Tag Archives: Donald Trump

Trump again demands more NATO spending, mulls ‘severe things’ on North Korea

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as Polish President Andrzej Duda and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic listen during the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Warsaw, Poland July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

By Marcin Goclowski and Roberta Rampton

WARSAW (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump once more urged NATO allies in Europe on Thursday to spend more on defense, on a visit to Poland that had been billed as an opportunity for him to patch up relations after a tense alliance summit in May.

He also said Washington was thinking about “severe things” in response to North Korea’s test-launch this week of an intercontinental ballistic missile with the potential to reach Alaska.

Trump told a joint news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Thursday that it was “past time” for all countries in the alliance to “get going” on their financial obligations.

The White House had said Trump would use the stopover in Warsaw to showcase his commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which he once called “obsolete”, bemoaning allies’ repeated failure to spend the recommended 2 percent of GDP on defense.

He had unnerved allies in May, not least those in the east concerned about Russia’s more assertive military posture, by failing to explicitly endorse the principle of collective defense enshrined in the NATO treaty.

While he did not directly mention that principle in Warsaw, he did say that the United States was working with Poland to address Russia’s “destabilising behavior”. Duda for his part said he believed Trump took Poland’s security seriously.

Trump said the United States would confront the threat from North Korea very strongly, and that nations must publicly demonstrate to North Korea that there were consequences for bad behavior.

Trump has this week expressed frustration that North Korea’s neighbor China has not put more pressure on Pyongyang, notably through trade, to try to rein in its weapons program.

Trump said “something” would have to be done about North Korea. He said he did not draw “red lines”, but that Washington would take a look over the coming weeks and months with regard to North Korea.

En route to a potentially fractious G20 summit in Germany, Trump was due to take part in a gathering of leaders from central Europe, Baltic states and the Balkans, an event convened by Poland and Croatia to boost regional trade and infrastructure.

Trump said the United States strongly backed their “Three Seas” initiative.

(Writing by Kevin Liffey; editing by Ralph Boulton)

Can U.S. defend against North Korea missiles? Not everyone agrees

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects the intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang July 5, 2017. KCNA/via REUTERS

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Not everybody asserts as confidently as the Pentagon that the U.S. military can defend the United States from the growing threat posed by North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile capability.

Pyongyang’s first test on Tuesday of an ICBM with a potential to strike the state of Alaska has raised the question: How capable is the U.S. military of knocking down an incoming missile or barrage of missiles?

Briefing reporters on Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said: “We do have confidence in our ability to defend against the limited threat, the nascent threat that is there.”

Davis cited a successful test in May in which a U.S.-based missile interceptor knocked down a simulated incoming North Korean ICBM. But he acknowledged the test program’s track program was not perfect.

“It’s something we have mixed results on. But we also have an ability to shoot more than one interceptor,” Davis said.

An internal memo seen by Reuters also showed that the Pentagon upgraded its assessment of U.S. defenses after the May test.

Despite hundreds of billions of dollars spent on a multi-layered missile defense system, the United States may not be able to seal itself off entirely from a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile attack.

Experts caution that U.S. missile defenses are now geared to shooting down one, or perhaps a small number of basic, incoming missiles. Were North Korea’s technology and production to keep advancing, U.S. defenses could be overwhelmed unless they keep pace with the threat.

“Over the next four years, the United States has to increase its current capacity of our deployed systems, aggressively push for more and faster deployment,” said Riki Ellison, founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.

MIXED RESULTS

The test records of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), charged with the mission to develop, test and field a ballistic missile defense system, also show mixed results.

MDA systems have multiple layers and ranges and use sensors in space at sea and on land that altogether form a defense for different U.S. regions and territories.

One component, the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system (GMD), demonstrated a success rate just above 55 percent. A second component, the Aegis system deployed aboard U.S. Navy ships and on land, had about an 83 percent success rate, according to the agency.

A third, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, anti-missile system, has a 100 percent success rate in 13 tests conducted since 2006, according to the MDA.

Lockheed Martin Corp is the prime contractor for THAAD and Aegis. Boeing Co is the lead contractor for GMD.

Since President Ronald Reagan’s administration in the 1980s, the U.S. government has spent more than $200 billion to develop and field a range of ballistic missile defense systems ranging from satellite detection to the sea-based Aegis system, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Funding for MDA was on average $8.12 billion during President Barack Obama’s administration that ended on Jan. 20. President Donald Trump has requested $7.8 billion for fiscal year 2018.

‘ANOTHER YEAR OR TWO’

Last month, Vice Admiral James Syring, then director of the Missile Defense Agency, told a congressional panel that North Korean advancements in the past six months had caused him great concern.

