Sergio Marchionne, Who Saved Fiat and Chrysler, Has Died
25/07/2018
Sergio Marchionne, a charismatic and demanding CEO who engineered two long-shot corporate turnarounds to save carmakers Fiat and Chrysler from near-certain failure, died Wednesday. He was 66.
The holding company of Fiat’s founders, the Agnelli family, announced Marchionne had died after unexpected complications from surgery in Zurich. That came days after a deterioration in his health led the company to hastily appoint a successor.
At Fiat Chrysler Automobiles headquarters in the Italian city of Turin, corporate flags flew at half-staff while inside the building, Marchionne’s successor led a minute of silence ahead of an earnings presentation. Workers at a plant near Naples that Marchionne had brought back to life halted production for 10 minutes in tribute.
“Unfortunately what we feared has come to pass,” said John Elkann, Fiat heir and head of the Exor holding company. “Sergio Marchionne, man and friend, is gone.”
The news agency ANSA reported the cause of death as cardiac arrest. He suffered one while recovering from shoulder surgery late last month, landing him in intensive care, followed by a second, fatal event. Fiat Chrysler declined to comment, citing privacy issues.
The Italian-Canadian had planned to step down after first-quarter earnings next year, but the transition was accelerated after the company announced that the complications, which it did not detail, would prevent his return. He also was replaced as CEO of sportscar maker Ferrari and heavy truck and equipment maker CNH Industrial.
Marchionne turned around the dysfunctional Fiat and Chrysler, merging them into the world’s seventh-largest carmaker, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, almost by personal force of will, living on a corporate jet crossing the Atlantic to push employees to accomplish what most people thought was impossible amid a devastating global recession.
Marchionne, who was born in Italy and emigrated to Canada at age 14, had revived Fiat by 2009 when he was picked by the U.S. government to save U.S.-based Chrysler from its trip through bankruptcy protection after being owned by a private equity company.
“It’s highly unlikely that Chrysler would exist today had he not taken that gamble,” said Autotrader.com analyst Michelle Krebs. “The company was in such bad shape, being stripped of any kind of resources by the previous owners.”
Marchionne met most of his goals, even though at times he was doubted by nearly everyone in the automobile business. But he didn’t live long enough to complete his last two: personally hand over the reins of Fiat Chrysler to a hand-picked protege and lay out plans for transforming supercar maker Ferrari.
The manager, known for his folksy, colorful turns of phrase and for his dark cashmere sweaters no matter the occasion, was the darling of the automotive analyst community. Even when expressing doubts at his audacious targets, they showed admiration for his adept deal-making. That included getting General Motors to pay $2 billion to sever ties with Fiat, key to relaunching the long-struggling Italian brand, and the deal with the U.S. government to take Chrysler without a penny down in exchange for Fiat’s small-car technology.
Marchionne joined Fiat after being tapped by the Agnelli family to save the company. Fiat had for generations been a family-run enterprise and having someone at the helm from outside Italy’s clubby management circles — even a dynamo like Marchionne — was an enormous change.
Other key corporate moves included the spinoff of the heavy industrial vehicle and truck maker CNH and of the Ferrari supercar maker. Both deals unlocked considerable shareholder value for Agnelli family heirs led by Elkann. Elkann, 42, came into his own under Marchionne’s stewardship, taking over as chairman in 2010 having been tapped more than a decade earlier by his grandfather, the late Gianni Agnelli, to run the family business.
As Marchionne’s health failed following surgery, a clearly emotional Elkann delivered what amounted to an impromptu eulogy and message of gratitude to a man he called his mentor.
“He taught us to think differently and to have the courage to change, often in unconventional ways, always acting with a sense of responsibility for the companies and their people,” Elkann said over the weekend. “He taught us that the only question that’s worth asking oneself at the end of every day is whether we have been able to change something for the better, whether we have been able to make a difference.”
It was Marchionne’s success in turning around a pair of Swiss businesses that drew the attention of the Agnelli family. He joined Fiat’s board in May 2003, four months after the death of Fiat scion Gianni Agnelli. He became CEO in June 2004, after the death of Gianni Agnelli’s brother, Umberto, Fiat’s chairman, left a family void in the company.
As an outsider, Marchionne was unfettered by local loyalties and he set about cutting jobs and expenses, slimming management ranks and increasing shareholder value along the way. He brought in other outsiders to key positions and relaunched the iconic 500, which became one of the new Fiat’s calling cards and a sign of rebirth as it expanded abroad.
While he started small with limited industrial alliances, his ambitions soon grew. The bankruptcy of Chrysler gave him the opportunity to create a global car company with brands including Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Maserati that he envisioned would grow to 6 million cars a year. A global economic crisis that bottomed out car sales in key U.S. and European markets prevented him from reaching that goal, but his industrial vision never faltered as he spun off CNH and Ferrari into stand-alone entities.
His most quoted presentation to analysts, titled “Confessions of a Capital Junkie,” argued that consolidation was inevitable in the investment-heavy car industry. But though he tried for another merger with General Motors, talks never led to a deal. Still, newspaper photographs of a chain-smoking Marchionne awaiting talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel outside the Chancellery in Berlin on the role of GM’s then-subsidiary, Opel, made clear just how personally he took the negotiations.
Marchionne had always insisted that his successor would come from inside — so it was no surprise when British manager Mike Manley, who helped boost Jeep to global success and get Fiat a foothold in Asia, was named CEO.
“Clearly, this is a very sad and difficult time, and our thoughts and prayers go to Sergio’s family, friends and colleagues,” Manley told an analyst conference call presenting second quarter result. “Personally, having spent the last nine years of my life seeing or talking to Sergio almost on a daily basis this morning’s news is heartbreaking.”
“There is no doubt Sergio was a very special, unique man and there is no doubt that he’s going to be sorely missed.”
Marchionne had never indicated plans to leave either Ferrari or CNH, leaving many to speculate that the tireless manager known for his short sleep cycles and globe-trotting style would use those positions to keep a foothold in the automotive world.
In June, he laid out Fiat Chrysler’s five-year plan, which included launching electrified powertrains across Fiat brands — a tacit acknowledgement that the company had lagged in introducing hybrid, hybrid-electric and full-electric engines. They also were to put Ferrari engines in Maserati cars as Marchionne sought to take on electric-car pioneer Tesla.
Marchionne’s penchant for numbers was always clear in his attentive quarterly presentations. He let his real satisfaction show during the June 2018 presentation when he announced the company had reached zero debt, by briefly donning a necktie for the first time in a decade.
Other automotive leaders paid tribute to Marchionne’s skill, creativity and determination.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra praised his “remarkable legacy in the automotive industry.” Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford called Marchionne “one of the most respected leaders in the industry whose creativity and bold determination helped to restore Chrysler to financial health and grow Fiat Chrysler into a profitable global automaker.”
At his last public appearance as CEO, Marchionne in June attended a ceremony in Rome where a Jeep was presented to the paramilitary Carabinieri police. Marchionne began his brief remarks noting that his father had been a Carabinieri officer.
He said he recognized in the Carabinieri “the same values at the basis of my own education: seriousness, honesty, sense of duty, discipline and spirit of service.”
Marchionne was divorced. He is survived by his companion, Manuela Battezzato, and two grown sons, Alessio and Tyler.
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2 With Alleged IS Ties Returned to US, Face Prosecution
25/07/2018
At least two Americans believed to have joined the Islamic State terror group have been brought back to the United States to face charges.
Senior administration officials confirmed Tuesday that Ibraheem Musaibli of Dearborn, Michigan, and Samantha ElHassani of Indiana, arrived on U.S. soil Tuesday after U.S. forces escorted them from Syria.
