U.S.-Canada trade talks on ice. U.S. President Donald Trump cancelled all ongoing trade talks with Canada yesterday after a Canadian province aired a political ad featuring a recording of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute said the Canadian province of Ontario “did not seek nor receive permission” to use the remarks. Trump announced a similar freeze on trade talks with Canada in June, but restarted them after Canada dropped a tech tax.
European space merger. Leading aerospace and defense firms Airbus, Leonardo, and Thales will merge to create a company that aims to be a “leading European player in space,” they announced yesterday. Aerospace firms in Europe had been in talks about how to create a regional rival to firms such as SpaceX. Airbus will be the majority owner of the joint venture, which could be operational as soon as 2027.
U.S. pushback on West Bank. After Israel’s legislature advanced a bill to annex the West Bank, U.S. Vice President JD Vance called the passage a “political stunt,” while Trump told reporters “Israel is not going to do anything with the West Bank.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is in Israel today to discuss the Gaza ceasefire, said there was “no plan b” to Trump’s peace plan, which had broad regional support.
Morocco’s deadline for coal. The country set its first-ever deadline to phase out coal power as part of its new emissions target. It pledged to do so by 2040 if it received more than $30 billion of external financing to support its climate mitigation plans, and some time in the 2040s if it does not. The country has already stopped planning new coal plants, its energy transition minister said.
U.S.-China trade negotiations. The two countries are holding trade talks in Malaysia today ahead of a highly anticipated meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next Thursday. Before departing for Malaysia, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was “optimistic” about the negotiations, but that China’s new rare earth restrictions were “unworkable and unacceptable.”
China’s economic plan. Chinese officials agreed to pursue tech innovation, self-reliance, and increased domestic consumption at a multiday meeting this week that focused on the country’s next five-year economic plan, a readout said. The final version of the plan is expected to be approved in March. China’s focus on export-led growth—rather than stimulating domestic consumption—has been a hallmark of its economic policy in recent years and has reshaped the global economy.
UK anti-espionage sting. British police arrested three men in London yesterday suspected of spying for Russia. The head of London’s counterterrorism police said such cases are on the rise in the UK. Three people were arrested in Essex as part of a similar probe last month, following a series of convictions for acting on behalf of Russia in May and July.
ICC v. the Philippines. The International Criminal Court (ICC) yesterday rejected a challenge to its authority to rule on a case against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The court is trying Duterte for crimes he allegedly committed during the country’s deadly war on drugs. The Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC took effect in 2019, but the court ruled that countries could not “abuse” their right to withdrawal “by shielding persons from justice” in matters it was already considering. The ICC opened its preliminary investigation into Duterte in 2018.
