WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will on Friday announce sanctions against 56 North Korea-linked shipping and trade entities, hailing the “largest-ever” package of sanctions on the Pyongyang regime.
Trump will use a speech to conservatives just outside Washington to step up his campaign of “maximum pressure,” according to excerpts.
“Today I am announcing that we are launching the LARGEST-EVER set of new sanctions on the North Korean regime,” Trump was to say according to the White House.
The measures include sanctions against “56 vessels, shipping companies, and trade businesses” that Trump will accuse of “assisting North Korea in evading sanctions.”
Trump’s administration is locked in a nuclear standoff with North Korea, which is trying to develop missiles that could deliver a nuke to major cities in the United States.
The latest sanctions are designed to put the squeeze on North Korea’s already precarious economy and fuel supply.
The North Korean military and broader economy depend heavily on imports of coal and oil from China and Russia.
China has steadfastly rebuffed Washington’s calls for a full oil embargo — fearing the chaotic collapse of the Pyongyang regime — but has agreed to caps agreed at the United Nations.
The timing of the new measures coincides with the arrival in South Korea of Trump’s daughter Ivanka.
She is attending the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics, which have taken place against the backdrop of the crisis.
The 36-year-old businesswoman and model-turned-policy-adviser has been tasked with reaffirming US ties with North Korea, which have been strained over how to deal with the North.
She was hosted in Seoul by President Moon Jae-in, who has long advocated talks rather than confrontation with North Korea.
South Korean officials, who sit in a capital well within range of conventional North Korea artillery, have been spooked by Trump’s easy talk of military confrontation.
US officials worry meanwhile that North Korea is luring Moon into talks that are designed to go nowhere.
Trump to hit North Korea with ‘largest-ever’ sanctions
Trump to hit North Korea with ‘largest-ever’ sanctions
France demands EU-Mercosur trade pact signing be put off
- “France asks that the deadlines be pushed back to continue work on getting the legitimate measures of protection for our European agriculture,” said the statement
PARIS, France: France on Sunday urged the European Union to postpone the deadlines set for signing a free trade agreement with South American bloc Mercosur, rejecting the deal in its current form.
In a statement from Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office, Paris said the conditions were not in place for EU member states to vote on the agreement.
“France asks that the deadlines be pushed back to continue work on getting the legitimate measures of protection for our European agriculture,” said the statement.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is due in Brazil on Monday for talks to finalize the landmark pact with the Mercosur bloc, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
But Brussels first has to get the approval of the EU member states over the coming week.
“Given a Mercosur summit is announced for December 20 (Saturday), it is clear in this context that the conditions have not been met for any vote (by states) on authorizing the signing of the agreement,” said the statement from Paris.
Earlier Sunday, in an interview published in the Germany financial daily Handelsblatt, France’s Finance Minister Roland Lescure made France’s objections clear.
“As it stands, the treaty is simply not acceptable,” he said.
Securing robust and effective safeguard clauses was one of the three key conditions France set before giving its blessing to the agreement, he added.
The other key points were requiring the same production standards faced by EU farmers and establishing “import controls.”
“Until we have obtained assurances on these three points, France will not accept the agreement,” said Lescure.
European nations are poised to vote on the trade agreement between Tuesday and Friday, according to EU sources.
The European Parliament votes Tuesday on safeguards to reassure farmers — particularly those in France — who are fiercely opposed to the treaty.
If approved, the EU-Mercosur agreement would create a common market of 722 million people.
It is intended to allow the EU to export more cars, machinery, wine, and other goods, and will also facilitate the entry into the European Union of beef, poultry, sugar, honey, and other products.
Farmers in France and some other European countries say it will create unfair competition due to less stringent standards, which they fear could destabilize already fragile European food sectors.