In a statement, the Justice Department said Musaibli, “a natural-born U.S. citizen,” would be arraigned in federal court in Detroit on Wednesday.
‘Material support to ISIS’
Musaibli is charged with attempting to provide material support to IS, fighting with the terror group from April 2015 until his capture by U.S.-backed Syrian forces in June.
“Musaibli’s alleged provision of material support to ISIS put the United States at risk and may have endangered the lives of countless innocent people,” John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement that used an acronym for the militant group.
“The indictment in this case serves as a reminder of the danger posed by those who travel overseas to join forces with ISIS,” Timothy Slater, FBI special agent in charge, added.
ElHassani has been charged with making false statements to the FBI and will appear in federal court in Hammond, Indiana, at a later date, the Justice Department said Tuesday.
She was accompanied by her four children, two of whom were born in Syria, an official said. Her children are in the care of the Indiana Department of Child Services, a Justice Department statement said.
In media interviews done while in Kurdish custody, ElHassani said her husband, Moussa ElHassani, a Moroccan national, tricked her into accompanying him to Syria while they were vacationing in Turkey in 2015.
“We ended up in Raqqa,” she said in an interview with Frontline and the BBC. “The first thing I say to him is, ‘You’re crazy, and I’m leaving.’ And he said, with a big smile on his face, ‘Go ahead. You can try, but you won’t make it.’ ”
Moussa ElHassani was reportedly killed while fighting for IS. Samantha ElHassani said she and her four children eventually left Raqqa along with two Yazidi slave girls and ended up in a Kurdish detention camp.
In various media interviews, she has described her time in IS-held territory as harrowing, telling of failed escape attempts.
Her eldest son, Matthew, 10, was featured in an IS propaganda video in which he threatened attacks on the West.
According to a report earlier this year by George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, about 70 Americans have traveled to Iraq and Syria and have affiliated with IS or other jihadist groups since 2011.
Of those, 24 are believed to be dead, more than 14 have been apprehended, and the fates of a couple dozen others are still unknown.
European nations
U.S. officials have been pushing for European countries to take back nationals who left to fight with IS and prosecute them, but many have refused.
Earlier Tuesday, a French air force general serving with the anti-IS coalition in Iraq said his government’s position had not changed.
“It is quite clear. The government of France has said they don’t want these people back,” said Brigadier General Frederic Parisot, who also serves as the coalition’s director of civil-military operations.
Despite pushing for countries to take back their foreign fighters, U.S. policy on what to do with Americans suspected of fighting for IS has been less than clear.
In June, the U.S. announced it would release an American citizen suspected of being a member of IS in Syria. The Justice Department said it had given the man, who holds dual U.S.-Saudi citizenship, a choice of being released “either in a town or outside an Internally Displaced Persons camp.” But that decision has been put on hold, pending further legal action, according to court filings.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which has been representing the man, slammed the decision to release him in what it described as a war zone.
Department of Justice correspondent Masood Farivar contributed to this report.
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Heart of Yosemite Park to Close as Crews Battle Blaze
25/07/2018
The heart of Yosemite National Park, where throngs of tourists are awe-struck by cascading waterfalls and towering granite features like El Capitan and Half Dome, will be closed as firefighters try to corral a huge wildfire just to the west that has cast a smoky pall and threatened the park’s forest, officials said Tuesday.
Yosemite Valley will be closed for at least four days beginning at noon Wednesday, along with a winding, mountainous, 20-mile (32-kilometer) stretch of State Route 41, park spokesman Scott Gediman said.
At least a thousand campground and hotel bookings will be canceled — to say nothing of the impact on day visitors, park workers and small businesses along the highway, Gediman said.
“We’re asking people here tonight to leave tomorrow morning,” he said. “And anyone that’s incoming tomorrow will get an email or phone call stating that their reservation is canceled.”
The last time the 7.5-mile-long (12-kilometer-long) valley was closed because of fire was 1990, he said.
Yosemite wasn’t under imminent danger from the Ferguson fire, officials were quick to point out. Authorities decided on the closure to allow crews to perform protective measures like burning away brush along roadways without having to deal with traffic in the park that welcomes 4 million visitors annually.
Yosemite Valley is the centerpiece of the visitor experience, offering views of landmarks such as Half Dome, Sentinel Dome, Bridal Veil Fall, El Capitan and Yosemite Falls. The glacial valley’s grand vista of waterfalls and shear granite faces has been obscured by a choking haze of smoke from a nearby fire.
Visitors are advised to “limit activity during the periods of poor air quality,” the park said in a statement. “Some facilities and services are closed or diminished.”
Over nearly two weeks, flames have churned through more than 57 square miles (147.6 square kilometers) of timber in steep terrain of the Sierra Nevada just west of the park. The fire was 25 percent contained Tuesday morning.
Mandatory evacuations are in place in several communities, while others have been told to get ready to leave if necessary.
More than 3,300 firefighters are working the fire, aided by 16 helicopters. One firefighter was killed July 14, and six others have been injured.
Gediman suggested valley visitors divert to Tuolumne Meadows, on Yosemite’s northern edge, or to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks to the south.
“There are wonderful places to visit in the region, so we’re asking people to consider alternative plans,” he said.
In the state’s far north, a nearly 4-square-mile (10.3-square-kilometer) wildfire has forced the evacuation of French Gulch, a small Shasta County community that dates to the Gold Rush.
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Mexico, Latam Allies Commit to Free Trade Amid Trump Threats
25/07/2018
Led by Mexico, major Latin American nations pledged to deepen commercial and economic ties on Tuesday as they sought to counter the risk of a deepening trade war sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy.
Leaders of the Pacific Alliance and Mercosur trading blocs met in the Mexican resort city of Puerto Vallarta, seeking to present a united front against potential disruptions stemming from Trump’s threats to slap new tariffs on major markets.
“The aim was to strengthen the links between the two most important trade blocs in Latin America,” said outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who has spent much of the past two years mired in trade negotiations with Trump.
“Today we’re sending the world a clear signal we’re moving onward with regional integration and free trade,” he added.
Later this week, top Mexican officials will renew talks with the Trump administration in Washington aimed at renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Mexico is heavily dependent on the United States as an export market and Trump’s threat to pull out of NAFTA have rattled investors and put pressure on the peso currency.
Pena Nieto said the Pacific Alliance, which comprises Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru, agreed with Mercosur – made up of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay – to explore new ways of cooperation to boost trade in areas of common interest.
The eight countries pledged to undertake a series of steps, including making goods trade easier, helping small and medium-sized firms do business internationally and boosting the knowledge-based economy, Pena Nieto told the summit.
Trump has slapped billions of dollars worth of duties on Chinese goods and is weighing fresh steps against auto imports.
Still, Jesus Seade, the incoming NAFTA negotiator of Mexico’s next president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said on Tuesday he believed a new NAFTA deal would be reached in the next few months ahead of the talks in Washington.
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US Envoy on Helsinki: No ‘Gifts to Russia at Ukraine’s Expense’
25/07/2018
The top U.S. official for Ukraine negotiations doubled down on recent assurances from the State Department and White House that President Donald Trump did not reach any agreements on Ukraine during last week’s two-hour private meeting with his Russian counterpart in Helsinki, Finland.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last week told a gathering of diplomats in Moscow that he and Trump discussed the possibility of an internationally supervised referendum in pro-Russian separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, a claim later reiterated by the Kremlin’s ambassador to the U.S.
In an exclusive interview with VOA’s Ukrainian service, Kurt Volker, U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations, said that Kremlin remarks about the referendum were not only misleading but also blatantly implausible.
