| | | | | |  | | By Ryan Heath | Send your tips and thoughts: rheath@politico.com, or follow Ryan on Twitter. | | | CUBA — RAW ANGER SPILLS INTO THE STREETS: Anger at food shortages, high prices and lack of basic medicine amid the coronavirus crisis (Cuba set a new daily record of 6,422 Covid cases Saturday) have generated the largest protests in decades in Havana, and across the country. The Cuban government is trying to blame its problems on social media and U.S. sanctions — which, by cutting off income sources, hamper the government's ability to buy food and medicine. The real problem is that Cuba is broke: a problem that's been building for a year, as tourism income dried up and remittances from Cubans overseas dried up. Now for the crackdown: There's always a crackdown, the question is when and how. We don't know what orders police and military will be willing to follow — some police have joined in the protests — but Miguel Díaz-Canel, the new first secretary of the Cuban Communist Party called on defenders of the revolution to be "battling in the streets," against the protesters. Context: Cubans are risking everything to leave — the U.S. is dealing with the highest number of Cuban migrants to leave the island by boat since 2017. Domestic political fallout: The issue is red meat for Republicans — allowing them to push fear of socialism themes into 2022 election debates. "In Cuba they are rising up because socialism is always a disaster," said Florida's Sen. Marco Rubio, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, who ripped into President Joe Biden's silence Sunday. Solidarity protests are already occurring in Miami. Leading moderate Democrats have moved to neutralize the issue. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted that "the U.S. supports freedom of expression and assembly across Cuba, and would strongly condemn any violence or targeting of peaceful protesters who are exercising their universal rights," while Rep. Val Demings , a candidate for Senate in Florida, urged the White House to act quickly. U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said "the dictatorship must understand we will not tolerate the use of brute force to silence the aspirations of the Cuban people. HAITI — THE LATEST ASSASSINATION PLOT TWISTS: A Haitian-born doctor based in Florida has been arrested as a "central" suspect in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and the national police chief suggested at a Sunday news conference that he believes the suspect was plotting to become president. Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 63, is now the third suspect with U.S. ties to be arrested. Haitian opposition leader hired D.C. lobbyist — just two days before president's assassination. Haitian opposition leader Pierre Reginald Boulos has hired Art Estopinan, a former chief of staff to former Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), a onetime chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Meanwhile, Haitians demand answers from Rony Célestin, one of their few remaining members of Parliament, who paid for a multi-million-dollar mansion in Canada with cash. | 
Protesters carry a coffin that contain the remains of a protester, while a vehicle burns in the background, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019. Hundreds of people attended the funerals for five people killed during anti-government protests, three of whom were allegedly shot by police while participating in the protests. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) | Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo | HITTING THE CLIMATE BARRICADES Climate news has been coming thick and fast in recent weeks, though never quite rising to the top of the news agenda. From the Pacific Northwest heatwave (now confirmed as "virtually impossible without climate change," per the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) to the leaked admissions of an Exxon Mobil lobbyist about how the company works to weaken or slow green policies. Then there's news of the mental toll of climate change , the creation of the V-20 (a new group of climate vulnerable countries demanding support for their green transition) and yet another new net-zero corporate alliance, this time among top insurers. What this collection of stories amounts to is just how far ahead the corporate and global climate debates are running ahead of the Washington debate. Is it time for a National Climate Service? The idea of a one-stop shop for climate data has been floated since the George W. Bush administration — and would provide, much as the National Weather Service does, independent long-term forecasts. More from E&E's Chelsea Harvey. European legislation races ahead: The European Union is leaving the U.S. in the dust when it comes to systems to drive down emissions. The EU will this week make 12 legal proposals in an effort to cut its carbon emissions by 55 percent by 2030. The EU proposes to expand its carbon market, introduce a carbon border tax on imports from countries with weaker environmental standards, and will stop selling combustion engine cars in 2035 . That's on top of the European Central Bank officially including climate risk minimization in its new strategy. While political considerations will likely mean the U.S. gets to avoid the EU carbon levy, it's not a given: European legislators are miffed the U.S. lacks a carbon price mechanism and legislated net zero emissions targets. With U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai refusing to rule out retaliatory tariffs against the tax, it's hard to see the outlines of a functional transatlantic climate alliance. It's not that the Biden administration rejects carbon pricing: G20 finance ministers, including Janet Yellen this weekend, collectively endorsed carbon pricing for the first time, as one way to help tackle climate change. But domestic politics makes it hard for Biden to deliver on his global promises. U.S.—China: Then there's the question of where to integrate climate into the U.S.