U.S. Development Policy/International Organizations
- Ahead of this weekend’s G20 summit, World Trade Organization (WTO) members India and the United States agreed to extend a “peace clause” to 2017 allowing India to maintain its food subsidy program. The deal ends a WTO stand-off on trade facilitation that supporters describe as the biggest crisis the organization has faced in its two decade history. Implementation of the trade facilitation agreement would add $1 trillion to the global economy
- Multilateral banks jointly backed G20 plans for the Global Infrastructure Initiative, a global hub that would share information to help match investors with projects. The Australia-led initiative comes on the heels of the formation of the Chinese led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) set to launch in 2015.
- USAID is drafting new internal policy prohibiting future covert, democracy-promotion efforts in hostile foreign countries that reject USAID funds. Recent USAID off-the-books democracy-promotion in Cuba prompted internal review and a critical response from Senators Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.
Asia-Pacific
Leaders gathered for the APEC Summit in Beijing this week, but much of the action took place on the sidelines of the official meetings.
Prosper 