“There was no move toward recognition of Russia’s claimed annexation of Crimea. No support for a referendum. No movement toward Russia’s position on a protection force for [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] monitors that would effectively divide the country,” said Volker, referring to Russia’s controversial September 2017 U.N. proposal.
Because referendums aren’t part of the 2015 Minsk agreement, which aims to end the conflict, secure a cease-fire and pave the way for regional elections, Volker said any direct vote on secession from Kyiv would lack the necessary legal framework.
“So, a lot of things that people were worried about or had predicted might happen [in Helsinki] did not happen. So, I don’t think there’s really any basis to be worried here,” he said, noting that the administration has continued to maintain sanctions on Russia in concert with European allies and approved weapons sales to Kyiv.
The Pentagon, he added, recently unveiled plans for a new military financing package for the occupied Eastern European country.
“Let me just say this — that on all of the issues that Ukrainians would care about, nothing was given away,” he said. “No handing over of gifts to Russia at Ukraine’s expense.”
Volker’s comments supplemented initial reactions by Garrett Marquis, U.S. National Security Council spokesman, who said the White House was “not considering” supporting a referendum in eastern Ukraine, and a statement by U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, who said an eastern Ukraine referendum “would have no legitimacy.”
The comments by the trio of U.S. officials followed days of speculation about what was discussed at the rare one-on-one meeting between the U.S. and Russian leaders with only their translators present.
Trump has been on the defensive over the summit since returning from Helsinki, especially during a key moment when he was asked about Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election as Putin stood beside him.
This story originated in VOA’s Ukrainian service.
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Ankara Rules Out Compliance with US Sanctions on Iran
24/07/2018
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday ruled out his country’s compliance with U.S. sanctions on Iran, a move that threatens to exacerbate tensions between the NATO allies.
“We have told them we will not join these sanctions,” said Cavusoglu, referring to a meeting last Friday with senior U.S. officials in Ankara. “While we are explaining why we will not obey these sanctions, we have also expressed that we do not find these U.S. sanctions appropriate.”
Ankara strongly opposes U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose sanctions after pulling out of an international agreement with Iran on its nuclear energy program. Stringent sanctions are to start taking effect at the end of August, with measures against Iranian energy exports beginning in November.
Energy-hungry Turkey is heavily dependent on its Iranian neighbor for oil and natural gas, while Turkish businesses are eyeing Iran as an increasingly important market.
On Friday, Marshall Billingslea, assistant secretary of the Treasury for terrorist financing, visited Ankara to meet with Turkish officials and business representatives. Billingslea described the talks as “positive” and acknowledged the difficulties faced by Turkish companies, but warned, “The Treasury sanctions will be enforced very, very aggressively and very comprehensively.”
Washington says no to any waivers for countries trading with Iran, which puts it on a collision course with Ankara.
“We’ve seen this in the past. Turkey will not comply with U.S. sanctions. It will not stop importing Iranian gas and oil,” said Sinan Ulgen, head of the Istanbul-based Edam research institution. “Maybe the Turkish banks will be more careful because of what happened to Halkbank, but that’s about it.”
Earlier this year, a New York court convicted a senior executive of the Turkish state-controlled Halkbank for violations of previous U.S. sanctions on Iran. Analysts suggest the conviction will result in Turkish banks being reluctant to offer services to Turkish companies operating in the Islamic Republic. The Halkbank conviction also provides Washington powerful leverage over Ankara.
“The Halkbank case is still open. The Treasury still has to decide on what kind of fine to impose,” said analyst Atilla Yesilada of GlobalSource Partners. “I hear it will receive some kind of fine, from $1 billion to $10 or 11 billion. I think what kind of opinion is formed about [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and whether he can be won back to the Western camp will affect the size of that fine.”
Analysts warn that hefty fines by U.S. authorities could also hit other Turkish banks implicated in the Halkbank case.
Iran, Russia
Turkey’s deepening relations with both Iran and Russia have strained ties with its Western allies. On Monday, the U.S. Congress delayed the delivery of F-35 jets to Turkey because of Ankara’s plans to purchase S-400 Russian missiles.
Ankara maintains that it is committed to its strategic alliances with the West, claiming trade motivates ties with Tehran and Moscow along with the need to cooperate to resolve the Syrian civil war.
Ilnur Cevik, a senior adviser to Erdogan, penned a column Monday, citing growing concerns over Iran. Cevik accused Tehran of a lack of gratitude over Ankara’s stance in breaking previous U.S.-Iranian sanctions.
“Turkish goodwill and friendship were not reciprocated by Tehran. As soon as the Iranians signed the nuclear deal with the West, they turned their backs on Ankara and started to hurt Turkish interests. Turkish companies were unable to win contracts in Iran,” wrote Cevik in the Turkish Sabah newspaper.
Cevik also warned of the threat posed by Tehran. “There is also Iran displaying Persian expansionist policies throughout the Middle East,” Cevik wrote.
Turkey and Iran historically are regional rivals. They back opposing sides in the Syrian war. Ankara is also privately voicing frustration over Tehran’s lack of cooperation in fighting the Kurdish insurgent group, PKK.
The PKK has been waging a decades-long battle for autonomy in Turkey and has its headquarters in neighboring Iraq, close to the Iranian border. A senior Turkish official, speaking anonymously, acknowledged that an ongoing military operation to seize the PKK headquarters is undermined by Tehran’s refusal to seal its border to prevent the rebels from escaping.
“Iran is definitely a regional competitor of Turkey, no doubt about that, whether it’s PKK or in the case of many other points,” said international relations professor Huseyin Bagci at Ankara’s Middle East Technical University.
Bagci suggests Ankara could be more flexible toward Washington over Iranian sanctions if Washington changes its approach.
“America unconditionally expects from Turkey that Turkey follows the line on its sanctions. Turkey cannot do this. It is economic suicide. If Turkey would follow the America policy, America should contribute to the economic losses of Turkey,” Bagci said.
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Ivanka Trump to Shutter Fashion Line, Focus on Government
24/07/2018
U.S. President Donald Trump’s oldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, is closing her fashion line to focus her energies on advising her father’s White House, she said through a representative on Tuesday.
Trump, whose fortune comes from real estate development, came into office carrying a broad family business portfolio that trades heavily on the family name.
The president has made regular visits to Trump-branded properties during his time in office, prompting some critics to complain that he is using the profile of his office to promote his private businesses.
“After seventeen months, without a time frame for her return, Ivanka made the difficult decision that to be fair to the brand’s partners and its employees, the business should be wound down,” a representative for Ivanka Trump’s fashion line said in a statement on Tuesday.
The company said licensing contracts would not be renewed and those in place will be allowed to run their course.
Trump’s combative style on the campaign trail and as president have drawn the family’s brands into political fights, with some supporters hosting events at the luxury Trump International Hotel blocks from the White House while opponents have called for boycotts of the family’s businesses.
In early 2017 retailers including Nordstrom Inc, Sears Holdings Corp and Kmart dropped or sharply scaled back their assortment of Trump-branded products, though they typically attributed those decisions to poor sales rather than political messages.
Ivanka Trump’s brand said in a statement that retailers including Bloomingdale’s, owned by Macy’s Inc, Dillard’s and Amazon.com continued to carry her wares.
У Гельсінкі США не поступились тим, що може турбувати Україну – Волкер
24/07/2018
Спеціальний представник США в справах України Курт Волкер заявляє, що на зустрічі в Гельсінкі американська сторона не поступилась тим, що може турбувати Україну. Про це він заявив в інтерв’ю українській службі «Голос Америки».
