Markets Plunge as Trump Escalates China Trade War

Here is today’s Foreign Policy brief: Trump threatens China with new tariffs and markets plummet, Hong Kong’s civil servants take to the streets, and Russia’s opposition plans another rally in Moscow.

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Did Trump declare war on Christmas? Many of the products that will be affected by the new tariffs, which would take effect in September, are potential Christmas gifts. Of the $300 billion in goods to be hit with new levies, mobile phones, laptop computers and video game consoles are high on the list. “The list includes toys,” noted Jock O’Connell, an international trade adviser at Beacon Economics. “So you might say the Trump Administration has now officially declared war on Christmas.”

Japan could remove South Korea from favored trade list. Japan is likely to drop South Korea from its list of preferred trading partners today, as the dispute between the countries over Japan’s use of South Korean forced labor during the Japanese occupation from 1910-1945 continues. Tensions have risen this week: South Koreans have boycotted Japanese goods, anticipating the trade move. And on Thursday, a South Korean man set himself on fire in protest.

Reduced trade between Japan and South Korea could negatively affect both economies, and the situation could deteriorate further if Japanese assets in South Korea are liquidated to pay court-mandated compensation to surviving South Korean forced laborers.

Moscow braces for another Saturday protest. Another opposition rally is planned for Saturday in Moscow, where protesters are pushing authorities to hold a free and fair city council election after 16 candidates were blocked from running in the September vote. (One of the candidates has threatened weekly protests.) Ahead of the rally, at least five activists were arrested and Russian authorities have made clear that they intend to make more arrests.

Meanwhile, the opposition leader Alexei Navalny has filed an official complaint alleging that he was poisoned in custody on Sunday. (The government hospital where he was treated for an allergic reaction maintains he tested negative for poison.) Amy Mackinnon explains why Russia’s critics keep coming into contact with mysterious chemical substances.

Rosselló steps down in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rosselló steps down today following massive protests over corruption that began with the leak of offensive private chats between Rosselló and his aides. But the crisis continues: The confirmation vote for Pedro Pierluisi, the man Rosselló has picked to take his place, was delayed on Thursday. If Rosselló can’t confirm a secretary of state before he leaves office, the job will go to Justice Minister Wanda Vázquez—who has already said she doesn’t want it.

U.S.-Russia nuclear arms treaty expires. The Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) will come to an end today, when the United States is set to pull out of the agreement. Under the INF, the United States and Russia agreed to eliminate their medium-range nuclear arsenals. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that “the world will lose an invaluable brake on nuclear war.”

North Korea’s new missiles. North Korea launched its third short-range missile test in a week on Thursday. While U.S. President Donald Trump has downplayed the tests, defense analysts warn that the new missile, the KN-23, could evade U.S. missile defense systems on the Korean peninsula. North Korea is sending a clear message to Washington and Seoul, Elias Groll reports.

The Rwanda-Congo border. A third case of Ebola has been confirmed in Goma, a city near the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s border with Rwanda—leading Rwanda’s health ministry to increase screenings for the virus at the border. (The resulting traffic led to reports that the border had been closed.) Thursday marked one year since the start of Congo’s outbreak, the second-largest in history.

Myanmar’s Rohingya ID cards. Myanmar recently proposed National Verification Cards for the Rohingya minority, gaining the endorsement of the U.N. special envoy on Myanmar. While the cards may seem like a step toward recognizing the Rohingya as full citizens, they could be used to track and further target the minority Azeem Ibrahim argues in FP.

Boris Johnson’s narrowing majority. Britain’s pro-European Liberal Democrats won a by-election in Wales on Thursday, defeating the Conservative candidate in the district of Brecon and Radnorshire by 1,425 votes. The victory reduces Johnson’s functional majority in Parliament to just one seat, complicating any future efforts to pass a Brexit deal or face down opposition to a no-deal Brexit.

The Dutch burqa ban. A ban on face coverings in public spaces in the Netherlands took effect on Thursday, but it appears that no one is observing it: Both police and transport authorities have been reluctant to enforce the rule, which requires wearers to remove the banned clothing or face a fine. Quebec passed a law banning public employees from wearing religious symbols in June.

The president of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, announced Thursday that he was giving up his U.S. citizenship. Some see the move as a political ploy ahead of his 2021 bid for re-election. Mohamed lived in the United States for years before returning to Somalia as a politician in 2010.

China’s TV regulator has asked its broadcasters to show only patriotic content ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Oct. 1. The ban includes some popular historical dramas and celebrity “idol dramas” criticized for their materialism.

Today on FP’s podcast, First Person: Melanie Nezer of HIAS (founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) speaks with deputy editor Sarah Wildman about immigration and how hard it has become to request asylum in the United States.

“There’s a decision that the government can make. You can, you know, call it a crisis and create a frenzy and whip up anger around it or you can say, ‘Look, this is an issue at our border. Let’s figure out practical ways to solve it.’”

That’s it for today.

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