EU-US Relations: Donald Trump is currently a bigger headache for Europe than Iran is - by Luke McGee,

This week's escalation in tensions between Iran and the US has exposed an uncomfortable reality for many of America's friends in Europe.

When US President Donald Trump called on the UK, Germany, France, Russia and China -- the other nations signatory to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, otherwise known as the Iran deal -- to join him in walking away from the JCPOA, he was asking his European allies to do far more than isolate Iran

The Iran deal, which was signed under the auspices of the European Union, is the single biggest foreign policy achievement in the EU's history.

It was the EU that drove efforts to get all of the significant parties to the table. In doing so, it not only encouraged Iran to engage with the West, but it crucially created a forum in which the EU could start to navigate what is now its chief aim in foreign policy."The EU's top priority is balanced relations between the big two: China and America," said Steven Blockmans, head of foreign affairs at the European Center for Policy Studies.

In 2020, another American president is arguably a far bigger disruptor to the old continent than, China, Iran or Russia. What a difference 72 years can make.

Read more at: Donald Trump is currently a bigger headache for Europe than Iran is - CNN

Denmark: Like a freshers fair, but for new arrivals to the country not college – by Edward Owen

International House Copenhagen is hailing this as the biggest international event in the capital, and they’re probably not talking porkie pies.

Free advice will be available on the most important things you need to know as an international living in Copenhagen and Denmark.

Whether you’ve just arrived or been here for some time, this is a chance to get invaluable guidance from industry experts on housing and careers, whilst meeting face-to-face representatives from cultural and leisure activities clubs.

Read more" Like a freshers fair, but for new arrivals to the country not college – The Post

Support EU-Digest, which has reported the news without any political affiliation since 2004, and opposes those who seek to discredit and even destroy news organizations who believe in the right of a free Press. You can do that by investing in an advertisement in EU-Digest, or by giving a donation to keep our efforts going : to donate or advertise and pay by credit card, click on: https://www.paypal.com/webapps/hermes?token=8BP18304C1657151J&useraction=commit&mfid=1567106786154_8591ae1288ebf  

Britain: As Theresa May flies out to Saudi Arabia, we should beware of Britain's new Brexit allies - by A. Smith

It’s been three months since Theresa May called for Brexit to be the birth of “a truly global Britain” and we’re starting to see what that actually means. Over recent months, we have seen Government ministers amassing huge numbers of air miles in a bid to form new trading relationships and strengthen older ones

This week Theresa May is making her first international visits since triggering Article 50 – and unfortunately it tells us a lot about where she sees the UK’s post-Brexit future lying. Today she flies into Jordan, and tomorrow she’s off to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for a visit that she hopes will “herald a further intensification” in relations between the UK and the two countries.

The timing is certainly controversial. Last week marked the second anniversary of the terrible bombardment Saudi forces have led against Yemen. UK arms have been central to the destruction, with over £3 billion worth of military equipment having been licensed to the Saudi regime since the bombardment began. The impact has been deadly, with over 10,000 having been killed and 17 million people being left food-insecure and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Research by UNICEF shows that the conflict has created a situation in which a child is dying of preventable causes every 10 minutes.

Despite the horrific backdrop, Whitehall is working with BAE Systems to sell even more of the same fighter jets that are currently flying over Yemen.

This is not the first controversial state visit May has made since taking office. Last December she flew out to Bahrain for the Gulf Cooperation Council meeting, in which she used Brexit as a pretext for a to call to “go even further” in working with the Gulf dictatorships.

Note EU-Digest: Brexit seems to have forced Theresa May to seek
strange "bed-fellows".

Read more: Britain's new Brexit allies | The Independent

International Trade: De Blasio Rips Trans Pacific Partnership, Calls NAFTA a ‘Disaster’

Free Trade : Not Always Benefiting Everyone

Mayor Bill de Blasio of New Yorktoday joined a slew of city politicians to decry President Barack Obama’s proposed Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal—comparing it to North American Free Trade Agreement, which he deemed a “disaster.”

“There’s such passion on this issue because we’ve already been to this movie,” Mr. de Blasio said at an anti-TPP rally in front of City Hall this morning. “We saw it with NAFTA. We saw what a disaster NAFTA was, and we’re not going to repeat that mistake in our time.”