«США не поступились жодним з тих питань, які можуть турбувати Україну. Не було ніяких подарунків для Росії за рахунок України», – сказав Волкер, додавши, що Україна не була головною темою розмови.
Спецпредставник звернув увагу, що на зустрічі президента США Дональда Трампа та його російського колеги Володимира Путіна в Гельсінкі не було кроків до визнання російської анексії Криму, підтримки референдуму або російської позиції щодо створення силової групи для захисту моніторингової місії.
Читайте також: Президент США не згадав Україну, і це не випадково – експерти про зустріч Трампа і Путіна
16 липня в Гельсінкі відбулася зустріч Трампа і Путіна. У ході прес-конференції Трамп жодного разу не згадав про Україну, хоча перед зустріччю повідомлялося, що сторони, серед іншого, обговорюватимуть і українське питання. Після цієї прес-конференції у США Трампа розкритикували.
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КВУ назвав головних прогульників 8 сесії поточного скликання Ради
24/07/2018
Найнижчі показники відвідувань засідань восьмої сесії поточного скликання Верховної Ради в депутатів «Волі народу», «Відродження» та «Опозиційного блоку», повідомляє «Комітет виборців України».
В організації зазначають, що як правило, третина депутатів цих політичних сил були відсутні на засіданнях. За даними письмової реєстрації в середньому 37% депутатів групи «Воля народу» були відсутні з невідомих причин на пленарних засіданнях Ради. Це ж стосується 34% депутатів «Відродження» та 31% – «Опозиційного блоку».
Як підрахували в «Комітеті виборців України», також у середньому не були зареєстровані на засіданнях чверть позафракційних депутатів та членів «Батьківщини».
Щодо інших фракцій показники наступні: у середньому засідання Ради пропускали по 18% депутатів «Самопомочі» та Блоку «Петра Порошенка», 15% депутатів «Народного фронту» і 13% – «Радикальної партії Олега Ляшка».
У КВУ підкреслили, що враховувалися лише офіційні пропуски з невідомих причин (тобто, не через хворобу чи відрядження).
Восьма сесія Верховної Ради тривала від 1 лютого до 20 липня. Останнє пленарне засідання відбулося 13 липня.
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ГПУ: до суду направлений обвинувальний акт у справі про викрадення Вербицького й Луценка
24/07/2018
Генеральна прокуратура України направила до суду обвинувальний акт стосовно підозрюваного у викраденні учасників Євромайдану Юрія Вербицького та Ігоря Луценка, повідомила прес-служба ГПУ.
Акт направили до Бориспільського міськрайонного суду Київської області. Він стосується «однієї цивільної особи, яка обвинувачується в участі у злочинній організації, створеній з метою протидії акціям протестів, вчиненні тяжких та особливо тяжких злочинів із залученням «тітушок», зокрема викраденні в ніч з 20 на 21 січня 2014 року з приміщення Олександрівської клінічної лікарні, розташованої на вул. Шовковичній, 39/1 у м. Києві, учасників Євромайдану І. Луценка і Ю. Вербицького, їх катування, а також умисного вбивства останнього».
Наприкінці червня ГПУ повідомила, що завершила досудове розслідування в провадженні про викрадення Вербицького і Луценка.
Читайте також: Організатора викрадення Вербицього та Луценка запідозрили через візит до Росії – Донський
Активістів Євромайдану Юрія Вербицького й Ігоря Луценка невстановлені особи викрали 21 січня 2014 року з Олександрівської лікарні, куди Луценко привіз Вербицького після поранення під час сутичок на вулиці Грушевського.
Їх завезли за місто, катували й допитували, а потім кинули в лісі на морозі. 22 січня тіло Вербицького виявили в лісі під Гнідином Бориспільського району Київської області.
Арешт підозрюваного Олександра Волкова продовжили до 29 липня. Йому інкримінують викрадення Луценка і Вербицького, їх катування, умисне вбивство Вербицького, а також створення злочинної організації, вчинення окремими групами громадян тяжких та особливо тяжких злочинів – викрадення й катування протестувальників, замахи на їхні вбивства.
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Савченко знову пройде експертизу з використанням поліграфа
24/07/2018
Народний депутат України Надія Савченко, підозрювана за статтями про теракт і планування заколоту, 24 липня пройде психофізіологічну експертизу на поліграфі, повідомляє прес-служба народного депутата.
За повідомленням, перевірка призначена на 9:00 і відбуватиметься в Київському науково-дослідному інституті судових експертиз.
У березні суд вирішив взяти Савченко під варту без можливості внесення застави. Останнім рішенням суду арешт продовжили до 10 вересня.
Читайте також: Свідчення Савченко на поліграфі: після повідомлення СБУ адвокат вимагає повторної експертизи
22 березня Верховна Рада України дала згоду на притягнення до кримінальної відповідальності, затримання й арешт Надії Савченко.
Їй інкримінують злочини, передбачені статтями: «дії, спрямовані на насильницьку зміну чи повалення конституційного ладу або на захоплення державної влади», «готування до злочину», «вчинення злочину групою осіб, групою осіб за попередньою змовою, організованою групою або злочинною організацією», «посягання на життя державного чи громадського діяча», «терористичний акт», «створення терористичної групи чи терористичної організації», «незаконне поводження зі зброєю, бойовими припасами або вибуховими речовинами».
За даними Генпрокуратури, Савченко була спільницею Володимира Рубана, затриманого 8 березня на КПВВ «Майорське» при спробі переміщення великої кількості зброї з території Донецької області, яка підконтрольна російським окупаційним адміністраціям.
Савченко раніше заявляла, що планувала не теракт, а лише «політичну провокацію». Рубан всі звинувачення відкидав.
…
Савченко знову пройде експертизу з використанням поліграфа
24/07/2018
Народний депутат України Надія Савченко, підозрювана за статтями про теракт і планування заколоту, 24 липня пройде психофізіологічну експертизу на поліграфі, повідомляє прес-служба народного депутата.
За повідомленням, перевірка призначена на 9:00 і відбуватиметься в Київському науково-дослідному інституті судових експертиз.
У березні суд вирішив взяти Савченко під варту без можливості внесення застави. Останнім рішенням суду арешт продовжили до 10 вересня.
Читайте також: Свідчення Савченко на поліграфі: після повідомлення СБУ адвокат вимагає повторної експертизи
22 березня Верховна Рада України дала згоду на притягнення до кримінальної відповідальності, затримання й арешт Надії Савченко.
Їй інкримінують злочини, передбачені статтями: «дії, спрямовані на насильницьку зміну чи повалення конституційного ладу або на захоплення державної влади», «готування до злочину», «вчинення злочину групою осіб, групою осіб за попередньою змовою, організованою групою або злочинною організацією», «посягання на життя державного чи громадського діяча», «терористичний акт», «створення терористичної групи чи терористичної організації», «незаконне поводження зі зброєю, бойовими припасами або вибуховими речовинами».
За даними Генпрокуратури, Савченко була спільницею Володимира Рубана, затриманого 8 березня на КПВВ «Майорське» при спробі переміщення великої кількості зброї з території Донецької області, яка підконтрольна російським окупаційним адміністраціям.
Савченко раніше заявляла, що планувала не теракт, а лише «політичну провокацію». Рубан всі звинувачення відкидав.
…
Одразу два підприємства Держкосмосу перебувають у стадії ліквідації – #Точно
24/07/2018
Два державних підприємства зі сфери управління Державного космічного агентства України перебувають у стадії ліквідації, йдеться в листі Держкосмосу, повідомляє #Точно, проект Радіо Свобода.
Мова йде про державні підприємства «Харківський завод електроапаратури» і «Науково-дослідний та проектний інститут «Союз».
