Press reports this week have suggested the Trump Administration is preparing to take some action, potentially including defunding, against the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the much-maligned organization created in 1949 to provide assistance to Palestinian refugees. UN Ambassador Nikki Haley agreed on Tuesday that Palestinian refugees’ right of return — a demand critical to Palestinians and anathema to Israel — ought to be off the table.
The big picture: The administration may be ramping up pressure on the Palestinians ahead of rolling out Trump’s peace plan — his so-called Ultimate Deal. But criticism of UNRWA — an object of derision for Jared Kushner and other members of Trump’s peace team— might instead be part of a campaign to completely reset U.S. policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has certified that Iran remains in compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal and is providing access to all nuclear sites, per the AP.
Why it matters: The remaining parties to the deal have been attempting to salvage it since the U.S. unilaterally withdrew in May, but U.S. sanctions will make it impossible to provide Iran the sort of economic benefits they were promised. For now, Iran continues to comply — it's unclear how long that will last.
Panasonic will move its European headquarters from London to Amsterdam in October because of tax issues related to Brexit, reports Nikkei Asian Review.
The big picture: The U.K. has said it will lower its 20% corporate tax rate following its departure from the EU to retain and attract businesses, but Panasonic fears that this could cause the country to be labeled as a "tax haven" by Japan — which would result in multinationals being taxed more heavily at home.
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers requested that President Trump impose sanctions on Chinese officials and companies involved in an "ongoing human rights crisis" against Muslims in China's Xinjiang region, the Associated Press reports.
The details: Muslim ethnic minorities are being forced into "re-education centers," where they're tortured and sometimes killed, the AP reports. The letter — signed by Sens. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Sherrod Brown, and 14 other lawmakers — says the Uighurs and other Muslim minorities are facing "egregious restrictions on religious practice and culture," which requires a "tough, targeted, and global response."
President Trump's hard-ball, America-First negotiating tactics may produce a new agreement on NAFTA as early as Friday, but history suggests he could be creating bad blood against the U.S. for years or longer.
The bottom line: Hard-ball is a negotiatingtactic with usually limited results — you win applause at home, but at the receiving end, no one is laughing. "Playing a game in which the other side looks like a loser makes potential partners less likely to subject themselves to the same fate," said Richard Fontaine, president of the Center for a New American Security.
In a series of tweets Wednesday, President Trump said there was "no reason at this time" to participate in joint "war games" with South Korea and Japan, maintaining that his relationship with Kim Jong-un is still "a very good and warm one."
Why it matters: Despite the administration's frustration with the denuclearization process with North Korea, Trump is standing by his decision to pull out of the military exercises, which he characterized as "provocative" in June. His tweets also clarify any confusion after Defense Secretary James Mattis suggested Tuesday that joint military exercises could be back on the table.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has softened his plan for pension reform in response to his falling approval rating and the threat of nationwide protests, reports the AP.
Why it matters: In a rare concession, Putin said the retirement age for women would be raised from 55 to 60, rather than 63 as originally planned. The televised speech in which he announced the partial change illustrates just how unpopular the reforms were, as Putin seldom explains his policy decisions to the public.
With the a deadline to impose further Russia sanctions looming, the Trump administration has reached out to the Kremlin in hopes of avoiding another tit-for-tat escalation with Moscow, the Washington Post's John Hudson reports.
What to watch: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo certified earlier this month that Russia had illegally used chemical weapons in the poisoning of Russian ex-double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England. That triggered automatic sanctions under a 1991 law, and gave the administration three months to pick from a menu of further penalties, some of which could hit Russia hard. Pompeo has requested a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov before that deadline, and Lavrov has accepted, per Hudson.
The British pound soared against the dollar on Wednesday after the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier suggested a post-Brexit partnership may be imminent, reports Reuters.
"We are prepared to offer a partnership with Britain such as has never been with any other third country."
— EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier
Why it matters: This appears to be a sign of optimism following weeks of speculation that the U.K. would crash out of the EU without a withdrawal treaty. The U.K.'s Brexit minister Dominic Raab also indicated Wednesday that Theresa May's Chequers proposal had elicited a positive reaction from EU member states, per Reuters.
