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Daily News Brief

The U.S. president’s meeting with Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia signals normalizing bilateral relations and a major shift in U.S. policy.

Syria

 

Iran

Iran

Several complexities and differences over Tehran's nuclear enrichment program that could make a new deal difficult.

Iran

The two countries held their first meeting in seven years to discuss Iran’s contentious nuclear program. Here’s what could come next.

Iran

The type of deal likely to emerge from U.S.-Iran talks tomorrow on Tehran’s nuclear program will depend on what’s changed and what remains the same since the agreement was negotiated during the Barack Obama administration in 2015.
Persian Gulf

Economics

Speeding trusted investment from allies and partners would strengthen U.S. competitiveness and security.  

United States

President Donald Trump is again kicking off a presidential term by traveling to friendly Gulf states to transact business, but could find his trip overshadowed by Mideast tensions.

United States

CFR experts discuss President Donald Trump’s upcoming trip to the Gulf region, including what the trip could signify for Iran nuclear negotiations, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and U.S. policy in the Middle East. 
Trade War

Asia

U.S.-China trade talks in Geneva resulted in a temporary slash of tariff rates, but the ripple effect of this tit-for-tat escalation won’t disappear anytime soon.

China

Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Maurice R. Greenberg senior fellow for China studies at the Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss China’s response to President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes and what it means for the future of U.S.-China relations.

Trade

President Donald Trump’s trade war with China that began in his first administration has snowballed into greater tensions between the world’s biggest economies, but experts say completely decoupling from one another is likely impossible.
Trade

United States

The U.S.-UK trade agreement is Trump’s first since his “Liberation Day” tariff announcements. It could be a possible template for other nations seeking a deal, but it could also have major implications for global trading norms. 

 

Ukraine

The new agreement will allow the United States to share in future revenue earned from Ukraine’s critical mineral reserves. It is seen as a way to tie the United States—and Trump—to Ukraine’s future.
CFR experts provide timely analysis on the trade-offs and costs associated with U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic policies.

Events

United States

Senator Brian Schatz discusses the future of funding for U.S. foreign assistance and diplomatic engagement and the ability of the United States to address global challenges. If you wish to attend virtually, log-in information and instructions on how to participate during the question and answer portion will be provided the evening before the event to those who register. Please note the audio, video, and transcript of this hybrid meeting will be posted on the CFR website.

United States

Edward Luce discusses his new book, Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America’s Great Power Prophet. During the Cold War, the Polish-born scholar and presidential counselor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, was a central figure in shaping U.S. foreign policy and helping to orchestrate the Soviet Union’s eventual collapse. Luce believes that Brzezinski’s legacy embodies the rise of foreign-born intellectuals in Washington’s strategic elite and is a powerful but often underappreciated thread in the story of America’s global ascendancy. The Paul C. Warnke Lecture on International Security was established in 2002 and is endowed by a number of Council members and the family and friends of Paul C. Warnke. The lecture commemorates his legacy of courageous service to the nation and international peace. If you wish to attend virtually, log-in information and instructions on how to participate during the question and answer portion will be provided the evening before the event to those who register. Please note the audio, video, and transcript of this hybrid meeting will be posted on the CFR website. Members may bring a guest to this event.

United States

The World Economic Update highlights the quarter’s most important and emerging trends. Discussions cover changes in the global marketplace with special emphasis on current economic events and their implications for U.S. policy. This series is presented by the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies and is dedicated to the life and work of the distinguished economist Martin Feldstein. Please note there is no virtual component to the meeting. The audio, video, and transcript of this meeting will be posted on the CFR website.  

Russia

Panelists compare 1990s Russia and the first decade of the 21st century with the U.S. political landscape today in a complex and changing world order. For those attending virtually, log-in information and instructions on how to participate during the question and answer portion will be provided the evening before the event to those who register. Please note the audio, video, and transcript of this meeting will be posted on the CFR website. This meeting is part of the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Project on the Future of Democracy.

Explainers

Featured Publications

International Law

Few Americans have done more than Jerome A. Cohen to advance the rule of law in East Asia. The founder of the study of Chinese law in the United States and a tireless advocate for human rights, Cohen has been a scholar, teacher, lawyer, and activist for more than sixty years. Moving among the United States, China, and Taiwan, he has encouraged legal reforms, promoted economic cooperation, mentored law students—including a future president of Taiwan—and brokered international crises. In this compelling, conversational memoir, Cohen recounts a dramatic life of striving for a better world from Washington, DC, to Beijing, offering vital first-hand insights from the study and practice of Sino-American relations. In the early 1960s, when Americans were not permitted to enter China, he met with émigrés in Hong Kong and interviewed them on Chinese criminal procedure. After economic reform under Deng Xiaoping, Cohen’s knowledge of Chinese law took on a new importance as foreign companies began to pursue business opportunities. Helping China develop and reconstruct its legal system, he made an influential case for the roles of Western law and lawyers. Cohen helped break political barriers in both China and Taiwan, and he was instrumental in securing the release of political prisoners in several countries. Sharing these experiences and many others, this book tells the full story of an unparalleled career bridging East and West.

Public Health Threats and Pandemics

A detailed exploration of the most sweeping government border closures in human history during the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications for the future of global mobility.

United States

Son of the Midwest, movie star, and mesmerizing politician—America’s fortieth president comes to three-dimensional life in this gripping and profoundly revisionist biography.