Mr. de Blasio’s opposition to the TPP is not surprising: almost all of the city’s Congressional delegation is opposed to the deal, which is hated by unions. The pact would ease trade barriers and a host of regulations between the United States, Australia and several Asian and Latin American nations.

But the mayor’s comments come at a time when free trade has become a major issue in the presidential race, and not one that has been particularly good for Mr. de Blasio’s chosen candidate, Hillary Clinton. As President Barack Obama’s secretary of state, Ms. Clinton was instrumental in creating the free trade accord, though she has since disavowed it.

Her opponent for the Democratic nomination, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, has emphasized his long-time opposition to free trade deals like the TPP, and to NAFTA—which was passed by President Bill Clinton. And while Mr. de Blasio and Republican front-runner Donald Trump have little in common, they’ve now shared language on NAFTA: Mr. Trump, too, has called that free trade deal a “disaster.”

Mr. de Blasio framed his opposition to the president’s trade deal in familiar terms—as part of his crusade against income inequality.

“It’s a fight we have to win because this goes to the heart of the matter—if we’re going to fight income inequality in this country, we have to fight TPP because it will take us backwards, it will take us in the wrong direction,” Mr. de Blasio said. “And there is such a powerful coalition that has come forward to make sure that our trade deals actually don’t hurt our own people. That’s what this comes down to.”

He said the country could not “sacrifice the American middle class to the all mighty dollar.”

“And NAFTA was that. NAFTA took away almost a million jobs in this country—tens of thousands of them here in New York State. We saw places all over this country—towns and cities devastated. We saw people who had solid middle class lives have the rug pulled out from under them,” Mr. de Blasio said. “People who had done everything right, who had played by the rules, who had worked hard, suddenly were left with nothing—that’s what NAFTA did, and we have every reason to believe that TPP will do the same. And that’s why we have to stand up and fight against it.”

The president, with the help of the GOP House majority, obtained “fast track authority” last summer— meaning he has the power to negotiate the act himself, and Congress will get only an up and down vote on the deal.

Read more: De Blasio Rips Trans Pacific Partnership, Calls NAFTA a ‘Disaster’ | | Observer

Eurozone: 'German Exports And The Eurozone' - by Simon Wren-Lewis

"I have argued that the low level of German wage increases before the financial crisis were a significant destabilising influence on the Eurozone, which also indirectly contributed to Germany taking a hard line on austerity.

The basic idea is that Germany gained a significant competitive advantage over its Eurozone neighbours, which it has since been unwilling to unwind (through above average German inflation). What this competitiveness gain did was lead to very healthy export growth and a large current account surplus, and that additional demand meant that Germany did not suffer as much as its neighbours from the second Eurozone recession that policy created. Peter Bofinger has made a similar argument."

This argument is often criticised on the grounds that Germany’s healthy export growth was not primarily due to any competitive advantage, but instead was the result of non-price factors like strong demand from China for the type of goods Germany produces. This and other criticisms were recently made in a paper by Servaas Storm. One of the points made by Storm has itself been criticised by Thorsten Hild, and Hild’s point is entirely correct (see also Storm’s reply here). But the issue about what was the primary cause of strong export growth remains.

Trying to disentangle how much of German export growth was due to the competitiveness advantage they gained would require some econometric analysis which unfortunately I do not have time to undertake. But the point I want to make here is that if there has been a permanent positive shift in Germany’s exports (i.e one unrelated to price or cost competitiveness), then this strengthens the argument that I have been making. Before we get there, it is worth going through the basic macroeconomics involved.

Read more: 'German Exports And The Eurozone' by Simon Wren-Lewis

Pacific Rim - TTP: Obama blocked by own party on Trans-Pacific Partnership

The TPP has been dealt a setback in the US Senate. Skeptical Democrats have argued it would drive down wages and make it impossible for US workers to compete with those in countries with lax labor laws. 

US President Barack Obama was dealt a blow by his own party Tuesday when Democratic senators blocked legislation designed to give the president authority to swiftly finalize upcoming trade deals with the Pacific Rim and Europe.