—China relationship. Over 40 progressive groups sent a letter to President Biden and lawmakers urging them to prioritize cooperation with China on climate change and curb its confrontational approach over human rights issues and trade competition. "His entire climate change agenda could be at risk if his anti-China campaign continues and grows," said Erik Sperling, the executive director of Just Foreign Policy. The counter view is that most of the world's most at-risk cities when it comes to climate change are Chinese: so China has all the incentive it needs to fight climate change , without the U.S. having to going soft on human rights. BY THE NUMBERS — 87 PERCENT: A new policy brief by the Boston University Global Development Policy Center catalogues who finances coal outside their home country. The answer, surprisingly, is "not just China": 87 percent of total financing for overseas coal plants comes from entities outside China. MORE DEBATE: Bloomberg will hold its global Sustainable Business Summit Tuesday and Wednesday. GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS MEETS THE OLYMPICS, JULY 13: The delayed Tokyo Olympics are set to kick off amid a Covid state of emergency for Japan's capital. With fans banned from attending, financial pressure to push forward and potential punishment for the growing number of athletes considering making political statements during the event, this will be a Games like no other. Organizers have said they are determined to move forward. Join Global Translations author Ryan Heath for a POLITICO Live virtual conversation with Anita DeFrantz , first vice president of the International Olympic Committee, on what's at stake in the Tokyo Olympics as a global health crisis, sports and politics all come to a head. Register here to watch live. | | | COVID — ISRAEL APPROVES BOOSTER SHOT FOR AT-RISK ADULTS: In the U.S.. Anthony Fauci says booster shots aren't needed . Israel will give third doses of the Pfizer vaccine to adults with weakened immune systems as the country struggles with a resurgence in cases from the Delta variant. TAX — G-20 PROVIDES APPROVAL TO GLOBAL DEAL : Finance ministers from the G-20 club of large economies signed off on a plan for global tax reform at a summit in Venice on Saturday. The ministers rubber-stamped a deal, agreed by some 130 nations last week, that seeks to introduce an international tax on multinational companies and sets a global minimum tax rate of 15 percent. The European Commission on Monday said it would prioritize finalizing this global tax accord, delaying a planned digital levy the Commission was due to announce July 20. SYRIA — SOME HUMANITARIAN ACCESS SECURED: The United Nations Security Council agreed unanimously to keep the Bab al Hawa border crossing from Turkey to northwest Syria open. This means that a lifeline of humanitarian access is secured until Jan. 10, 2022, and may be extended to July 10, 2022. EGYPT — STARTLING CLAIM BY SPY CHIEF: During a visit to Washington last month, Abbas Kamel, Egypt's spy chief made a claim that startled U.S. lawmakers already worried about human rights in the Middle Eastern country: that the U.S. agreed — in writing — to jail an American activist. | | INCLUSIVE RECOVERY SPOTLIGHT | | "CAPITALISM WITHOUT COMPETITION ISN'T CAPITALISM, IT'S EXPLOITATION": Biden wasn't holding back in launching his latest executive order, ordering every federal government agency to focus on what it can do to create fair competition across the American economy. The order contains 72 initiatives and establishes a White House Competition Council. The last president to launch such a deep competition drive was Franklin Roosevelt, in 1938. Every sector from railroads and shipping to pharmaceuticals and agriculture is affected. "Fair competition is what made America the wealthiest, most innovative nation in history," he said Friday, arguing that weak controls on corporate power have gotten American into its current inequality mess. According to anti-monopoly advocate Matt Stoller: it's "as big a deal as Ronald Reagan's statement that "Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants none of it, saying the plan is "built on the flawed belief that our economy is over-concentrated, stagnant, and fails to generate private investment needed to spur innovation." Here's a good test: If competition is working so well, answer these questions: What's the most recent new national bank you can think of? The newest major social network? A recent new oil or supermarket major? Yes, the rise of companies like Amazon show that digital-only business models are one way for new companies to compete — but it's not easy to answer any of those questions. LABOR MARKET IMPLICATIONS OF BIDEN'S COMPETITION ORDER: Biden is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to ban or limit non-compete agreements, which keep workers from leaving their employer for positions at rival firms. The order will also encourage the FTC to ban "unnecessary" job licensing requirements, and put in place new guardrails against employers collaborating to suppress wages or reduce benefits. How much do consumers stand to gain? The White House says that "all told, between rising prices and lowering wages, lack of competition costs the median American household $5,000 a year." A growing body of research backs this view. A practical example of anti-competitive market rules that pushes up prices: you can't buy a hearing aid at a pharmacy or online. Tax implications: The FBI puts the cost to the federal government of anti-competitive economic behavior — such as bid-rigging by government contractors — at $120 billion a year. HOUSING BUBBLE STOKES INFLATION AND UNEVEN RECOVERY FEARS: Home prices are up about 15 percent from last year and rents are soaring at nearly triple their normal rate in just the first six months of 2021, thanks to supply at historically low levels. This week central bankers in New Zealand, South Korea and Canada meet, all under pressure to act to keep homes affordable. | | | EMBASSY ROW — FOR MORE AMBASSADORS NOMINATED: Biden named nominees to India, Bangladesh, Chile and Monaco. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was tapped for the India post. Denise Campbell Bauer is nominee for ambassador to Monaco — which will hand her some plush and interesting tax tasks, if confirmed. Bauer served as ambassador to Belgium from 2013 to 2017. Peter Haas, the president's nominee to Bangladesh, is a career senior foreign service officer. Bernadette Meehan, nominated for Chile, is the executive vice president of global programs for the Obama Foundation, and as a career foreign service officer served on the National Security Council. WHO WILL BE THE NEXT NATO CHIEF? Jens Stoltenberg's term as NATO Secretary General in Brussels ends in 2022. Could he be replaced by Mark Rutte — the long-time Dutch prime minister who's struggling to assemble a new government after a fourth election win in March? While female ex-prime ministers remain in short supply in Europe, the continent's female defense minister ranks grew rapidly in recent years, enlarging the pool of obviously qualified women for the post. Send your thoughts and tips to rheath@politico.com. THE INTERNET INDUSTRY'S D.C. POWERHOUSE RECEDES: The Internet Association has been shedding staff, losing influence on Capitol Hill and shrinking to near-obscurity in growing media coverage of tech policy debates in Washington. Emily Birnbaum has the story of how the Internet Association came to be "irrelevant" in the minds of some Democrats. | | | How Bernie Created The Bernie & Joe Show, by Maureen Dowd. Thanks to editor Ben Pauker and Nahal Toosi. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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