Editor’s note: There will be no Daily Brief on Monday, June 20, in observance of Juneteenth. |
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WTO Reaches Deals on Generic Vaccines, Fishing Subsidies |
The World Trade Organization (WTO) announced deals (Politico) on matters including COVID-19 vaccines and fishing subsidies after a six-day ministerial meeting in Geneva. The contentious meeting ran two days longer than planned, but WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said its outcomes show the organization is “capable of responding to emergencies.”
Under one agreement, countries will be allowed to waive intellectual property protections on COVID-19 vaccines but not on therapeutics or diagnostic materials. Another deal requires countries to ban subsidies on unreported and unregulated fishing. Trade ministers also agreed (FT) to extend duty-free trade in digital products and limit some food export restrictions. |
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“Reining in subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing will have the largest impact on the long-term sustainability of our oceans and support broader environmental goals,” CFR’s Inu Manak writes for the Renewing America blog.
“It is clear that there’s a tremendous need for a vibrant WTO that is able to tackle shared global priorities, but this ministerial laid bare the increasingly severe limits to meaningful outcomes that require unanimous agreement,” the National Foreign Trade Council’s Jake Colvin tells the Financial Times. This Backgrounder discusses the future of the WTO. |
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China Debuts New Aircraft Carrier |
China’s largest and most advanced aircraft carrier is the first to be designed and built domestically (Nikkei), though it won’t be operational for years.
North Korea: State media reported that the government sent medicine (Yonhap) to people suffering from an infectious gastrointestinal disease in the country’s southwest. |
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India Could Extend Export Curbs on Sugar |
Unnamed Indian officials told Reuters that the government is likely to impose export restrictions on sugar for the second year in a row. Pakistan: Some of the country’s allies, including China, have quietly lobbied to get it removed from a global watchdog’s list of countries flagged for money laundering, Dawn reported. Pakistan was added to the list in 2018, and a decision is expected today. |
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Middle East and North Africa |
U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Iranian Energy Firms, Chinese, Emirati Brokers |
The U.S. Treasury Department said the network of companies helped Iran evade sanctions (CNN). U.S./Russia/Syria: U.S. officials told CNN that Russia notified the United States ahead of a strike on U.S. allies in southeastern Syria earlier this week. No one was killed in the strike; the U.S. military warned Syrian fighters to move, and no U.S. troops were nearby. |
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South Africa’s Durban to Ration Water After Flooding |
The municipality that includes the port city of Durban plans to ration water (Bloomberg) for about a year after flooding damaged its pipelines. This Backgrounder examines the global problem of water stress. Uganda: The military said it found bomb-making materials (Reuters) at a militant training site west of the capital, Kampala, and that it arrested three people. |
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European Commission Recommends EU Candidate Status for Moldova, Ukraine |
Next week in Brussels, European Union (EU) leaders will consider (Politico) whether to officially give the countries candidate status.
Netherlands/Russia: Dutch authorities said they stopped a Russian spy (WaPo) who was trying to infiltrate the International Criminal Court (ICC) as an intern.
This Backgrounder looks at the ICC. |
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Colombia to Hold Runoff Presidential Election |
On Sunday, voters will choose (WaPo) between Gustavo Petro, who would be the country’s first leftist president, and antiestablishment businessman Rodolfo Hernandez. This In Brief lays out what to know about Colombia’s election.
Argentina/Iran/Israel: Israel praised Argentina for grounding a plane (AP) last week that had some Iranian crewmembers, saying the flight posed a “potential threat.” Argentine authorities are investigating the plane. |
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January 6 Panel Shows Rioters Came Close to Pence |
The committee investigating the January 2021 Capitol insurrection found that rioters who supported President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn election results came within forty feet (CNN) of Vice President Mike Pence, who opposed those efforts, and that they threatened him by name. |
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Wired discusses how the politics of the future could involve decision-making by nonhumans such as animals, ecosystems, and artificial intelligence. |
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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