Peter Altmaier
The United States and the European Union must quickly flesh out their aim of cutting trade barriers, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said ahead of an EU trade meeting on Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed in July to hold back on threatened 25-percent car tariffs while the United States and Europe talked about cutting other trade barriers.
But U.S. officials have grown frustrated at the slow pace of progress. Altmaier also pressed for results.
"We have a strong interest in the swift implementation of the joint statement by President Juncker and President Trump," he said in a statement. "Reducing - not increasing - duties and trade restrictions must be the goal!"
Vice President Mike Pence charged China on Thursday with conducting a sweeping campaign aimed at meddling in the America’s internal politics, and undermining U.S. President Donald Trump.China, Pence said, "has mobilized covert actors, front groups, and propaganda outlets to shift Americans’ perception of Chinese policies"."What the Russians are doing pales in comparison to what China is doing across this country," Pence added, referring to what U.S. intelligence agencies determined to be Moscow's "influence campaign" during the 2016 White House race."And the American people deserve to know it," he added.The comments follow Trump's announcement last week at the UN that China is seeking to interfere in the U.S.'s midterm elections slated for early November.Trump rolls out new US counterterrorism strategyTrump alleged Beijing does "not want me or us to win because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade."Pence outlined the alleged efforts before the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington, saying it includes overt efforts including placing ads in U.S. newspapers, as well as more subtle maneuvers."Senior Chinese officials have also tried to influence business leaders to encourage them to condemn our trade actions, leveraging their desire to maintain their operations in China," Pence said. "In one recent example, China threatened to deny a business license for a major U.S. corporation if they refused to speak out against our administration’s policies."He did not specify which company he was referring to or when the alleged incident took place, but added that amid a trade war with Washington, Beijing has targeted more than 80 percent of its retaliatory tariffs on key constituencies for Trump and the Republican Party."China wants to turn these voters against our administration," Pence said. "Fortunately, Americans aren’t buying it."Beyond the political sphere, Pence charged China with continuing to engage in unfair business practices in order to build up a domestic manufacturing base at the expense of rivals."The Chinese Communist Party has also used an arsenal of policies inconsistent with free and fair trade, including tariffs, quotas, currency manipulation, forced technology transfer, intellectual property theft, and industrial subsidies doled out like candy, to name a few," he said.Pence accused China of directing bureaucrats and business leaders to obtain U.S. intellectual property "by any means necessary," and warned other nations to avoid doing business with Beijing because of its policy of "debt diplomacy.”Pence also took umbrage with China's development of artificial military island outposts in the South China Sea where he said "Beijing has deployed advanced anti-ship and anti-air missiles," but insisted Washington will not curtail its operations in international waters"China wants nothing less than to push the United States of America from the Western Pacific and attempt to prevent us from coming to the aid of our allies," he said. "The United States Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows and our national interests demand. We will not be intimidated and we will not stand down."
US: VP accuses China of election meddling, tech theft
The U.S. is "on track" with the Manbij roadmap agreement with Turkey, a top American commander said Thursday.Gen. Joseph Votel, chief of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), spoke to reporters via teleconference, and discussed concerns about delays in the implementation of the roadmap.Amid issues of the PKK-affiliated YPG terrorist group still having a presence in the area, Votel said the U.S. would work to ensure that they are removed."We are on track with where we need to be with the Manbij roadmap. Many of those times we highlighted that this is a conditions-based approach to this. But I do asses we are on track where we need to be with respect to that," he said.US: VP accuses China of election meddling, tech theftThe Manbij deal between Turkey and the U.S. focuses on the withdrawal of the YPG forces from the city to stabilize the region, which is in the northeast of the Aleppo province in northern Syria."My understanding is that most of the YPG, if not all of the YPG, is out of Manbij right now. But of course, as we continue in implementing the roadmap there are specific activities within that to ensure that is the case," said Votel.In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK has taken 40,000 lives, including many women and children. The YPG is its Syrian branch.In June, Turkish and U.S. forces began independent patrols in Manbij, however, joint patrols have yet to begin.Trump rolls out new US counterterrorism strategyTurkey's Defense Ministry said Tuesday the first batch of U.S. army personnel arrived in Turkey to join training for joint patrols."As the Secretary [James Mattis] has recently commented on, we're engaged with our Turkish partners right now and moving to the combined joint patrols. The leader training has begun for that, and we'll move into the collective training here very shortly," Votel said.Votel gave no timeline on when the patrols were expected to begin.
US 'on track' with Manbij roadmap: commander
The White House introduced a new counterterrorism strategy Thursday that it said is "much broader" than that of former U.S. President Barack Obama's plan.President Donald Trump's new strategy is the first since Obama rolled out his plan in 2011.National Security Advisor John Bolton told reporters at the White House the new measure recognizes "that there's a terrorist ideology that we're confronting, and I think it's long been the president's view that without recognizing that we're in an ideological struggle, that we can't properly address the terrorist threat."While adopting rhetoric that the Obama administration insisted was unhelpful in the fight against terrorism, the new strategy reflects in many ways aspects of Obama's plan, as well as that of President George W. Bush.US general slams Russia's deployment of S-300 in Syria"Today's terrorist landscape is more fluid and complex than ever," the report said. "While we have succeeded in disrupting large-scale attacks in the homeland since 2001, we have not sufficiently mitigated the overall threat that terrorists pose."The plan seeks to "dismantle" militant networks, and "sever" them from their sources of strength while maintaining pressure on the organizations to prevent their reemergence.It also sought to prioritize "non-military capabilities," including the prevention of recruitment, and efforts to push back on online propaganda."This includes leveraging the skills and resources of civil society and non-traditional partners to diminish terrorists’ efforts to radicalize and recruit people in the United States," it said.US failed in fight against terrorism: Ex-Afghan leaderThe report's emphasis on Iran is a reflection of Bolton, who has long taken a hawkish approach to the Islamic Republic and has continued to do so after assuming his White House post in April.While addressing reporters he called Tehran "the world's central banker of international terrorism" following its 1979 revolution, and said it supports a range of militant groups in the region that "continue to pose a threat to the United States and our interests."
Trump rolls out new US counterterrorism strategy