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Daily News Brief U.S., EU ‘Fast-Track’ Trade Talks Welcome to the _Daily News Brief_, CFR’s flagship morning newsletter summarizing the top global news and analysis of the day.  Subscribe to

the _Daily News Brief_ to receive it every weekday morning. Top of the Agenda WASHINGTON AND BRUSSELS AGREED TO SPEED THEIR TRADE TALKS AFTER U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ISSUED AND THEN

POSTPONED A 50 PERCENT TARIFF THREAT OVER THE WEEKEND. The sides will “fast-track” negotiations, a European Commission spokesperson said yesterday. The EU’s trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič

held a call yesterday with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.  THE LATEST BETWEEN THE U.S. AND EU.  Trump made his threat on Friday, saying that talks with the bloc were “going

nowhere.” After conversations with the leaders of Italy and the European Commission, he delayed the new tariffs from June 1 to July 9 to allow time for negotiations.  Trump’s threat followed

an EU proposal last week for joint reduction of industrial goods tariffs, codevelopment of data centers for artificial intelligence, and improved EU access for some U.S. agricultural goods,

Bloomberg reported. U.S. officials have said they want to reduce the country’s goods trade deficit of over $200 billion with the EU. While many European leaders voiced optimism about the

new momentum in talks yesterday, it remained unclear how the two parties would bridge their gaps. Brussels is also preparing tariffs on more than $100 billion in U.S. goods if a deal is not

reached. MORE NEWS IN TRADE.  Many other countries are racing to negotiate agreements with the United States, with Japan saying yesterday that talks would “accelerate” and South Africa

proposing to buy U.S. liquefied natural gas in exchange for tariff relief for autos. But countries are also deepening trade relationships elsewhere: French President Emmanuel Macron

announced some $10 billion in new trade and investments with Vietnam yesterday in Hanoi. It was the first time a French leader had visited Vietnam in nearly ten years. The Association of

Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) concluded negotiations on an updated trade agreement yesterday, _Nikkei_ reported. It’s due to be formally signed in October. _“This is really ad hoc [U.S.]

trade policymaking, which is unlike anything we’ve really seen before. And most importantly, it’s the transparency that’s really shifted... we don’t really have the involvement, not just of

Congress, but all the other stakeholders [the Trump administration] had impacted by this. We’re talking about U.S. businesses and consumers, expert groups, all of those folks who have an

important role to play in shaping a trade policy that benefits all of the country instead of just a select few.”_ —CFR FELLOW INU MANAK, _WHY IT MATTERS_ Across the Globe Russia’s attacks on

Ukraine. Russia launched around nine hundred drones on Ukraine from Friday night to Monday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. On Sunday, Trump said he would consider

sanctioning Russia and wrote on social media that Russian President Vladimir Putin had gone “CRAZY.” The Kremlin dismissed Trump’s comments as “emotional.” The United States, France,

Germany, and the United Kingdom have all lifted restrictions on Ukraine’s use of weapons inside Russia, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said. NEW AID GROUP BEGINS GAZA DISTRIBUTION. The

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, chosen by Israel to distribute aid, said it began work yesterday and hopes to reach more than one million people this week. On Sunday, its director resigned,

saying that it was not possible to do the job while maintaining neutrality. Israel’s military said over the weekend that it aims to capture 75 percent of Gaza in two months. Meanwhile,

Germany’s Merz said yesterday that harm to the civilian population “can no longer be justified by a fight against Hamas terrorism.”  ASEAN’S APPROACH TO MYANMAR. ASEAN countries agreed at a

Malaysia summit to discuss creating a permanent envoy to Myanmar rather than the current system of changing the envoy each year. The rotating envoy is tasked with helping Myanmar resolve its

current civil war, but that implies starting “all over again each time” a new envoy is selected, Malaysia’s foreign minister said. ELECTION IN SURINAME... The opposition National Democratic

Party won eighteen seats in the country’s legislature to the ruling Progressive Reform Party’s seventeen in a Sunday vote. This kicks off a period of negotiations, as a two-thirds majority

in the legislature is required to elect the country’s president. The incoming administration is expected to oversee a boost in Suriname’s oil revenue as a major offshore project begins

production. ...AND IN VENEZUELA. Venezuela’s electoral authority said the ruling party won governor’s races in twenty-three of the country’s twenty-four states after a Sunday vote that most

opposition parties boycotted. The government also conducted an election in a district bordering the disputed, Guyana-controlled territory of Essequibo that it said would determine

Essequibo’s governor. Guyana’s president has called the vote “false” and “propagandistic.” PROTESTS IN BANGLADESH. Primary schoolteachers and public sector workers demonstrated against the

interim government led by Muhammad Yunus yesterday. Teachers sought a wage hike, while public sector workers opposed the government’s removal of procedural barriers to their dismissal. Yunus

said elections could be held by June 2026, but the country’s army chief and a major political party have called for a vote by December. SOUTH KOREAN FRONTRUNNER ON NORTH KOREA POLICY.

Presidential frontrunner Lee Jae-myung said he would aim to restore communication with North Korea, including through a military hotline, if elected. Pyongyang cut off the hotline in 2023.

Lee said that cooperation with Washington would be an important part of efforts for peace on the peninsula and addressing North Korea’s nuclear capabilities. INDIA’S FIGHTER JET AMBITIONS.

India will soon begin accepting bids from private companies interested in building new advanced fighter jets for its air force, the defense ministry said today. India’s recent hostilities

with Pakistan prompted new urgency for the country’s military modernization. Most of India’s military aircraft are currently made by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics. What’s Next Today,

French President Emmanuel Macron visits Indonesia. Today, the UN Security Council holds an election in New York to fill an International Court of Justice vacancy. Tomorrow, China hosts a

conference for foreign ministers from Pacific Island countries. by CFR.org Editors May 27, 2025