Insights, analysis and must reads from CNN's Fareed Zakaria and the Global Public Square team, compiled by Global Briefing editor Jason Miks.

September 28, 2018

Fareed: The Question I Have About President Trump's Worldview

President Trump's speech at the United Nations this week encapsulated his "America First" view of the world. But it raised a crucial question, Fareed writes in his latest Washington Post column: How exactly does this make America great?

"Trump might not recognize that as he withdraws America from these global arenas, the rest of the world is moving on without Washington. Wittingly or not, Trump seems to be hastening the arrival of a post-American world," Fareed writes.

"The result of America's abdication will not be European or Chinese dominance. It will be — in the long run — greater disorder, the erosion of global rules and norms, and a more unpredictable, unstable world with fewer opportunities for people to buy, sell and invest around the globe.

"In other words, it means a less peaceful and prosperous world — one in which American influence will be greatly diminished."

Why Canada Should Walk Away from NAFTA

The US and Mexico expect to release a draft of a renegotiated NAFTA on Friday, "setting in motion US Congressional approval for a deal that leaves Canada out of the agreement, at least for now, said a spokesman for Mexico's Economy Ministry," The Wall Street Journal reports. Thomas Walkom argues in The Toronto Star that right now, Canada is better off walking away.

"[W]hat's the point of entering into a trade agreement with a nation that insists on the right to overrule that pact on a whim?" Walkom writes.

"[I]f Trump insists on keeping intact the US national security loophole, as he almost certainly will, there is simply no point to NAFTA.

"A trade pact that can be upended on the whim of the US president is of no use to Canada. It provides no certainty for those Canadian businesses that hope to export tariff-free to the US It provides no certainty for those who might invest in Canada."

Washington Isn't the Only Capital With a Swamp

With Chinese President Xi Jinping's accumulation of power has come increasing isolation, writes Michael Schuman for Bloomberg. If China is going to become a superpower, the country's leadership needs to listen to a more diverse range of views, even if they're sometimes uncomfortable to hear.

"President Xi Jinping and his closest allies appear to be more isolated than their predecessors, and that may have left them out-of-touch with what's really happening in other countries, including the US. That may be leading them to misread warning signs and stumble into policy missteps, serious enough to threaten China's larger diplomatic agenda," Schuman writes.

"Americans know all too well how such mistakes can happen. They've coined the term 'inside the Beltway' to describe how a self-absorbed Washington can become dangerously disconnected from the outside world."

America's Allies: A Law Unto Themselves

The best evidence of America's diminished influence in the Middle East? The disaster unfolding in Yemen, writes Steven Cook in Foreign Policy.

"US allies no longer call Washington before they take action in the region. The Saudis have prosecuted the war in Yemen with little regard for the United States' views while simultaneously demanding the Pentagon's logistical support and the uninterrupted flow of munitions. Whether rightly or wrongly, officials in Riyadh did not trust the United States to appreciate their sense of threat or support them," Cook writes.

"Americans, deep in the trenches of a culture war, are busy burning their Nikes and obsessing over President Donald Trump's Twitter account, and they show little appetite for the real wars raging in the Middle East, effectively leaving the region up for grabs."

Why Britain Needs a Time-Out

Britain's government needs to face up to the fact that it isn't ready for Brexit. It's time to drop the bravado about being prepared to walk away with no deal and ask for a time-out, argues Philip Stephens for The Financial Times.

"A cliff-edge departure would create chaos. The government lacks the capacity to repatriate overnight the regulatory and oversight tasks long delegated to the EU. Business would be stranded in a legal no man's land. Borders would go unpoliced. Britain would depend on the goodwill of the EU27 to avoid economic paralysis," Stephens writes.

"The only intelligent option that remains is a time-out — a protracted period during which Britain remains in the single market and customs union while its politicians, business community and, hopefully, its citizens reconsider the options. This could take the form of stopping the clock on the Article 50 negotiations, an extension of the planned transition period, or time-limited membership of the [European Economic Area] with an accompanying customs arrangement.

"Such a settlement — for four, and better five, years — would leave Britain worse off than now. But that has always been the unavoidable reality of Brexit."

How Team Trump Can Make Tariffs Great

The United States has legitimate gripes with China's economic policies. But if it wants its tariffs to be effective, it needs to state clearly what exactly they are trying to achieve, writes Martin Feldstein for Project Syndicate.

"[P]olicymakers should make it clear to the Chinese that the US would end its tariffs if the Chinese stopped stealing American firms' technology. This would include the Chinese policy of requiring US firms to transfer technology to Chinese partners as a condition of doing business in China, as well as the Chinese practice of taking technology directly from US firms through cyber espionage and other illegal methods," Feldstein writes.

"The Chinese government agreed to end government cyber theft of industrial technology when then-President Barack Obama met Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 and showed the evidence of such activity by the People's Liberation Army. But that agreement didn't cover theft by state-owned enterprises and private firms. Negotiations should cover all forms of technology theft."

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