President Barack Obama travelled to Warsaw, Poland, at the end of last week to attend the NATO Summit and meet with Polish government officials. In joint remarks to the press after a U.S.-EU meeting on Friday, President Obama emphasizing a close cooperation with the EU, including through the ongoing transatlantic free trade agreement negotiations, while … Continue Reading
President Barack Obama acknowledged from San Francisco early Friday morning that the British had exercised their sovereign rights and chosen to exit the European Union. Washington awoke to the news and the corresponding negative reaction of the international financial markets soon after. Secretary of State John Kerry changed his travel schedule, adding a stop in … Continue Reading
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Orlando, Florida, last Thursday to meet with the families of the 49 victims of the shooting at a gay nightclub last weekend. President Obama will participate in this week’s SelectUSA Investment Summit, which will be held in Washington, D.C. Secretary of State John Kerry affirmed … Continue Reading
President Barack Obama hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India last week, and the Prime Minister addressed a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. The United States and China held their annual Strategic & Economic Dialogue last week in Beijing, issuing a joint statement at the conclusion. Congress was in session last week and will … Continue Reading
Washington will welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India this week, with President Obama hosting him at the White House. The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated North Korea as a primary money-laundering jurisdiction last week, imposing additional restrictions on the country’s financial sector. Congress was in recess last week in observance of the Memorial … Continue Reading
President Barack Obama departed on Sunday for what will be his 10th trip to Asia, with scheduled stops in Vietnam and Japan. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) released its much-anticipated report reviewing the Trans-Pacific Partnership’s (TPP) implications to the U.S. economy last Wednesday. The Administration immediately pointed to the report and called for Congress … Continue Reading
Last Friday, President Barack Obama hosted the Nordic Leaders Summit in Washington, with the Leaders affirming shared fundamental values and areas of collaboration, while also spotlighting Russia’s military activities in the Baltic Sea region and confirming multilateral sanctions imposed on Russia will remain in place. Secretary of State John Kerry attended the Global Anti-Corruption Summit … Continue Reading
Vice President Joe Biden hosted the U.S.-Caribbean and Central American Energy Summit last week, reaffirming the U.S. commitment to addressing energy security concerns in the Western Hemisphere. President Barack Obama will host the Nordic Leaders Summit in Washington on Friday to deepen U.S.-Nordic cooperation and affirm the U.S. commitment to European security, trans-Atlantic trade and the … Continue Reading
President Barack Obama travelled to Saudi Arabia last week, meeting with Saudi officials on Thursday and attending the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit on Friday to discuss crises in the Middle East. The President then travelled to the United Kingdom (UK), where he urged the UK to remain in the EU ahead of its June … Continue Reading
Tension between the United States and Russia remains heightened, particularly after recent reports of close military encounters in the Baltic Sea. The ceasefire agreements appear to be tenuous in both Ukraine and Syria, with intensified fighting reported in both countries. While in Washington for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual Spring Meeting, … Continue Reading
Historic snowfall levels kept the U.S. Federal Government from officially reopening until Wednesday of last week. President Barack Obama, however, met the day before with his health and national security teams to discuss the rapid spread of Zika and other mosquito-borne viruses in the Americas and steps being taken to protect U.S. citizens. The President … Continue Reading
Combatting ISIL – Syria and Iraq Crises After Turkey downed a Russian fighter jet over its territory last Tuesday, President Barack Obama maintained Turkey had a right to defend its airspace. He spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that day, expressing U.S. and NATO support for Turkey’s right to defend its sovereignty. The two … Continue Reading
Terrorist Attacks – Paris and Beirut Last Friday evening, President Barack Obama addressed the nation as the press reported of numerous fatalities and injuries resulting from coordinated terrorist attacks at multiple locations in Paris, France. The President immediately offered U.S. assistance to France and said the attacks were “an attack on all of humanity and … Continue Reading
Syrian and Iraqi Crises Secretary of State John Kerry delivered remarks on U.S. Middle East policy last Wednesday at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The Secretary called on the Russian Government to contribute to the end of the Syrian conflict, including through a political settlement. He also highlighted areas where the United States, Russia, … Continue Reading
Indonesia – Washington Visit This afternoon, President Barack Obama will welcome President Joko Widodo of Indonesia to the White House. President Widodo is making his first visit to the United States since becoming President of Indonesia. President Obama and President Widodo are expected to discuss plans to expand existing areas of bilateral cooperation, including in … Continue Reading
Iran Nuclear Deal Enters into Force – Congress Scrutinizes Iran’s ICBM Test On Sunday, President Barack Obama issued a statement on the adoption day of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between the P5+1 and Iran. The President said he had directed the heads of all relevant U.S. executive departments and agencies to begin … Continue Reading
TPP Update Extending into a fifth day on Sunday, TPP negotiators spent the weekend hashing out final compromises on biologics exclusivity, dairy market access, sensitive products, investor-state dispute settlement, and other last minute issues. The United States and Japan reportedly reached agreement in principle on automobile market access and rules-of-origin in talks that also included … Continue Reading
President Obama’s UNGA Schedule President Barack Obama is in New York City (NYC) attending the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) until Tuesday. He delivered remarks at the closing session of the Post-2015 Development Agenda after he arrived Sunday afternoon. The President will address the UNGA this morning, where he is expected to review progress made over the last year … Continue Reading
Iran According to the press, the P5+1 negotiators and Iran plan to announce today that they have reached a historic deal that would address Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. Though negotiators said that they had hoped to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran by last Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry announced … Continue Reading
Iran As was expected, the P5+1 countries agreed last week to extend their voluntary deadline for finalizing a comprehensive deal with Iran over its nuclear program by one week to 7 July. At a White House press briefing, President Obama acknowledged that hard negotiations remain, but it will ultimately be up to the Iranians to … Continue Reading
TPA Moves Separately, Senate Vote Sequencing Outlined After the House Rules Committee approved a vote on a standalone Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill – unlinking it from the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) bill that previously failed in a vote – the House passed the measure last Thursday by a vote of 218 to 208. This … Continue Reading
Recap of Last Week’s House Action on Trade Legislation Last Friday, President Barack Obama made a last-minute trip to Capitol Hill in the morning to encourage support among Democrats for the bill containing Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), acknowledging to the press that the vote situation remained fluid. That afternoon, the … Continue Reading
G-7 Summit President Barack Obama arrived in Germany on Sunday to attend the G-7 Summit. The leaders are expected to review the current situation in Ukraine; discuss continued support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity; and underscore their support for a diplomatic solution based on full implementation of the Minsk agreements. Many expect the G-7 … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Immigration Provision Removed from House Defense Bill On Friday, the House passed H.R. 1735, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2016, by a vote of 269 in favor and 151 against. During floor debate, the chamber narrowly approved an amendment proposed by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) stripping language from H.R. 1735 that would … Continue Reading
