EU and U.S. Seek to Resolve Trade Dispute

Welcome to today’s Morning Brief, where we’re looking at the European Union trade dispute with the United States, Ukraine’s invitation to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Mexico’s announcement of an investigation into alleged military abuses.

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The European Union took a step toward ending its trade dispute with the United States, vowing to put in place its own version of climate-focused subsidies.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the parliamentary plenary that the European Union would allow for “tax breaks and the flexible use of EU funds” in an effort to produce at least 40 percent of the clean technology necessary by 2030.

The United States and European Union, she said, would produce “striking symmetry” in their efforts, noting, “Both of them are simultaneously a climate strategy and a strategy for investment and growth.”

The source of tension was U.S. President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, notably the clean energy legislation (Inflation Reduction Act) that Congress passed last summer, which gives subsidies and priority to U.S. businesses, much to the consternation of European governments.

Now, however, “the two biggest and most advanced economies in the world are now moving in the same direction,” von der Leyen said.

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Ukraine invites DeSantis. After Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, an expected 2024 presidential candidate, appeared to downplay Russia’s war in Ukraine by referring to it as a “territorial dispute” that did not constitute a “vital national interest” for the United States, Ukraine invited him for a visit.

“We are sure that as a former military officer deployed to a combat zone, Gov. Ron DeSantis knows the difference between a ‘dispute’ and war,” said Oleg Nikolenko, spokesperson for the Ukrainian foreign ministry. “We invite him to visit Ukraine to get a deeper understanding of Russia’s full-scale invasion and the threats it poses to U.S. interests.”

Mexico to investigate allegations of rights abuses. Lawmakers in Mexico are launching a commission to investigate allegations that the military abused human rights, including with the use of spyware. The commission is to be made up of members of the country’s upper and lower legislative houses and will request a report regarding allegations that the military used Pegasus, Israeli software, to spy on a human rights activist and journalists.

The activist, Raymundo Ramos, told the Guardian, “It’s a violation of my privacy, of my human rights. It obviously puts me at risk, it puts my family at risk, my collaborators, the victims.” Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has, since coming into office, increased the military’s power despite campaigning on the promise to get the military off the street.

Chinese doctor who exposed SARS died. Jiang Yanyong, a former military surgeon and the man who exposed the Chinese cover-up of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003, died of pneumonia in Beijing. He won acclaim for the lives he saved. He spoke out, too, against the Chinese government’s refusal to acknowledge that the 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen Square was deadly and wrong, and he was subsequently was detained—though he continued to speak out on the subject. He died at age 91.

What next in war? More than one year into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Moscow is far from achieving its war aims and Kyiv continues to vow to fight on. How long can the two sides last? Can Kyiv win a protracted war? For answers, register to watch FP’s Ravi Agrawal in conversation with retired four-star U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, who led U.S. forces in Europe and served as NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe from 2013 to 2016.

• Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War by David V. Gioe

• How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests by Michael McFaul and Abbas Milani

• Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America by Stephen M. Walt

Italian baseball’s performance-enhancing drug. Baseball fans around the world have expressed shock and delight that Italy’s World Baseball Classic dugout comes with an espresso machine. Italy’s manager, Mike Piazza, a former MLB star, makes no apologies for the machine but did complain that the coffee came in disposable cups rather than ceramic ones. “I don’t like espresso out of a paper cup. It’s kind of sacrilege,” Piazza said.

Although Italy isn’t expected to make it far in a competition dominated by baseball powers like Japan, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and the United States, the team is getting attention. “Right now, we are the most followed national team for a series of things which took place connected to our ‘good old Italian customs,” Andrea Marcon, president of the Italian Baseball League, told The Associated Press.