Нині під управлінням Держкосмосу перебувають ще 13 державних підприємств, серед яких завод «Арсенал» і «Виробниче об’єднання «Південний машинобудівний завод імені Макарова».
Цього року в державному бюджеті України на управління й випробування космічних засобів передбачено 409 мільйонів гривень, тим часом на погашення старих кредитних боргів Держкосмосу мають витратити півтора мільярда гривень.
У січні цього року повідомлялося, що «Південмаш» очікує отримати від Росії вісім мільйонів доларів у рамках запуску супутника «Либідь».
Одразу два підприємства Держкосмосу перебувають у стадії ліквідації – #Точно
24/07/2018
Два державних підприємства зі сфери управління Державного космічного агентства України перебувають у стадії ліквідації, йдеться в листі Держкосмосу, повідомляє #Точно, проект Радіо Свобода.
Мова йде про державні підприємства «Харківський завод електроапаратури» і «Науково-дослідний та проектний інститут «Союз».
Нині під управлінням Держкосмосу перебувають ще 13 державних підприємств, серед яких завод «Арсенал» і «Виробниче об’єднання «Південний машинобудівний завод імені Макарова».
Цього року в державному бюджеті України на управління й випробування космічних засобів передбачено 409 мільйонів гривень, тим часом на погашення старих кредитних боргів Держкосмосу мають витратити півтора мільярда гривень.
У січні цього року повідомлялося, що «Південмаш» очікує отримати від Росії вісім мільйонів доларів у рамках запуску супутника «Либідь».
US Says 463 Migrant Parents May Have Been Deported Without Kids
24/07/2018
More than 450 immigrant parents who were separated from their children when they entered the United States illegally are no longer in the country though their children remain behind, according to a joint court filing on Monday by the federal government and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The absence of the 463 parents, which U.S. government lawyers said was “under review,” could impede government efforts to reunite separated families by Thursday, the deadline ordered by a federal judge. The filing did not say why the 463 parents had left the country, but government officials previously acknowledged that some parents had been deported without their children.
As of Monday, 879 parents had been reunited with their children, according to the filing.
About 2,500 children were separated from their parents after the Trump administration announced a “zero tolerance” policy in April aimed at discouraging illegal immigration. The policy was ended in June amid an international outcry about the government’s treatment of immigrant children.
U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego ordered last month that the government had to reunite the children with their parents in a case brought by the ACLU.
On Monday, the government also said 917 parents were either not eligible to be reunited or not yet known to be eligible to be reunited with their child. That number includes parents no longer in the country as well as those deemed unsuitable because of criminal convictions or for other reasons.
Immigration advocates have expressed alarm about parents deported without their children, saying it can create problems with the children’s immigration cases.
“How can we go forward on a case if we don’t know the parent’s wishes?” Megan McKenna, spokeswoman for Kids in Need of Defense, told Reuters earlier this month.
While Monday’s report indicated progress with reunifications, the ACLU made clear its frustrations with the process. The rights group said it did not have a list of parents who signed a form electing to be deported without their child.
“These parents urgently need consultations with lawyers, so that they do not mistakenly strand their children in the United States,” the ACLU wrote in the court filing.
The ACLU asked Sabraw to order the government to turn the information over by the end of Tuesday.
The government said it had cleared an additional 538 parents for reunification pending transport.
…
US Says 463 Migrant Parents May Have Been Deported Without Kids
24/07/2018
More than 450 immigrant parents who were separated from their children when they entered the United States illegally are no longer in the country though their children remain behind, according to a joint court filing on Monday by the federal government and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The absence of the 463 parents, which U.S. government lawyers said was “under review,” could impede government efforts to reunite separated families by Thursday, the deadline ordered by a federal judge. The filing did not say why the 463 parents had left the country, but government officials previously acknowledged that some parents had been deported without their children.
As of Monday, 879 parents had been reunited with their children, according to the filing.
About 2,500 children were separated from their parents after the Trump administration announced a “zero tolerance” policy in April aimed at discouraging illegal immigration. The policy was ended in June amid an international outcry about the government’s treatment of immigrant children.
U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego ordered last month that the government had to reunite the children with their parents in a case brought by the ACLU.
On Monday, the government also said 917 parents were either not eligible to be reunited or not yet known to be eligible to be reunited with their child. That number includes parents no longer in the country as well as those deemed unsuitable because of criminal convictions or for other reasons.
Immigration advocates have expressed alarm about parents deported without their children, saying it can create problems with the children’s immigration cases.
“How can we go forward on a case if we don’t know the parent’s wishes?” Megan McKenna, spokeswoman for Kids in Need of Defense, told Reuters earlier this month.
While Monday’s report indicated progress with reunifications, the ACLU made clear its frustrations with the process. The rights group said it did not have a list of parents who signed a form electing to be deported without their child.
“These parents urgently need consultations with lawyers, so that they do not mistakenly strand their children in the United States,” the ACLU wrote in the court filing.
The ACLU asked Sabraw to order the government to turn the information over by the end of Tuesday.
The government said it had cleared an additional 538 parents for reunification pending transport.
…
Geologists: Hawaii Eruption Could Last Years, Destroy New Areas
24/07/2018
The eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano could last for months or years and threaten new communities on the Big Island, according to a report by U.S. government geologists.
A main risk is a possible change in the direction of a lava flow that would destroy more residential areas after at least 712 homes were torched and thousands of residents forced to evacuate since Kilauea began erupting on May 3, the report by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.
A higher volume of molten rock is flowing underground from Kilauea’s summit lava reservoir than in previous eruptions, with supply to a single giant crack — fissure 8 — showing no sign of waning, according to the study published last week.
“If the ongoing eruption maintains its current style of activity at a high eruption rate, then it may take months to a year or two to wind down,” said the report designed to help authorities on the Big Island deal with potential risks from the volcano.
Lava is bursting from same area about 25 miles (40 km) down Kilauea’s eastern side as it did in eruptions of 1840, 1955 and 1960, the report said. The longest of those eruptions was in 1955. It lasted 88 days, separated by pauses in activity.
The current eruption could become the longest in the volcano’s recorded history, it added.
Geologists believe previous eruptions may have stopped as underground lava pressure dropped due to multiple fissures opening up in this Lower East Rift Zone, the report said.
The current eruption has coalesced around a single fissure, allowing lava pressure to remain high.
A 1,300-foot-wide (400-meter) lava river now flows to the ocean from this “source cone” through an elevated channel about 52 to 72 feet (16 to 22 meters) above ground.
“The main hazard from the source cone and the channel system is a failure of the cone or channel walls, or blockage of the channel where it divides in narrower braids. Either could divert most, if not all, of the lava to a new course depending on where the breach occurs,” the report said.
The report said it only considered risks from a change in lava flow direction to communities to the north of the channel as residents there have not been evacuated, whereas residents to the south have already left their homes.
…
Geologists: Hawaii Eruption Could Last Years, Destroy New Areas
24/07/2018
The eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano could last for months or years and threaten new communities on the Big Island, according to a report by U.S. government geologists.
A main risk is a possible change in the direction of a lava flow that would destroy more residential areas after at least 712 homes were torched and thousands of residents forced to evacuate since Kilauea began erupting on May 3, the report by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.
A higher volume of molten rock is flowing underground from Kilauea’s summit lava reservoir than in previous eruptions, with supply to a single giant crack — fissure 8 — showing no sign of waning, according to the study published last week.
“If the ongoing eruption maintains its current style of activity at a high eruption rate, then it may take months to a year or two to wind down,” said the report designed to help authorities on the Big Island deal with potential risks from the volcano.
