The United Kingdom (UK), European Union (EU) and the United States (US) focused this past week on climate change and global supply chain disruptions, with the UK hosting the 26th United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which continues into this week. Transatlantic leaders started the week in Rome, attending the Group of 20 (G20) Summit over the past weekend. Also last Sunday, the US and EU announced an agreement that essentially resolves the Section 232 steel and aluminum dispute and establishes a dialogue for more broadly addressing global overcapacity challenges. The EU and UK announced a dialogue to attempt to resolve the fishing dispute between the UK and France, while talks between the two sides also continue over implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Meanwhile, despite Europe re-emerging as a COVID-19 epicenter, the US is set to resume accepting some vaccinated international travelers on Monday, 8 November, including passengers from Europe. As part of its effort to increase further the US adult vaccination rate, the US Federal Government released its controversial COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the US private sector, which has since seen multiple legal challenges filed. Notably, the UK became the first country to approve a COVID-19 antiviral pill on Thursday, giving it yet another tool to combat the coronavirus.
In this issue, we also cover:
- The G20 Rome Summit;
- The COP26 Summit;
- Notable US, EU, and UK developments;
- A brief UK-EU trade deal update; and
- COVID-19 highlights among the transatlantic partners.
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