TRADE in ACTION – May 12, 2017

This week in TradeinAction: Emmanuel Macron wins French presidency, routing Le Pen, Robert Lighthizer won Senate approval Thursday to become President Donald Trump’s top trade envoy, the G7 Finance Meeting starts today and European Trade Ministers meet in Council meeting to discuss Anti Dumping and Ukraine.


Happy belated Europe Day (May 9). If you want to experience the best of European culture without the jetlag, join the EU embassies for their Open House this weekend full of free activities! 

SPOTLIGHT
Macron Faces a World of Challenges
Emmanuel Macron’s election as the next president of France is the first time that a centrist who has never held elected office has won. It also reinforces, after the recent Dutch and Austrian elections, the fact that the forces of nationalism have, at least for now, been kept at bay in Europe.

What are the implications of his election for France’s role on the world stage? The European Union? The US-European alliance? Answers to these questions and more on the French president-elect who is about to be tested by global challenges that range from terrorism to trade and climate agreements on the New Atlanticist here. 

TRADE
News: It’s Deal-Making Time: Trump’s Trade Envoy is Confirmed, Megan Cassella, Politico
News: EU Wants Tougher Global Trade Rules to Fend off Populist Threat, Financial Times 
News: G7 Finance Ministers in Italy Try to Gauge Trump’s Policy Plans, Euractiv
News: Brussels Hits Back Against Trump on Trade Deficit, Hans Von Der Burchard, Politico
Official Press Release: Minister Champagne Visits Washington, DC, to Promote Canada’s Trade and Investment Relationship with the Americas, Government of Canada
News: EU Trade Commissioner in Mexico: “Trade deal possible by year’s end“, European Commission
News: Macron Pushes EU to Be Tougher on Trade and Foreign Investment, Anne-Sylvaine Chassany, Financial Times
Trade Deals: OMG! TTIP, JEFTA, CEPA are DOAHans von der Burchard, Politico Europe
Opinion: What Donald Trump Means by Fair Trade, The Economist (Print edition)
Analysis: Can TPP Go Ahead without America?, The Economist
News: New Zealand Government Ratifies TPP Despite US Rejection, Radio New Zealand
Issue Brief: Unfreezing TTIP: Why a Transatlantic Trade Pact
Still Makes Strategic Sense
, Rem Korteweg, Centre for European Reform
Opinion Poll: Views of NAFTA Less Positive – and more Partisan – in US than in Canada and Mexico Views of NAFTA less Positive – and more Partisan – in US than in Canada and Mexico, Bruce Stokes, Pew Research Center
NAFTA: Labor Rights Under NAFTA: A Potential Renegotiation, Kimberly A. Nolan García, Forbes  
NAFTA: Mexico Presses Trump to Uphold NAFTA for Good of Both Nations, Frank Jack Daniel, Dave Graham, Mitra Taj, Reuters
Insight: What the US-China Deal Tells us about the Future of Global Trade, Martin Wolf, Financial Times

TWEET/ FACTOID OF THE WEEK
tweet of the week may 12

Did you know that….the United States and France established diplomatic relations 237 years ago in 1778, with France providing critical support during the Revolutionary War? Today, more than 2,700 French companies have subsidiaries in the United States. All together, these outposts employ some 500,000 people. (Free Enterprise)

GLOBALIZATION
Speech: Safeguarding common Values in the Age of Globalisation, Cecilia Malmström, Delegation of the European Union to Mexico
Reflection Paper: Harnessing Globalisation, European Commission
Research Paper: The Payoff to America from Globalization: A Fresh Look with a Focus on Costs to Workers, Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Zhiyao (Lucy) Lu,
Peterson Institute of International Economics
OpinionFuture of Globalization: Winners and Losers, Gayle Allard , Global Network Persepctives

WHAT WE ARE READING
Opinion: In Love with Europe (2), Marius Ivaškevičius, Delfi
Opinion: From French Resilience to a Re-Foundation of Europe? Frédéric Bozo, German Marshall Fund
Podcast: Europe Day 2017 Interview with Ambassador David O’SullivanEuropean Delegation to the United States
Report: Trump Administration Must Cooperate with Europe, Germany Needs to Creatively Boost Defense, Frédéric Bozo, German Marshall Fund 
Interview: The Economist Interview with President Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn, The Economist
Essay: The Return of Marco Polo’s World and the US Military Response, Robert D. Kaplan, Center for a New American Security

UPCOMING
EVENTS
May 15Future of the European Economy after the French Election, Peterson Institute of International Economics
May 17A New Era for US Infrastructure? Event and Reception, Atlantic Council
May 18: Invest in America! 2017 Summit, US Chamber of Commerce
May 18, 2017: The Marshall Plan at 70: What We Must Remember and What We Must Do for the Future, Washington DC, CSIS 
May 25: Lecture: Early Modern Globalization through a Jesuit Prism, Washington, European Union Delegation to the United States

Your Newsletter Team:
Marie Kasperek, Associate Director, 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.