A Three-Ring Circus: Plates on the Floor, or One Rascally Rabbit

President pinned below 40 percent approval, deep bond market anxiety, sovereigntist surges, and a (possible) rabbit in the hat. Less than 30 days out from pivotal U.S. midterm elections, a potentially devastating mix of domestic pocketbook pressures and geopolitical alarm is forcing an administration and a President pinned below 40 percent approval into an aggressive,…

Summer in the rearview, no clear path ahead

Summer is nearly in the rearview, but global conflict is front and center. The flashpoints I last wrote about – from war in Iran and Ukraine to mounting trade battles – continue to test the limits of President Trump’s go to economic and military strategy of coercion.  Tehran and Beijing exemplify these limits. Despite the…

The View from North America: Elbows up, clear eyes.

If you needed proof that the late-August heat gets to everyone, look no further than the U.S.–Canada border. Just one week ago today, negotiators appeared to have a solid trade path forward—yet by Monday, the northern alliance had hit a fever pitch. Between the abrupt U.S. 50% tariff threats on steel and autos, Canadian leaders…

Oh, Canada!

On Monday—just over one year since Mexico, Canada, and the United States officially began the NAFTA renegotiations—President Donald Trump announced the “The United States – Mexico Trade Agreement.” During an impromptu press conference in the Oval Office, Mexican and U.S. officials declared that they had finally moved beyond the thorniest issues including auto content and…

Mexico: Ready to launch, AMLO minus…

It’s been over a month since President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador swept the election to become Mexico’s next leader. With 53 percent of the votes, López Obrador won every Mexican state except Guanajuato, and received a higher percentage of the overall vote than any of the past four presidents. The electoral mandate wasn’t only at the federal…

Mexico: About Sunday Night…

Amid persistent chants of “presidente” from his supporters, Andrés Manuel López Obrador took the stage Sunday night to give his acceptance speech and make history as the country’s first president who was not part of the country’s two major political parties. Amid persistent chants of “presidente” from his supporters, Andrés Manuel López Obrador took the…

A scorcher’s a coming…

We are only a few weeks into what is shaping up to be a long hot summer, with increasing turmoil around the world: U.S.-North Korea Summit, the G7 Summit, protests in Nicaragua, Brazil’s upcoming elections, and the ongoing economic and political collapse in Venezuela. Within regional relations, it hasn’t been much calmer. The highest profile spat was Donald Trump’s twitter attacks…

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