TRADE IN ACTION November 24

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING
To our American friends and colleagues, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! 
To liven up any Thanksgiving dinner conversation, you are more than welcome to bring out our economic-thanksgiving fact:

Did you know… according to the research conducted by National Retail Federation in 2017, holiday sales have the potential to increase by 3.6 – 4.00% and shoppers plan to spend approximately $678.2 – $682 billion this thanksgiving? More interesting facts here.

HEADLINES

The coalition talks in Germany failed this week with significant uncertainty for both Germany, and the EU as a whole. Paris has won the bid for the European Banking Authority, and Amsterdam won the bid for the European Medicines Agency. The UK budget was also announced this Wednesday, and included substantial reductions in expected growth for the UK – read an FT analysis here. The fifth round of NAFTA talks took place in Mexico City from November 15 to 21 with discussions on minimal thresholds and evaluations. The US National Apprenticeship Week ran from November 13-19. Brexit: This week’s Brexit coverage has focused on the rebate debate.  Meanwhile, the EU and the UK are rumored to strike a divorce deal in the next three weeks

SPOTLIGHT

On October 3, 2017, the Atlantic Council hosted a conference with experts from the public and private sector to discuss the impact of Brexit on economic sanctions policymaking. The United Kingdom (UK) currently plays a considerable role crafting and implementing sanctions policy in the European Union (EU). 

Brexit will provide the UK with greater flexibility in its implementation of economic sanctions, but it should take into account the three C’s: cooperation, coordination, and consistency. Close cooperation between the UK, United States, and EU on economic sanctions is essential as it lays the groundwork for coordination and consistency. Multilateral coordination is also vital to ensure the efficacy and alignment of economic sanctions. Finally, consistency is imperative to the business community to ensure compliance costs and disruption are kept to a minimum. The UK, post-Brexit, must adhere to these guiding principles to ensure economic sanctions remain an effective tool in the foreign policy arsenal. More details in our Econographic here.

TRADE
Official Statement: Trilateral Statement on the Conclusion of the Fifth Round of NAFTA Negotiations, Office of the United States Trade Representative
Official Document: Hearing List Trade Policy Day, Secretariat of the Committee on International Trade, European Parliament
Official Statement: APEC 2017 Leaders’ Declaration, APEC
Official Prediction: Economic and Fiscal Outlook, UK, November 2017, Office of Budget and Responsibility UK
Report: The New Geopolitics of Trade in Asia, Mireya Solis, Brookings Institution 
Infographic: Trump’s Teetering Trade Policy, Bertelsmann Foundation 
News: Countries Agree on Pacific Trade Pact That Excludes US, Michael Tatarski, Politico 
Blog Post: A TPP Without the U.S., Simon Lester, CATO Institute
Blog Post: The “Adern Clause” in TPP: A Novel Approach to Curbing Investment-State Dispute Settlement, Rob Howse, World Trade Law
Opinion: A Nafta Recession? The Biggest Threat to to the Trump Economy is His Trade Agenda, The Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal
Report: Which States Would Be Hit Hardest by Withdrawing from NAFTA? John Murphy, US Chamber of Commerce
Report: Trump’s Trade Policy: Separating the Normal From the Dangerous, Noah Gordon, Centre for European Reform
Video: Threats Loom for World Trading System, Shawn Donnan, Gideon Rachman and Martin Sandbu, Financial Times
NewsEU and UK Aim to Strike Brexit Divorce Deal within 3 Weeks, Alex Barker & George Parker, Financial Times 
News: Parliament to Have Final Say on Brexit Deal, David Davis Announces, Anushka Asthana, The Guardian
News: US Banks’ ‘Stop Gap’ Brexit Plans Set to Retain London Jobs, Emma Dunkley, Caroline Binham, Martin Arnold, and Laura Noonan, Financial Times
News: EU-Japan Trade Deal Still Penciled in for End of 2017, Sam Morgan, Euractiv 


TWEET/FACTOID OF THE WEEK

Did you know… 
with this week being National Apprenticeship Week in the US, since 2014 the US has added over 125,000 apprenticeships. The 2016 National Apprenticeship Week saw a total of 692 events, with 96,000 attendees in 50 states.

GLOBALIZATION
Analysis: Global Trade Disruption Is the New Normal, Weber Sandwick
Blog Post: Foreign Direct Investment: The Cause and Solution of Great Recession Impacts, Diana Tello, LSE Blogs
Report: The Final Days of a Tax Haven, Brian Bremmer, Bloomberg
Analysis: The Flaws in Trying to Compensate Globalization’s Losers, Alan Beattie, Financial Times
Review: Re-engineering an Exodus: David Miliband on How to Tackle the Global Refugee Crisis, James Crabtree, Financial Times
Report: DEBATE: Can Nation-States Have it All? Dani Rodrick and Kemal Dervis, Project Syndicate
Opinion: How Can We Level the Playing Field Between Young and Old? Paul Johnson, Institute of Fiscal Studies
Report: Toward a Marshall Plan for AmericaCenter for American Progress
Blog PostEconomists Used to Think That it Doesn’t Matter Whom You Want to Tax, Matthias Weber and Arthur Schram, LSE Blogs

WHAT WE ARE READING

Blog Post: How to Identify the Kremlin Ruling Elite and its Agents, Anders Aslund, Daniel Fried, Andrei Illarionov, and Andrei Piontovsky, Atlantic Council 
Report: Is China’s Development Finance A Challenge to the International Order? David Dollar, Brookings Institution
Analysis: Data Protection: Brussels’ Heavy Hand on Europe’s Digital EconomyFinancial Times
Policy Brief: Will Corporate Tax Cuts Cause a Large Increase in Wages? William Cline, Peterson Institute for International Economics
Report: Demographic Lessons from Japan for Europe, Daniel Gros, CEPS
Webcast: Reaching for the Moon: Can America Deliver 5 Million Additional Apprenticeships, Urban Institute
Report: Technology For the Many: A Public Policy Platform for a Better, Fairer Future, Chris Yui, Tony ,Blair Institute for Global Change 
Speech: Communication Challenges and Opportunities for the European Union, Anthony Gardner, EuroPCom Conference
Report: The Macron Plan for Europe, The Economist

UPCOMING EVENTS
November 28: Can Tax Reform Include a Carbon Tax? Brookings Institution
November 30: Can Tax Cuts Spur Economic Growth? CATO Institute
December 6: The EU’s Digital Single Market: How it Will Shape the Transatlantic Marketplace, Atlantic Council
December 7: An Update on the Transatlantic Relationship with the European Union Ambassador to the United States, European American Chamber of Commerce

Your Newsletter Team:
Marie Kasperek, Associate Director, Global Business & Economics, Atlantic Council
Michael Farquharson, Intern, Global Business & Economics, Atlantic Council 
Jack Reynolds, Intern, Global Business & Economics, Atlantic Council 

Please send us suggested news stories, opinion pieces, publications, and upcoming events that you would like us to highlight! Email mkasperek@AtlanticCouncil.org with your ideas and suggestions.

The views expressed in this newsletter and linked external articles and content do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its sponsors.

© 2017 Atlantic Council

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