,
the hard part lies ahead: how do we ensure it is implemented well? How
can we ensure a newly empowered IDFC has the greatest development
impact? How do we promote strong coordination between the IDFC and
other U.S. development agencies?

Politics & Foreign Policy

THE WASHINGTON POST

Trump Threatens Tariffs on $267 Billion in Chinese Goods, Expanding
the Trade War to All Chinese Imports Entering the U.S. |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=IG_s_LV9_GqbLvreyrJd6Q

David Lynch

President Trump said on Air Force One Friday that he is ready to
impose tariffs on $267 billion in Chinese goods, on top of the
additional $200 billion that he said will likely be hit with tariffs
in a matter of days. If eventually carried out, the president's
latest threat would result in tariffs on all Chinese goods entering
the United States, an unprecedented escalation of Trump's trade
war with China... The tariffs that Trump has imposed and threatened
add up to $517 billion, more than the $505 billion in Chinese goods
that entered the country last year.

AP NEWS
Trump Sees Mixing Trade, Foreign Policy as Good Politics |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=Zc_k_0CahVFyXKWDXw8TjA

Ken Thomas

When President Donald Trump pulled the plug on an upcoming trip to
North Korea by his secretary of state, he pointed a finger of blame at
China and the global superpower's trade practices. In his recent
trade breakthrough with Mexico, Trump praised the country's
outgoing president for his help on border security and agriculture.
Both developments offered fresh evidence of how Trump has made trade
policy the connective tissue that ties together different elements of
his "America First" foreign policy and syncs up them with
his political strategy for the 2020 presidential election... While
previous administrations have often used a carrot-and-stick approach
to trade as a way to forge agreements, before Trump's arrival
trade agendas had emphasized multi-lateral and bilateral deals aimed
at maintaining U.S. leadership around the world, promoting American
values and improving human rights.

THE WASHINGTON POST

U.S., India Sign Military Accord as Pompeo and Mattis Hail Strong
Partnership in New Delhi Meeting |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=haD24-fLO_Bbz2f5Vl6SUg

Joanna Slater

The United States and India signed a major military communications
agreement Thursday during a visit by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to New Delhi, highlighting the
growing partnership between the two nations as they seek to manage a
rising China. The agreement, which had been under discussion for more
than a decade, will allow India to receive military-grade
communications equipment from the United States and permit the
exchange of real-time encrypted information on platforms used by the
Indian and U.S. armed forces... The relationship between the United
States and India has entered "a new era," Pompeo said,
adding that Thursday's meeting was "symbolic of our
increasingly close partnership."

AXIOS

White House Draws Red Line Against Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=jTh6km4Vxl0IrGqCtaQHqg

Zachary Basu

The Trump administration released a statement Tuesday warning that, if
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad chooses again to use chemical
weapons, the United States will respond "swiftly and appropriately."
Assad's forces, backed by Russia and Iran, are preparing to launch an
offensive in the rebel-held province of Idlib, which could result in a
massive humanitarian crisis for the almost three million Syrians who
live there. According to Bob Woodward's new book, Trump reportedly
told Defense Secretary James Mattis he wanted to assassinate Assad
last April after the Syrian dictator used chemical weapons on innocent
civilians.

NBC NEWS

China Eases Economic Pressure on North Korea, Undercutting the Trump
Admin |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=QRsU9Sw5J3CUqxkfE8ix4g

Dan De Luce and Ken Dilanian

China has steadily loosened restrictions on trade with North Korea in
recent months, undercutting President Donald Trump's effort to exert
economic pressure on Kim Jong Un's regime, former U.S. officials and
independent experts told NBC News. From coal shipments to revived
construction projects to planes ferrying Chinese tourists to
Pyongyang, China has reopened the door to both legal and illegal trade
with the North, throwing the North Korean government a vital lifeline
while derailing U.S. diplomacy... The increase in trade can be
traced back to March, when the White House stunned Beijing by
announcing plans for Trump to hold an unprecedented meeting with the
North Korean dictator. Fearing a loss of influence with its often
recalcitrant ally, China invited Kim to three successive summits in
China, in March, May and June.

POLITICO
Congress Corners Pompeo on Saudi Military Actions |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=ffuPauC38hjwPvRwB9Du3w

Nahal Toosi

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo must soon make a key decision that
could sharply limit U.S. backing for Saudi Arabia's
controversial war in Yemen, where more than three years of fighting
have triggered a humanitarian crisis, claims of war crimes and
bipartisan anger in Congress. A bipartisan group of lawmakers inserted
a provision in this year's congressional defense spending bill
requiring Pompeo to certify by Sept. 12 whether Saudi Arabia and its
military ally, the United Arab Emirates, are taking meaningful steps
to reduce civilian casualties, increase humanitarian aid and find a
political solution to the Yemen conflict. If Pompeo doesn't
offer the certification, the law prohibits the U.S. from refueling
Saudi aircraft. The pressure on Pompeo reflects growing anger among
American lawmakers over the U.S. military role in Yemen, where
thousands of civilians have died and millions more face starvation as
a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE battles Iran-backed Houthi
rebels.


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