World Events Summary: 30th May-5th June 2018

U.S.-North Korea: the meeting between Kim Jong-Un and Donald Trump was confirmed for the 12 th June. High level contacts between the two governments continued. Trump modified his rhetoric to encompass the idea of a multi-stage negotiation process, rather than a one-time summit and agreement. Unhelpfully, the president’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, claimed that Kim begged for the talks on his ‘hands and knees’.

Tariffs: the long-threatened U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum garnered a substantial response from friends and foes alike. Retaliations started immediately – with NAFTA partners Mexico and Canada acting robustly. Appeals are still being made to the WTO, even though the U.S. has largely defanged it. Trump stated that he might prefer separate trade deals with Canada and Mexico – as they are so very different.

Republican Backlash: the traditionally free-trading party has generated many condemnations of Trump’s actions and the billionaire big-spending Koch brothers have started a campaign in favour of free trade.

EU-China: the EU underlined how trade tensions are increasingly seeping-out in different directions by initiating a WTO action against China relating to Intellectual Property. China said it regretted the move.