📰 via Reuters U.S. President Trump said he expects to reach a fair trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping and downplayed risks of a clash over the issue of Taiwan, even as his top trade negotiator accused Beijing of engaging in “economic coercion.” reuters.com/business/retai…

📰 via Reuters China is more interested in expansionism than solving its own pressing economic and social issues, and Taiwan is determined to defend itself from Chinese aggression, the island’s top security official said on Tuesday. reuters.com/world/china/ch…

📰 via Reuters South Korea is stepping up its security measures in the southeastern city of Gyeongju, which hosts the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit of 21 member economies, with large-scale field exercises held and higher terrorism-alert levels imposed.

📰 via Reuters Chancellor Friedrich Merz is struggling to push through two policy proposals on pensions and military service, in a setback fuelling concerns that some of the political instability seen in France could soon echo in Europe’s largest economy.reuters.com/world/german-c…

📰 via Reuters The Democratic Alliance, the second-biggest party in South Africa’s coalition government, wants to axe race-based laws aimed at boosting Black jobs in an economy still dominated by white people three decades after the end of apartheid. reuters.com/world/africa/s…

📰 via The Wall Street Journal A group of banks including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs is struggling to put together a $20 billion loan to Argentina without leaving themselves too exposed to the financially distressed South American country. wsj.com/finance/argent…

📰 via Bloomberg An unprecedented order by the US Treasury to cut off three Mexican financial firms for allegedly helping drug cartels launder funds takes effect Monday. But its impact has already swept through the country’s banking industry. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

The Trump administration must leverage the full power of the U.S. economy to cripple the Chinese actors that fuel the devastating fentanyl epidemic responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans, write Josh Birenbaum & Susan Soh: fdd.org/analysis/2025/…

📰 via Reuters Argentina’s central bank said on Monday it signed a $20 billion exchange-rate stabilization agreement with the U.S. Treasury Department, six days ahead of a key midterm election. reuters.com/world/americas…

📰 via Bloomberg The UK is preparing to spend more than $134 million to send its forces into Ukraine if a ceasefire agreement is reached. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

📰 via Reuters The Trump administration may impose tariffs of up to 100% on Nicaraguan goods after finding that Nicaragua’s labor and human rights policies are unreasonable and impeding U.S. commerce, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said on Monday. reuters.com/world/americas…

Washington should prioritize this campaign on all fronts, including as a key issue in the ongoing tariff negotiations with China. Access to the U.S. market provides significant leverage to force meaningful Chinese cooperation in combating fentanyl. fdd.org/analysis/2025/…

📰 via Reuters Asia’s youngest nation East Timor is set to achieve a decades-long dream when it becomes the 11th member of ASEAN this weekend, which analysts say is a win politically although the economic benefits remain to be seen reuters.com/world/asia-pac…

If FATF allows Tehran’s conditional compliance to stand, it will signal that political convenience outweighs enforcement, that even the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism can buy legitimacy with a footnote More from Saeed Ghasseminejad & Toby Dershowitz: nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-ea…

📰 via Reuters Taiwan is closely monitoring whether China will include the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands in a new five-year economic plan under discussion this week in Beijing. reuters.com/world/china/ta…

📰 via Reuters Taiwan is warily watching whether China could seek to try and exert economic control over sensitive frontline Taiwanese islands in a key development plan being discussed in Beijing this week, officials familiar with the matter said. reuters.com/world/china/ta…

U.S. and EU Include Key Oil Companies in New Sanctions Targeting Russia New analysis from Peter Doran, Max Meizlish, and John Hardie: fdd.org/analysis/2025/…

📰 via @defensenews Newly appointed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi started off her term with high approval ratings, in a show of optimism that she could deliver on her pledges that include countering inflation and strengthening the economy. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Iran’s September Oil Exports Reach a 2025 High, Underscoring Sanctions Enforcement Gaps New FDD Policy Brief by Saeed Ghasseminejad: fdd.org/analysis/2025/…

"Russia and its oil customers will no doubt develop schemes to try to skirt sanctions. Treasury must aggressively pursue violators to make it as hard as possible for Moscow to continue the war." — John Hardie fdd.org/analysis/2025/…