Pause in US and China Trade War

A dinner meeting convened to conclude the G-20 Leaders’ Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 1. Leaders from the world’s major countries convened at this meeting, among them China’s President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, who both agreed upon a 90-day pause in the US-China trade war that began in July.

The statement from the meeting disclosed that the US will not raise tariffs by twenty-five percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods that would have taken effect on January 1, 2019, and instead will leave them at ten percent. According to the White House, China will try to reduce the trade imbalance between the countries by agreeing to purchase amounts of agricultural, energy, industrial, and other US goods. China’s president will also consider to designate Fentanyl, a deadly opioid, as a controlled substance.

Officials from both countries have the next 90 days to negotiate and reach a broader agreement.

UN’s Warning of Global Warming

The matter of climate change is becoming more dire as sea levels rise, species die out, floods ruin homes and habitats, land gets destroyed, famine grows, and droughts persist. On December 3, 200 nations met in Poland to begin the two-week long UN climate change summit. These countries will follow up on the 2015 Paris Agreement, a landmark agreement the UNFCCC reached to tackle the advances of climate change and aimed at limiting climate change to below 2 degrees celsius (3.6 degrees fahrenheit). In response to the UN summit, about 65,000 protesters in Brussels marched peacefully on December 2 to encourage governments to counter climate change and its effects.

The next dozen years are a crucial time. If within those years global temperatures extend past the 1.5 degree celsius mark, the effects of climate change will become irreversible, according to the world’s leading climate change scientists.. The United Nations made the statement that we are the first generation to comprehend climate changed, as well as the last that can stop it.

In The Wake of Paris Protests

According to ABC news, protests in France started on November 17 against the growth of living costs and fuel tax rises that were set to reduce emissions. Three people have died as a result of traffic accidents from blocked roads. Police have used water cannons, tear gas, and stun grenades to try and assuage the ‘yellow jacket’ protesters. They have burned buildings and, thrown projectiles, vandalized, looted, and more in Paris by means of protest. Recent polls have shown that 70-80% of French citizens supported the Yellow Vest movement.

In response, French President Macron said, “I do not confuse the destroyers with fellow citizens who are just sending a message. I feel understanding for these fellow citizens, but I will not give anything up to those who want destruction and disorder.”

Trump Recently

Ever since the 2016 election, one of the biggest allegations against President Trump has been the Trump-Russia affair, the accusation that he and his campaign had worked with Russian agents in order to sway the 2016 election to benefit Trump. The President’s former lawyer Michael Cohen has been sentenced to three years in prison for campaign finance, fraud crimes, and tax evasion. In addition to those offenses, he attempted to silence women who claimed they had affairs with Trump, claims that the President denies. Cohen confessed that such crimes were made to “cover up his [Trump’s] dirty deeds.” Trump responded three days after the sentencing, saying that he never directed Cohen to commit such crimes and, as a lawyer, Cohen was supposed to know the law.