Lava is bursting from same area about 25 miles (40 km) down Kilauea’s eastern side as it did in eruptions of 1840, 1955 and 1960, the report said. The longest of those eruptions was in 1955. It lasted 88 days, separated by pauses in activity.
The current eruption could become the longest in the volcano’s recorded history, it added.
Geologists believe previous eruptions may have stopped as underground lava pressure dropped due to multiple fissures opening up in this Lower East Rift Zone, the report said.
The current eruption has coalesced around a single fissure, allowing lava pressure to remain high.
A 1,300-foot-wide (400-meter) lava river now flows to the ocean from this “source cone” through an elevated channel about 52 to 72 feet (16 to 22 meters) above ground.
“The main hazard from the source cone and the channel system is a failure of the cone or channel walls, or blockage of the channel where it divides in narrower braids. Either could divert most, if not all, of the lava to a new course depending on where the breach occurs,” the report said.
The report said it only considered risks from a change in lava flow direction to communities to the north of the channel as residents there have not been evacuated, whereas residents to the south have already left their homes.
…
US-South Korea Pact to Remain, Even if North Korea Threat Eases
24/07/2018
“The fundamental basis for the alliance” between the United States and South Korea “would continue” and grow stronger, even after North Korea’s nuclear threat and tension on the peninsula are reduced, a former U.S. ambassadors to South Korea said.
Although the pace of the denuclearization effort by North Korea has been slow since it made a commitment to work toward “complete denuclearization” at the summit in Singapore held in June, the level of threat from the regime has declined, Gen. Vincent Brooks, top U.S. commander in South Korea, said.
“We’ve gone now 235 days without a provocation, so we saw a big change occur,” Brooks said at the Aspen Security Forum via video link on Saturday. “To be sure, the physical threats and capabilities are still in place. But it’s evident through words and action that the intent to use them has changed.”
US-South Korea alliance
Even if North Korea’s nuclear threat is reduced and tension on the peninsula de-escalates, the U.S.-South Korea alliance will remain unchanged. The relationship is bound by the Mutual Defense Treaty, signed at the conclusion of the Korean War in 1953, to provide a basis for the continued U.S. troop presence on the Korean Peninsula to deter a North Korean attack on South Korea and to provide a nuclear umbrella in the region.
“The fundamental basis for the alliance would continue, in terms of mutual defense commitment under the original treaty,” said Alexander Vershbow, who served as ambassador to South Korea during the George W. Bush administration.
Vershbow also said, in the long run, the absence of a North Korean threat could potentially reduce the U.S. troop presence in South Korea.
“In the context of the much-reduced threat from the North, one could see the basis for the reduction of the U.S. presence,” Vershbow told VOA.
Before the June 12 Singapore summit, President Donald Trump had asked the Pentagon to consider reducing U.S. troops on the peninsula in May.
After meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, Trump called for the suspension of “war games” with South Korea.
The annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint military exercises conducted by the U.S. and South Korea that usually takes place in August have been suspended, fueling concerns of possible U.S. force reduction on the peninsula.
During his visit to Seoul in June after Trump’s summit with Kim, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the U.S. will maintain the current level of military presence in South Korea and that U.S. commitment to the country will remain “ironclad.”
Currently, there are 28,000 U.S. troops in South Korea.
‘Overarching goal’
Vershbow said if there is going to be a reduction of U.S. troops, it is after achieving a unified and “overarching goal of denuclearization as a precondition for any fundamental change when it relates to the North.”
Mark Lippert, who served as the U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 2012 to 2017, said even if the security situation on the peninsula changes, the U.S.-South Korean alliance that has “modernized and adapted in very, very strong capable ways to keep it relevant” will continue to grow robust, “not just on the Korean peninsula but helping the U.S. and Korea work on issues in the region and around the world.”
Vershbow echoed Lippert, saying the alliance will continue to serve a purpose beyond deterring North Korean because it will continue by providing a deterrent throughout northeast Asia as envisioned in the defense treaty.
“The U.S. is not going to necessarily change the broader deterrent posture in the region,” he said.
Mentioning that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states found “strong overriding” reasons for the U.S. “to stay in and engage in Europe with its military and security forces” even after the fall of the Soviet Union, Lippert said, “There are all sorts of data points to suggest it’s beyond the [Korean] peninsula at this point.”
Lippert pointed out that America’s largest overseas military base is Camp Humphreys in South Korea, as evidence that the U.S.-South Korean alliance is “one of the world’s greatest alliance, if not the greatest.”
Ending 70 years of presence in Seoul, the U.S. military headquarters in South Korea relocated to Pyeongtaek in late June, about 45 miles south of the capital.
The newly expanded Camp Humphreys took more than $10 billion to build, of which Lippert said South Korea paid about 92 to 96 percent. It is expected to house approximately 45,000 troops and their families by 2022.
“One of the most important indicators of [the alliance growing strong] is the current move to Camp Humphreys,” Lippert said. “This is a great symbol of alliance. … And you noticed nobody is making negative noises about Camp Humphreys and our troop presence there. I think that suggests durability over time.”
Another factor suggesting the alliance remains strong and that “positive change is coming is that the Blue House has made comments that the alliance is not just about North Korea. It’s about other countries, other issues … in a form of global Korea,” Lippert added.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said during his three-day visit to Singapore that started July 11, “South Korea and the U.S. maintain a firm stance about the role and importance of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) for peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.”
Moon also responded to the suspension of military drills possibly leading to the reduction of U.S. troops in South Korea, saying, “USFK is a completely different issue. It is a matter of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, not something that can be discussed in denuclearization talks between North Korea and the U.S.”
By providing a foundation of security and stability in northeast Asia, U.S. military presence on the peninsula and the alliance and relationship that Lippert said has grown in “multidirections” will continue to help create a condition for “unbridled economic and cultural success” in the region.
…
US-South Korea Pact to Remain, Even if North Korea Threat Eases
24/07/2018
“The fundamental basis for the alliance” between the United States and South Korea “would continue” and grow stronger, even after North Korea’s nuclear threat and tension on the peninsula are reduced, a former U.S. ambassadors to South Korea said.
Although the pace of the denuclearization effort by North Korea has been slow since it made a commitment to work toward “complete denuclearization” at the summit in Singapore held in June, the level of threat from the regime has declined, Gen. Vincent Brooks, top U.S. commander in South Korea, said.
“We’ve gone now 235 days without a provocation, so we saw a big change occur,” Brooks said at the Aspen Security Forum via video link on Saturday. “To be sure, the physical threats and capabilities are still in place. But it’s evident through words and action that the intent to use them has changed.”
US-South Korea alliance
Even if North Korea’s nuclear threat is reduced and tension on the peninsula de-escalates, the U.S.-South Korea alliance will remain unchanged. The relationship is bound by the Mutual Defense Treaty, signed at the conclusion of the Korean War in 1953, to provide a basis for the continued U.S. troop presence on the Korean Peninsula to deter a North Korean attack on South Korea and to provide a nuclear umbrella in the region.
“The fundamental basis for the alliance would continue, in terms of mutual defense commitment under the original treaty,” said Alexander Vershbow, who served as ambassador to South Korea during the George W. Bush administration.
Vershbow also said, in the long run, the absence of a North Korean threat could potentially reduce the U.S. troop presence in South Korea.
“In the context of the much-reduced threat from the North, one could see the basis for the reduction of the U.S. presence,” Vershbow told VOA.
Before the June 12 Singapore summit, President Donald Trump had asked the Pentagon to consider reducing U.S. troops on the peninsula in May.
After meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, Trump called for the suspension of “war games” with South Korea.
The annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint military exercises conducted by the U.S. and South Korea that usually takes place in August have been suspended, fueling concerns of possible U.S. force reduction on the peninsula.
During his visit to Seoul in June after Trump’s summit with Kim, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the U.S. will maintain the current level of military presence in South Korea and that U.S. commitment to the country will remain “ironclad.”
Currently, there are 28,000 U.S. troops in South Korea.
‘Overarching goal’
Vershbow said if there is going to be a reduction of U.S. troops, it is after achieving a unified and “overarching goal of denuclearization as a precondition for any fundamental change when it relates to the North.”
Mark Lippert, who served as the U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 2012 to 2017, said even if the security situation on the peninsula changes, the U.S.-South Korean alliance that has “modernized and adapted in very, very strong capable ways to keep it relevant” will continue to grow robust, “not just on the Korean peninsula but helping the U.S. and Korea work on issues in the region and around the world.”
Vershbow echoed Lippert, saying the alliance will continue to serve a purpose beyond deterring North Korean because it will continue by providing a deterrent throughout northeast Asia as envisioned in the defense treaty.
“The U.S. is not going to necessarily change the broader deterrent posture in the region,” he said.
Mentioning that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states found “strong overriding” reasons for the U.S. “to stay in and engage in Europe with its military and security forces” even after the fall of the Soviet Union, Lippert said, “There are all sorts of data points to suggest it’s beyond the [Korean] peninsula at this point.”
Lippert pointed out that America’s largest overseas military base is Camp Humphreys in South Korea, as evidence that the U.S.-South Korean alliance is “one of the world’s greatest alliance, if not the greatest.”
Ending 70 years of presence in Seoul, the U.S. military headquarters in South Korea relocated to Pyeongtaek in late June, about 45 miles south of the capital.
The newly expanded Camp Humphreys took more than $10 billion to build, of which Lippert said South Korea paid about 92 to 96 percent. It is expected to house approximately 45,000 troops and their families by 2022.
“One of the most important indicators of [the alliance growing strong] is the current move to Camp Humphreys,” Lippert said. “This is a great symbol of alliance. … And you noticed nobody is making negative noises about Camp Humphreys and our troop presence there. I think that suggests durability over time.”
Another factor suggesting the alliance remains strong and that “positive change is coming is that the Blue House has made comments that the alliance is not just about North Korea. It’s about other countries, other issues … in a form of global Korea,” Lippert added.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said during his three-day visit to Singapore that started July 11, “South Korea and the U.S. maintain a firm stance about the role and importance of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) for peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.”
Moon also responded to the suspension of military drills possibly leading to the reduction of U.S. troops in South Korea, saying, “USFK is a completely different issue. It is a matter of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, not something that can be discussed in denuclearization talks between North Korea and the U.S.”
By providing a foundation of security and stability in northeast Asia, U.S. military presence on the peninsula and the alliance and relationship that Lippert said has grown in “multidirections” will continue to help create a condition for “unbridled economic and cultural success” in the region.
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Сестра Сенцова: я нічого не говорила про його «передсмертний стан»
24/07/2018
«Панікери, спіть уже, похорону не буде, не дочекаєтеся»
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Trump, Mexico Expect Progress in Stalled NAFTA Talks
24/07/2018
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke warmly of Mexico’s incoming leftist president on Monday, saying he expected to get “something worked out” on NAFTA, while a top Mexican official said there was scope to revive the trade talks this week.
“We’re talking to Mexico on NAFTA, and I think we’re going to have something worked out. The new president, terrific person,” Trump said in a speech at the White House about American manufacturing.
“We’re talking to them about doing something very dramatic, very positive for both countries, he said, without giving more details.
Talks to reshape the 1994 trade accord have been underway since last August. But they stalled in the run-up to the July 1 presidential election in Mexico, which produced a landslide victory for veteran leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
The United States, Mexico and Canada have been at odds over U.S. demands to impose tougher content rules for the auto industry, as well as several other proposals, including one that would kill NAFTA after five years if it is not renegotiated.
Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo, who last week expressed hope an agreement in principle on NAFTA could be reached by the end of August, is due to hold talks with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer at the end of the week in Washington.
He will be accompanied by Jesus Seade, the designated chief NAFTA negotiator of the incoming Mexican administration.
“There’s clearly a window of opportunity to be able to bed down a series of open issues which are not numerous, but are very complex,” Guajardo said on the sidelines of a summit of the Pacific Alliance trade bloc in the western coastal city of Puerto Vallarta.
Guajardo is due to meet his Canadian counterpart Chrystia Freeland on Wednesday, also to discuss NAFTA.
After the election, top officials from both the outgoing and new Mexican governments met in Mexico City with senior Trump administration officials led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Seade said the visit had sent out “excellent” signals.
“We hope these signals translate into a willingness to move forward,” Seade told reporters in Puerto Vallarta.
The talks have been clouded by tit-for-tat measures over trade after the Trump administration slapped tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports.
The United States is also exploring the possibility of imposing tariffs on auto imports, though Guajardo said it was too early to speculate on how that would play out.
Mexico’s foreign ministry said on Monday that South Korea had initiated the process of seeking associate membership in the Pacific Alliance, which comprises Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru and is seeking to deepen free trade.
Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Canada were last year admitted as associate members by the alliance. For Mexico, the expansion is part of a push to diversify its trading partners in the wake of Trump’s previous threats to pull out of NAFTA.
Guajardo indicated that despite his optimism about reaching a deal, risks still exist.
“The biggest risk is that instead of moving forward with an agenda of opening and integration, we move backwards, closing our economy and really undoing what we’ve built in the last two and a half decades,” Guajardo said.
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Trump, Mexico Expect Progress in Stalled NAFTA Talks
24/07/2018
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke warmly of Mexico’s incoming leftist president on Monday, saying he expected to get “something worked out” on NAFTA, while a top Mexican official said there was scope to revive the trade talks this week.
“We’re talking to Mexico on NAFTA, and I think we’re going to have something worked out. The new president, terrific person,” Trump said in a speech at the White House about American manufacturing.
“We’re talking to them about doing something very dramatic, very positive for both countries, he said, without giving more details.
Talks to reshape the 1994 trade accord have been underway since last August. But they stalled in the run-up to the July 1 presidential election in Mexico, which produced a landslide victory for veteran leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
The United States, Mexico and Canada have been at odds over U.S. demands to impose tougher content rules for the auto industry, as well as several other proposals, including one that would kill NAFTA after five years if it is not renegotiated.
Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo, who last week expressed hope an agreement in principle on NAFTA could be reached by the end of August, is due to hold talks with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer at the end of the week in Washington.
He will be accompanied by Jesus Seade, the designated chief NAFTA negotiator of the incoming Mexican administration.
“There’s clearly a window of opportunity to be able to bed down a series of open issues which are not numerous, but are very complex,” Guajardo said on the sidelines of a summit of the Pacific Alliance trade bloc in the western coastal city of Puerto Vallarta.
Guajardo is due to meet his Canadian counterpart Chrystia Freeland on Wednesday, also to discuss NAFTA.
After the election, top officials from both the outgoing and new Mexican governments met in Mexico City with senior Trump administration officials led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Seade said the visit had sent out “excellent” signals.
“We hope these signals translate into a willingness to move forward,” Seade told reporters in Puerto Vallarta.
The talks have been clouded by tit-for-tat measures over trade after the Trump administration slapped tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports.
The United States is also exploring the possibility of imposing tariffs on auto imports, though Guajardo said it was too early to speculate on how that would play out.
Mexico’s foreign ministry said on Monday that South Korea had initiated the process of seeking associate membership in the Pacific Alliance, which comprises Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru and is seeking to deepen free trade.
Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Canada were last year admitted as associate members by the alliance. For Mexico, the expansion is part of a push to diversify its trading partners in the wake of Trump’s previous threats to pull out of NAFTA.
Guajardo indicated that despite his optimism about reaching a deal, risks still exist.
“The biggest risk is that instead of moving forward with an agenda of opening and integration, we move backwards, closing our economy and really undoing what we’ve built in the last two and a half decades,” Guajardo said.
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IMF: Venezuela’s Inflation on Track to Top 1 Million Percent
24/07/2018
Inflation in Venezuela could top 1 million percent by year’s end as the country’s historic crisis deepens, the International Monetary Fund said Monday.
Venezuela’s economic turmoil compares to Germany’s after World War I and Zimbabwe’s at the beginning of the last decade, said Alejandro Werner, head of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere department.
“The collapse in economic activity, hyperinflation, and increasing deterioration … will lead to intensifying spillover effects on neighboring countries,” Werner wrote in a blog post.
The once wealthy oil-producing nation of Venezuela is in the grips of a five-year crisis that leaves many of its people struggling to find food and medicine, while driving masses across the border for relief into neighboring Colombia and Brazil.
Shortages in electricity, domestic water and public transportation plague millions of Venezuelans, who also confront high crime, the IMF noted.
If the prediction holds, Venezuela’s economy will contract 50 percent over the last five years, Werner said, adding that it would be among the world’s deepest economic falls in six decades.
Socialist President Nicolas Maduro often blames Venezuela’s poor economy on an economic war that he says is being waged by the United States and Europe.
Maduro won a second six-year term as president despite the deep economic and political problems in a May election that his leading challenger and many nations in the international community don’t recognize as legitimate.
The IMF estimates Venezuela’s economy could contract 18 percent this year, up from the 15 percent drop it predicted in April. This will be the third consecutive year of double-digit decline, the IMF said.
Werner said the projections are based on calculations prepared by IMF staff, but he warned that they have a degree of uncertainty greater than in other countries.
“An economy throwing you these numbers is very difficult to project,” Werner said at a news conference. “Any changes between now and December may include significant changes.”
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IMF: Venezuela’s Inflation on Track to Top 1 Million Percent
24/07/2018
Inflation in Venezuela could top 1 million percent by year’s end as the country’s historic crisis deepens, the International Monetary Fund said Monday.
Venezuela’s economic turmoil compares to Germany’s after World War I and Zimbabwe’s at the beginning of the last decade, said Alejandro Werner, head of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere department.
“The collapse in economic activity, hyperinflation, and increasing deterioration … will lead to intensifying spillover effects on neighboring countries,” Werner wrote in a blog post.
The once wealthy oil-producing nation of Venezuela is in the grips of a five-year crisis that leaves many of its people struggling to find food and medicine, while driving masses across the border for relief into neighboring Colombia and Brazil.
Shortages in electricity, domestic water and public transportation plague millions of Venezuelans, who also confront high crime, the IMF noted.
If the prediction holds, Venezuela’s economy will contract 50 percent over the last five years, Werner said, adding that it would be among the world’s deepest economic falls in six decades.
Socialist President Nicolas Maduro often blames Venezuela’s poor economy on an economic war that he says is being waged by the United States and Europe.
Maduro won a second six-year term as president despite the deep economic and political problems in a May election that his leading challenger and many nations in the international community don’t recognize as legitimate.
The IMF estimates Venezuela’s economy could contract 18 percent this year, up from the 15 percent drop it predicted in April. This will be the third consecutive year of double-digit decline, the IMF said.
Werner said the projections are based on calculations prepared by IMF staff, but he warned that they have a degree of uncertainty greater than in other countries.
“An economy throwing you these numbers is very difficult to project,” Werner said at a news conference. “Any changes between now and December may include significant changes.”
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Trump Reviews ‘Made in America’ Products at White House
24/07/2018
Checking out a speedboat, a fighter jet and a giant industrial magnet parked on the White House driveway, President Donald Trump showcased an array of “Made in America” products Monday as his administration pushes back aggressively against critics who say his punishing tariffs on imported goods threaten to harm the U.S. economy.
Trump’s event with a smorgasbord of American goods came at the start of a week in which trade discussions are expected to dominate, including talks with European officials and a trip to Illinois in which the president is planning to visit a community helped along by his steel tariffs.
Trump has vowed to force international trading partners to bend to his will as he seeks to renegotiate a series of trade deals he has long argued hurt American workers. But as he deepens the U.S. involvement in trade fights, it raises questions on whether American consumers will feel the pain of retaliatory tariffs — and whether the president will incur a political price for his nationalistic trade policies in the 2018 midterm elections.
“Our leaders in Washington did nothing, they did nothing. They let our factories leave, they let our people lose their jobs,” Trump said at the White House. “That’s not free trade, that’s fool’s trade, that’s stupid trade and we don’t do that kind of trade anymore.”
Trump noted that he would be meeting Wednesday with European officials, including European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. The U.S. and European allies have been at odds over the president’s tariffs on steel imports and are meeting as the dispute threatens to spread to the lucrative automobile business. “Maybe we can work something out,” he said.
On Thursday, the president will visit Granite City, Illinois, the home of a U.S. Steel Corp. mill that has reopened after he imposed tariffs on steel imports.
On the South Lawn, the president walked among a number of products manufactured across the nation, including a Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft from Maryland, a Ford F-150 pickup truck from Michigan, a Newmar recreational vehicle from Indiana and a Ranger speedboat from Arkansas.
National security
Trump has already put taxes on imported steel and aluminum, saying they pose a threat to U.S. national security, an argument that enrages staunch U.S. allies such as the European Union and Canada.
He’s threatening to use the national security justification again to slap tariffs on imported cars, trucks and auto parts, potentially targeting imports that last year totaled $335 billion.
And he’s already imposed tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports in a separate dispute over Beijing’s high-tech industrial policies. He has threatened to ratchet that up past $500 billion.
“He likes tariffs,” said William Reinsch, a former U.S. trade official under President Bill Clinton now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “His preferred remedy is always tariffs, whether it makes any sense or not.”
“It’s a policy of victimization: ‘Other people have been taking advantage of the United States for years. … Now they have to pay,”‘ Reinsch said, echoing the president’s argument.
Trade analysts say the United States has not pursued such aggressive trade policies in decades.
“I can’t think of another time when you had as many battles and, particularly, as many battles with no resolution in sight,” said Edward Alden, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Trade war
In 1971, President Richard Nixon imposed a broad 10 percent import tax for four months to pressure Japan and European countries to drive up the value of their currencies. The idea: provide relief to American exporters, who were being put at a price disadvantage by a strong dollar.
In 1930, the U.S. raised tariffs dramatically to protect American industry, encouraging other countries to do the same in a global trade war that made the Great Depression worse.
Economists said the tariffs that Trump has imposed so far — and the resulting retaliation — are unlikely to do much economic damage. But things could escalate rapidly.
“If you look at what’s teed up, particularly with China and with the auto tariffs, pretty soon you are talking about some pretty large numbers. Those will do some real damage,” Alden said.
Oxford Economics has calculated that a full-blown U.S.-China trade war — in which each country taxes all the other’s imports — would shave 1 percent off the U.S. economy and wipe out 700,000 jobs in the United States by 2020.
The Peterson Institute for International Economics has estimated that a trade war over autos could cost up to 1.2 million American jobs.
Critics said Trump’s aggressive approach makes it tough for other countries to offer concessions, lest they be seen by their own people as caving in to bullying.
“The Trump administration has not left an easy path to walk away from the fights they’ve created,” Alden said.
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