U.S.-based missile expert John Schilling, a contributor to the Washington-based North Korea monitoring project 38 North said the pace of North Korea’s missile development was quicker than expected.

“However, it will probably require another year or two of development before this missile can reliably and accurately hit high-value continental U.S. targets, particularly if fired under wartime conditions,” he said.

Michael Elleman, a fellow for Missile Defence at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that although North Korea was several steps from creating a dependable ICBM, “There are absolutely no guarantees” the United States can protect itself.

In missile defense, “Even if it had a test record of 100 percent, there are no guarantees.”

(Reporting by Mike Stone; Additional reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Chris Sanders, Howard Goller and Peter Cooney)

Leftist protesters vow to disrupt G20 summit in Hamburg

An activist carries a poster as he arrives at Hamburg Hauptbahnhof central railway station during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

By Joseph Nasr

HAMBURG (Reuters) – “Welcome to Hell”. That’s the greeting for U.S. President Donald Trump and other world leaders from anti-capitalist protesters in Hamburg, who have vowed to disrupt the G20 summit in the German port city.

Among the 100,000 protesters expected in the city, some 8,000 are deemed by security forces to be ready to commit violence, posing a challenge for those tasked with securing the July 7-8 summit of leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies.

There has been no significant violence at several smaller demonstrations in the city this week, including a march on Wednesday by more than 7,000 beer-drinking mainly young revelers holding placards denouncing capitalism and G20 leaders.

But a fire overnight at a Porsche car dealer in the north of the city that damaged eight vehicles could be a foretaste of what’s to come. Police said they were investigating whether it was an arson attack.

“There is no concrete evidence to link the incident to the G20 summit,” a police spokesman told Reuters. “But we assume this is the case.”

Locals are unhappy with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to hold the summit in the center of Germany’s second-largest city as they fear property damage by violent protesters. Their daily routines are also being disrupted by security measures.

Up to 20,000 police officers will be on duty to watch over the main demonstration, dubbed “Welcome to Hell” by the alliance of anti-capitalist groups who organized it. Protesters have said they will try to block roads in the city.

Merkel took a big gamble in deciding to host the summit, where leaders will hold talks on difficult issues from trade and climate change to African development, in the city of her birth.

Should the protests go awry, her reputation could be damaged less than three months before an election in which she is seeking a fourth term.

To air the locals’ disenchantment, Hamburg-based soft drinks maker Fritz Kola has launched a poster advertising campaign featuring a portrait of Trump snoozing. A caption reads: “Wake up, man! Fritz Kola. Lots of caffeine”.

Protesters say the G20 has failed to solve many of the issues threatening world peace, including climate change, rising inequality and violent conflicts.

Activists arrive at Hamburg Hauptbahnhof central railway station during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Activists arrive at Hamburg Hauptbahnhof central railway station during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

‘EGOISTIC LEADER’

Tens of thousands will gather at the fish market in the borough of St Pauli – known for its red light district – at 1400 GMT (10 a.m. ET), around the same time as Air Force One is due to land in Hamburg. They will then march north to the heavily secured summit venue.

“It’s ridiculous that police say some of us are violent when starting tomorrow the leaders of the world’s largest weapon exporting and importing nations will be arriving in our city,” said Stefan Hubert, a 32-year-old graphic designer who came to the protest on Wednesday with three friends.

Holding a placard reading ‘Make love great again!’ he added: “This summit is a waste of money that could be better spent on deploying more boats to stop migrants fleeing war and hunger from drowning in the Mediterranean.”

Turkish-German protester Fatima Cicek said she and her two sisters came to the demonstration on Wednesday to make the point that the G20 is undemocratic as it is a forum where a handful of leaders make decisions that could impact the whole world.

But her main issue is with Trump.

“He is the most disruptive and egotistic leader at the summit,” the veiled 38-year-old social worker said.

There is an irony in the protesters’ dislike of Trump. The U.S. president and anti-capitalist activists have something in common: distrust of globalization.

Yet Trump is in Hamburg to push for trade rules that benefit America, including steel makers facing tough competition from China, while the protesters are here to demand more rights for the poor regardless of where they live.

“Trump is here to promote his own interests and those of the richest people in America,” said Cicek. “We are demanding more rights for the millions of people in Africa who have no roof over their heads.”

(Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Toby Chopra)

In Afghanistan, U.S. senators call for coherent policy from Trump

U.S. Senator John McCain speaks during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan July 4, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail

(This story corrects the number of U.S. and other foreign troops in Afghanistan, paragraphs 15, 16.)

KABUL (Reuters) – A bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators visiting Afghanistan on Tuesday called for a new strategy from the Trump administration to turn the tide against an increasingly strong Taliban insurgency and end the longest war in U.S. history.