Republicans supported Obama's bid for the fast-track trade authority to approve such deals, but Democrats opposed the measure on grounds they believed it failed to include adequate protections for American workers and punish currency manipulation.

"We know the global economy is a rough sea, and Republicans are asking us to pass a trade package that forces the American worker to navigate those waters in a leaky boat," leading Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said.

A procedural vote to allow the bill to proceed to formal debate and an eventual vote by the full Senate chamber failed by a count of 52-45 - short of the 60 votes required under Senate rules.

The Senate bill would have given Obama the authority to submit the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and an upcoming US-Europe trade pact (TTIP) to Congress for an up-or-down vote, and prevented lawmakers from amending any deal.

Note EU-Digest: the EU parliament and US Commission better take good note of what the US Democrats are saying about the TTP presently being negotiated  between 12 Pacific Rim countriesand and the US . This in view of the negotiations that are presently going on between the European Union and the US,  and which also contains a variety of obstacles, if accepted would have  a negative effect on EU health, the environment, agriculture, trade and security.

Read more: Obama blocked by own party on Trans-Pacific Partnership | News | DW.DE | 13.05.2015

Global Trade: US-China trade deficit hits record high - Jack Freifelde

The United States' trade deficit with Chitna reached an all-time high of more than $35 billion in September, representing 80 percent of the US' total trade gap of $43 billion, according to US Commerce Department data released Tuesday.

Economists are calling the development the result of macroeconomic shifts in the world's two largest economies.
Some of the main countries the US trades with, including the EU and China, are experiencing economic deceleration, according to David Dollar, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's John L Thornton China Center in Washington.

"Right now the United States' growth is quite good and accelerating, whereas Europe is in danger of going into recession and China is slowing down, so it's not surprising that US exports to Europe and China fell," Dollar said.

US-China trade deficit hits record high|Politics|chinadaily.com.cn

Iceland's President to visit Portland Maine for MITC shipping event

Iceland's President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson

Following the relocation of Icelandic shipping company Eimskip's American headquarters to Portland, the leader of Iceland will visit Maine this month to speak during Maine International Trade Center's Trade Day.

The Portland Press Herald reported Iceland President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson will speak during the May 31 event about business opportunities that might be created as global warming shrinks the polar ice cap.

Grímsson is expected to talk about how that melting will open access to iron ore, gas and oil and open transpolar shipping routes that could drastically reduce shipping time between Europe and Asia.

EU-Digest

International Trade: EU-Japan promote new economic partnership agreement - by Elena Ralli

Following the postponement of the 21st Summit between Japan and the EU, the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy and the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe spoke on the phone today regarding bilateral relations.

They agreed that Japan and the EU are global partners sharing common values and for this reason they must enhance their cooperation by establishing a new economic partnership and trade agreement.

In particular, the leaders decided to launch negotiations for an agreement covering political, global and sectoral cooperation and an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) / Free Trade Agreement (FTA). They also welcomed the start of the negotiations in April and expressed their commitment to the earliest possible conclusion of these two agreements.

Read more: EU-Japan promote new economic partnership agreement | New Europe

Asian ports falling behind Europe

A senior shipping executive says that Hong Kong - as well as other Asian ports - are falling behind their European counterparts in productivity terms.

Nicolas Sartini, group senior vice-president of Asia-Europe lines at French container line CMA CGM, said some European ports were 50 per cent more efficient at loading and unloading containers than those in Asia.

Sartini, who was in Hong Kong for the maiden call of the world's largest container ship, CMA CGM Marco Polo, said some Asian ports needed to "wake up and catch up with Europe".

Speaking on the bridge of the 16,020-teu (20-foot equivalent unit) ship, Sartini said Europe had traditionally been behind Asia in several areas, but he added: "Today, we get better productivity in Europe than Asia."

He explained that two European ports, Le Havre, where the line has its own terminal, and Hamburg, were capable of 150 container moves an hour whereas some Asian ports could only achieve 100 moves an hour.

Read more: Asian ports falling behind Europe

Shipping: As Panama Canal expands, Latin America rushes to be ready - by Jim Wyss, Jacqualine Charles, and Mimmi Whitefield

Standing atop a hulking crane at this country’s largest Pacific port, Alejandro Echeverri pointed out scurrying workers below reinforcing pylons, preparing the ground for an extended pier and tending to a dredging boat that has been deepening the harbor.

