Daily News Brief

February 28, 2023

Top of the Agenda

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a compromise yesterday (Bloomberg) on trade rules that have sown tensions since the United Kingdom (UK) left the European Union (EU) in 2020. The new deal, the Windsor Framework, would reduce customs checks (NYT) imposed on goods traded between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. It will also allow the Northern Irish government an emergency veto over EU laws. 

Sunak is in Belfast today seeking support for the deal. It does not technically require ratification, but Sunak said the UK House of Commons will vote on it “at the appropriate time.” Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has boycotted participation (FT) in Northern Ireland’s legislature since May 2022 over certain post-Brexit rules. The DUP’s leader said the new deal addressed some of the party’s concerns, but others remain.

Analysis

“There is no doubt that Brexit soured the good relations that had existed between the UK and Ireland because of their joint interest in Northern Ireland affairs in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement. The hope now is that the Windsor Framework will allow a reset, not just between the two states but also between the UK and the wider EU,” the BBC’s Shane Harrison writes.

“Driven as it was by English politicians and English voters, Brexit could only increase disaffection from the United Kingdom in both Northern Ireland and Scotland,” Princeton University’s Fintan O’Toole writes for Foreign Affairs. “In legal fact, Brexit has set in train a process of detaching Northern Ireland from Great Britain.”

Pacific Rim

More than six thousand U.S. military personnel will train (Nikkei) alongside forces from thirty countries during the Cobra Gold drills cohosted with Thailand. It is the greatest show of U.S. participation in the drills in a decade. 

Hong Kong: The city will drop its mask mandate (FT) after nearly three years, becoming one of the world’s last governments to do so. Masking will still be required in hospitals. 

South and Central Asia

Nearly half of all internet shutdowns in 2022 occurred in India (WaPo), according to digital rights watchdog Access Now. Overall, the world saw the most shutdowns since the group began tracking them in 2016.

Pakistan: Officials launched a human trafficking probe (Al Jazeera) after twenty Pakistani migrants drowned in a shipwreck near southern Italy over the weekend.

Middle East and North Africa

The three men, who belong to a group that debates Islamic jurisprudence, will be tried today on charges of ridiculing Bahrain’s religious orthodoxy, Human Rights Watch said. 

Israel/Palestinian territories: Israel’s military chief promised to investigate (Times of Israel) Sunday’s riots by Israeli settlers in the West Bank town of Huwara. The riots occurred after a Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli men in the area. 

Sub-Saharan Africa

Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress party is currently ahead, with results reported from twenty of Nigeria’s thirty-six states, Reuters reported.

France/Africa: In a speech, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a “new era” (AP) in which France views African nations as partners and not former colonies. He said France will reduce its troop presence on the continent and ensure its military bases and schools there are jointly managed by French and African staff.

Europe

The amount is equivalent (The National) to 4 percent of Turkey’s 2021 gross domestic product (GDP) and does not include damages the February 6 earthquake caused in Syria. The World Bank estimates that the quake has left 1.25 million people temporarily homeless.

CFR’s Henri J. Barkey looks at how the earthquake could reshape Turkish and Syrian politics.

Americas

TikTok will be deleted (CBC) from all government-issued mobile devices today after a review by Canada’s chief information officer found that data collected by the app could be used for cyberattacks.

This In Brief explains why the U.S. government issued a similar ban.

Chile: The country is deploying troops (Bloomberg) to its borders with Bolivia and Peru to control a rise in illegal immigration. The move comes after a new law granted the Chilean military increased responsibility for border security.

United States

U.S. firms receiving money under the CHIPS and Science Act will be prohibited from expanding (Reuters) in countries of concern—such as China—for ten years, the Commerce Department announced. They will also be required to share excess profits with the U.S. government and explain how they plan to provide employees with affordable childcare.

Chris Miller and CFR’s David Sacks explain the U.S.-China chipmaking rivalry.

Council on Foreign Relations

58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065

1777 F Street, NW — Washington, DC 20006

Shop the CFR Store

Forward This Email

Manage Your Email Preferences