Council on Foreign Relations

Amadeusz Mikolaj Swierk/Anadolu/Getty Images

Trump Lifts Sanctions on Syria

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.

by CFR.org Editors May 14, 2025

Syria

Syria’s Civil War

Photo Essay by CFR.org Editors December 20, 2024

Syria’s Uncertain New Order

via Foreign Affairs April 11, 2025

Iran

Can the U.S. Broker Another Nuclear Deal With Iran?

Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty Images

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

Podcast with James M. Lindsay and Karim Sadjadpour May 13, 2025 The President’s Inbox

Iran

Where the U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks Are Headed

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

by Ray Takeyh April 14, 2025 Middle East Program

Iran

Iran: Deal or No Deal

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.

by Michael Froman April 11, 2025

Persian Gulf

Economics

The U.S. Needs a Fast Track for Foreign Investment

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

by Jonathan E. Hillman May 9, 2025 Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies

United States

Regional Conflict Clouds a Business Agenda

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.

by Steven A. Cook May 8, 2025

United States

Trump in the Middle East

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.

Virtual Event with Elliott Abrams, Steven A. Cook, Ray Takeyh and Farah Pandith May 9, 2025 Media Briefings

Trade War

Asia

Did China Tariffs Truce Come at Cost to U.S. Credibility?

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.

by Zongyuan Zoe Liu May 12, 2025

China

The Future of the U.S.-China Trade War

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.

Podcast with James M. Lindsay and Zongyuan Zoe Liu May 6, 2025 The President’s Inbox

Trade

The Contentious U.S.-China Trade Relationship, Explained

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.

by CFR.org Editors April 14, 2025

Trade

United States

U.S.-UK Deal Illustrates Shifting Trade Policy

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.

by Inu Manak May 9, 2025

How the World Is Adapting to the Tariff War

via Council of Councils May 1, 2025

Ukraine

What’s the Deal With Trump’s Ukraine Mineral Agreement?

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.

by Heidi Crebo-Rediker May 1, 2025 Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies

CFR experts provide timely analysis on the trade-offs and costs associated with U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic policies.

Explore Our Content

Strategic Initiatives

RealEcon

RealEcon assesses the role of the U.S. in the international economy, analyzes what's at stake for the American people, and identifies trade-offs in different policy approaches.

Matthew P. Goodman

Distinguished Fellow, Director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies, and Director of the CFR RealEcon Initiative

“

A serious effort to bring greater reciprocity into the trading system could benefit the United States.... But a sudden, ill-thought-out initiative would leave American companies and consumers much worse off.

Donald Trump Wants Reciprocity in Trade: Here’s a Closer Look by Edward Alden and Jennifer Hillman

China Strategy Initiative

The China Strategy Initiative provides fresh analysis, granular policy recommendations, and answers the questions that go to the heart of American China strategy.

Rush Doshi

C.V. Starr Senior Fellow for Asia Studies and Director of the China Strategy Initiative

“

The PRC seeks to “catch up and surpass” the U.S. technologically; to make the world dependent on China’s supply chains economically; and to acquire the capability to defeat U.S. forces militarily.

Countering Threats Posed by the Chinese Communist Party to U.S. National Security by Rush Doshi

Climate Realism Initiative

The Climate Realism Initiative charts a novel, pragmatic course for U.S. energy and climate policy that is both realistic in forecasting climate impacts and U.S. leverage as well as realist in assessing that countries will compete and pursue policies to advance their own interests.

Varun Sivaram

Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate and Director, Climate Realism Initiative

“

U.S. policymakers need a new strategy to confront the risks of climate change, compete in the global energy transition, and stay the course regardless of which political party is in power.

Our Approach to Climate Policy Has Failed. It’s Time for Climate Realism by Varun Sivaram

Securing Ukraine’s Future

Securing Ukraine’s Future provides timely, informed analysis and practical policy recommendations for U.S. policymakers and the American public.

Paul B. Stares

General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action

“

"How the Europeans respond in the coming weeks will not only have great bearing on the fate of Ukraine but also on the future of the transatlantic partnership that has been so vital to their security for close to eight decades."

Europe’s Moment of Truth on Defending Ukraine—and the Continent by Paul B. Stares and Michael E. O'Hanlon

Events
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United States

A Conversation With Senator Brian Schatz

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.

Virtual Event with Brian Schatz and Vivian Salama May 15, 2025

United States

Paul C. Warnke Lecture on International Security: Zbig—The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America’s Great Power Prophet

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.

Virtual Event with Edward Luce and David R. Ignatius May 14, 2025

United States

World Economic Update

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.

Event with Alexis Crow, Karen Karniol-Tambour, Jens Nordvig and Sebastian Mallaby May 14, 2025

Russia

Reflecting on Post-Soviet Russia and America Today

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.

Virtual Event with Peter Pomerantsev, Timothy Snyder, Angela E. Stent, Kimberly Marten and Shannon K. O'Neil May 12, 2025

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Experts in the News

Steven A. Cook

Cook: Qataris and Gulf Nations Used Wealth to Buy Influence in DC

Via MSNBC Katy Tur May 12, 2025

Zongyuan Zoe Liu

Liu: Trump Administration Reverses Liberation Day Tariff on China

Via Yahoo Finance May 12, 2025

Manjari Chatterjee Miller

Miller: What India Lost in Its Brief Battle With Pakistan

Via New York Magazine May 13, 2025

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Public Health Threats and Pandemics

How Vaccines Changed the World

by Mariel Ferragamo

Vaccination campaigns have nearly eradicated some of the most deadly and transmissible diseases. In a rising tide of vaccine hesitancy, however, outbreaks are cropping up again.

United Nations How Much Does the U.S. Pay to UN Agencies?

Backgrounder Redesign by CFR.org Editors

Women and Women's Rights Where Are Women Wielding Power?

Tracker by Linda Robinson and Noël James

Climate Change The World Faces a Sharp Rise in Extreme Weather. Can AI Help?

Article by Alice C. Hill and Colin McCormick

@inumanak

Inu Manak

Fellow for Trade Policy

Trade Diplomacy and International Institutions Treaties and Agreements

@inumanak

U.S.-UK Trade Deal Illustrates Trump’s Shifting Trade Policy

Expert Brief May 9, 2025

Michael Froman

President, Council on Foreign Relations

Trade Globalization Economics

In High-Stakes Negotiations, Trump’s Opponents Are Learning His Patterns

Offsite Via New York Times May 13, 2025

Ebenezer Obadare

Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow for Africa Studies

Nigeria Sub-Saharan Africa Religion

A Political Breakthrough?

May 14, 2025 Africa in Transition

Featured Publications

International Law

Eastward, Westward

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.

Book by Jerome A. Cohen March 4, 2025 Asia Program

Public Health Threats and Pandemics

When the World Closed Its Doors

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.

Book by Edward Alden and Laurie Trautman January 7, 2025

United States

Reagan

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.

Book by Max Boot September 10, 2024

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