As the planning director for the Buenaventura Regional Port Authority, Echeverri says his job is to be a “futurologist” and try to stay ahead of the industry. Right now, the industry’s future is high stakes and under the sway of a singular event: the expansion of the Panama Canal, which will make the ships that straddle the seas larger and heavier than these ports have ever seen.

The industry “doesn’t care what ports need to do to be ready or what it costs,” Echeverri said. “If you’re not ready, they’ll simply take you off their route.”

Ports throughout the Americas and the Caribbean are rushing to be ready for the post-Panamax future. Currently, the Panama Canal can handle ships 965 feet long that need a depth of 39.5, a size known as Panamax. Once the expansion is complete in 2015, the canal will be able to accommodate ships 1,200 feet long with a 50-foot draft — and shippers are already building to those dimensions.

Read more: BUENAVENTURA, Colombia: As Panama Canal expands, Latin America rushes to be ready - Americas - MiamiHerald.com

International Trade: Major Developments In Global Warehousing Services

In many ways, warehousing facilities act as a barometer of broader economic trends. Third-party warehouses experienced some of the first signs of economic weakness as more clients stockpiled inventory. Likewise, warehousing companies benefited from a soft real estate market by negotiating cheaper leases and by purchasing property at low rates. As the industry faces another challenging year, experts indicate that five key trends should remain on the minds of company leaders.

1) Opening up more warehousing facilities to serve the same clients might not seem like an effective approach to "going green." However, the increasing urbanization of the worlds population and an industry still recovering from sudden spikes in energy costs has forced warehousing suppliers to rethink their locations. Staging product in multiple warehouses can reduce reliance on air freight and decrease shipping time. Dedicated warehouses that serve major cities can also respond more efficiently to regional demands.

2) As credit markets crumbled under the weight of a global recession, many third party logistics companies have resorted to selling off assets or merging with rivals to survive. Though industry analysts maintain that the sector should continue to thrive, successful companies must constantly evaluate their properties and their partnerships.

3) As all kinds of companies learn to cope with the rules of running a business in recessionary times, warehousing companies should also adjust to changing client demands. Warehousing facilities that once served as pick-and-pack terminals have been converted to long-term storage for clients that need to stockpile product. Likewise, many warehouse managers have changed floor plans and storage equipment systems to differentiate high-demand products from long-term storage items.

4) Shipping services have responded to customer demands for speed and security by integrating tracking services into their information technology infrastructure. Today, clients demand similar tools from warehousing providers, especially for products that must be kitted or assembled before delivery. Successful warehouse services already use database and management tools that can collaborate with shippers and with client ordering systems.

5) Interoperability and expansion are the key buzzwords right now, since facility managers must be ready to integrate their systems with clients and with other vendors. Overall, the trends affecting warehousing services mainly stem from end user demands for speed, efficiency, and environmental awareness.

EU-Digest

Eastport Maine A Profitable US East Coast Sea Link To Europe - by RM

Eastport a pittoresque Maine coastal town

What first started as a small experimental shipment of 500 pregnant cows from Maine to Turkey has now grown into an important source of income for Eastport, a pittoresque New England coastal town just across from the Canadian Province of New Brunswick.

On of the reason's for this success is that Eastport's location makes it the closest port on the US East Coast to Europe.

Initial facility expansions in 1998 allowed the Eastport Port Authority to enter into a series of record breaking years for its cargo operations. Recently the Port completed a further $8 million modernization and expansion program. Today the Port of Eastport is seen as one of the fastest growing cargo ports in all of New England.

Eastport's modern automated Port facilities

Following years of handling largely pulp and pulp-related products from local mills, livestock exports have emerged as a major growth market not only as a result of its proximity to Europe, but  importantly, Maine’s clean bill of health with regard to certain livestock diseases.

The Cattle for export via Eastport comes from Maine and other New England and US states,

Animal friendly, ventilated, climate-controlled livestock containers

The port’s dominant livestock customer has been a Texas company called Sexing Technologies that uses technology to sort bull semen for farmers that specifically want either male or female calves.

Following their arrival in Eastport Heifers (young cows) impregnated with semen from Sexing Technologies’ system are then loaded onto the ship in animal friendly, ventilated, climate-controlled livestock containers for their trip overseas. Usually to the port of Izmir in Turkey.

Izmir Port, Turkey

The positive results of this niche market are quite evident.

Since the beginning of the year some 17,000 cattle have passed through this Washington County community (also known for its commercial fisheries) on their way to Europe.

Chris Gardner, executive director of the Eastport Port Authority, who is also a Maine Washington County commissioner, says the livestock exports have opened a huge new international market for local and US farmers and has had a significant economic impact on the Port and the town of Eastport in the form of new businesses and jobs.

EU-Digest

Canada: Charest says fed election slowed Canada-EU trade talks; still hopes for 2011 deal

The federal election slowed down negotiations to strike a free trade deal between Canada and the European Union but Quebec Premier Jean Charest says he's hopeful an accord will be struck on deadline.

A new session of talks has been scheduled for July and will be crucial because the end of the year is the target date for a deal to be clinched. "We recognize that this will be the most difficult period," Charest told a news conference. "The most difficult challenges always come at the end."

In theory, the deal will open a market of 500 million people to Canada and the EU.

For more: Charest says fed election slowed Canada-EU trade talks; still hopes for 2011 deal | CanadianBusiness.com

"Charity begins at home" : The populist uprising against free trade - by Andrew Leonard

Participation in the global economy has never been more crucial ( say some), but left and right agree: "Boo to globalization".

A down economy always seems to go hand in hand with tensions over trade. And never mind the fact that so-called free trade pacts are really just vehicles through which powerful American corporate sectors such as the pharmaceutical industry seek to leverage access to American markets for their own specifically crafted opportunities. The phenomenon is that it reflects a much deeper distrust of engagement with the global economy that goes back a lot further than one appears prepared to admit. The economic argument for free trade -- that everyone benefits when countries maximize their
comparative advantage -- has little sway when the on-the-ground reality is that the winners from free trade in the Western World seem to be far outnumbered by the losers.
 
Growing income inequality and a progressively more squashed middle class have been in the works for decades. Yes, expanded trade with China has lowered consumer prices for all kinds of goods, but that doesn't compensate for the fact that job security is in tatters and the social welfare net is paper-thin.
People feel vulnerable, and vulnerability breeds fear. One wonders if it could all have been different -- if the U.S. had a comprehensive health-care system already in place that did not link your insurance to your job, or if tax policy didn't disproportionately favor corporations and the wealthiest Americans over the masses, would the average U.S. citizen feel less threatened by global competition? But it seems almost pointless to ask that question now. That ship has sailed. The damage is done and populists of every political stripe are itching for a trade war.

Note EU-Digest: as the saying goes, "charity begins at home".


For more: Bad timing alert: The populist uprising against free trade - Globalization - Salon.com

EU-Digest: Obama Presidency pushing the restart button

For additional reports about or related to Europe click on this link

Obama Presidency pushing the "restart button"

Barack Obama is pushing the restart button of his Presidency and Cabinet. Only 14 days into his Presidency that began with high hopes and soaring promises of bringing a new competence to Washington, Obama essentially admitted that he had "screwed up" due to the "self-inflicted injury" of naming cabinet appointees who had failed to pay their taxes. As a result President Barack Obama will name a third prominent Republican to his cabinet on Tuesday, nominating Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire as commerce secretary, a White House official said on Monday. A respected lawmaker and accomplished negotiator, Gregg, 61, is the senior Republican on the Senate Budget Committee and could help the Democratic Obama administration achieve its goal of moving Congress from what could be partisan bickering to consensus building.

President Barack Obama also risked a backlash within his own party by criticizing "Buy American" provisions in the huge stimulus bill that would ensure that most of the big infrastructure money goes to U.S. suppliers. The measures, highly popular among congressional Democrats and trade unions, have come under heavy criticism from the EU and other nations, which have threatened they will respond with counter-measures, that could lead to a trade war.

Contrary to his predecessor, who would never admit he was wrong, Mr. Obama at least accepted responsibility for the problems experienced in forming his cabinet and will probably get by this first major mishap without too much damage.