The delegation led by Senator John McCain was in Kabul on a regional trip that included two days in neighboring Pakistan.

The visit preceded an expected Trump review later in the month of the strategy for the United States’ longest war, now in its 16th year, a subject that was largely absent from last year’s presidential campaign.

Since the exit of most foreign troops in 2014, Afghanistan’s U.S.-backed government has lost ground to a Taliban insurgency in a war that kills and maims thousands of civilians each year and has made Afghanistan the second-ranking country in people seeking refugee status abroad last year, behind Syria.

McCain said in a Kabul press briefing on Tuesday at NATO-coalition headquarters that “none of us would say that we are on a course to success here in Afghanistan”.

“That needs to change and quickly,” added McCain, a sharp critic of Trump within their Republican party.

McCain was accompanied by U.S. senators Lindsey Graham, Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse and David Perdue on the regional tour.

Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, said she came to get “the view on the ground about what is happening” in Afghanistan.

“We need a strategy in the United States that defines our role in Afghanistan, defines our objective and explains how we can get from here to there,” Warren said.

U.S. officials have told Reuters that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will present Trump with strategic options for Afghanistan by mid-July.

Last month, Trump gave Mattis the authority to set American troop levels in Afghanistan, but as commander in chief Trump must sign off on an overall strategy for the war.

U.S. security officials have privately said the most likely options will be to increase training and air support by 3,000-5,000 troops for still-inexperienced Afghan security forces, while also tracking down al Qaeda, Islamic State and other global Islamist militants based in Afghanistan.

The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, has said “several thousand” more foreign troops – mostly trainers – are needed to break a military stalemate with the Taliban.

In 2001, a U.S.-backed military intervention in Afghanistan toppled the Taliban regime, whose ultra-hardline interpretation of sharia (Islamic law) banned most women from public life and executed people not seen as sufficiently pious, such as men with beards not considered long enough.

More than 15 years later, about 13,000 U.S. and allied troops remain in Afghanistan as part of a training and advising mission in support of an elected government that has increasingly been losing ground to a Taliban insurgency that now controls or contests some 40 percent of territory.

Several thousand more American troops operate under a counterterrorism mission aimed at groups like Islamic State and al Qaeda.

(Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Three more states refuse Trump commission’s voter data request

FILE PHOTO: A ballot is placed into a locked ballot box by a poll worker as people line-up to vote early at the San Diego County Elections Office in San Diego, California, U.S., November 7, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

By Ian Simpson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Maryland, Delaware and Louisiana on Monday joined a growing number of U.S. states that have refused to hand over voter data to a commission established by President Donald Trump to investigate possible voting fraud.

More than 20 states, including Virginia, Kentucky, California, New York and Massachusetts, have declined to provide some or all of the information that the panel requested, saying it was unnecessary and violated privacy.

Republican Trump created the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity in May after making unsubstantiated claims that millions of people voted illegally for his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, in last November’s election.

Calling the request “repugnant,” Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said in a statement that his office had advised the State Board of Elections that the commission’s request was illegal.

The request “appears designed only to intimidate voters and to indulge President Trump’s fantasy that he won the popular vote,” Frosh said.

The commission sent a letter to the 50 states asking them to turn over voter information including names, the last four digits of Social Security numbers, addresses, birth dates, political affiliations, felony convictions and voting histories.

Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler said the presidential commission could purchase the limited information legally available to candidates running for office.

“You’re not going to play politics with Louisiana’s voter data,” he said in a statement.

Delaware Elections Commissioner Elaine Manlove said in an interview with Milford’s WXDE-FM radio that her office would not comply since some of the information was confidential. Manlove said she was working with the attorney general’s office to see if the request could be denied completely.

Trump has blasted the states who have refused to turn over the data. He said in a tweet on Saturday, “What are they trying to hide?”

Trump won the White House through victory in the Electoral College, which tallies wins in states, but he lost the popular vote to Clinton by some 3 million votes. He has claimed he would have won the popular vote had it not been for voter fraud.

Civil rights activists say the commission will encourage voter suppression by justifying new barriers to voting, such as requiring identity cards to vote.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Frank McGurty and Grant McCool)

Trump praises veterans, hits media at Kennedy Center event

U.S. President Donald Trump waves at the Celebrate Freedom Rally in Washington, U.S. July 1, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

By Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump honored military veterans in Washington on Saturday at a Kennedy Center event that resembled both a political rally and an evangelical Christian religious service ahead of the July 4 Independence Day holiday.

Using the podium again to lash out at the news media, Trump worked to energize evangelicals in his political base, noting that the U.S. currency was inscribed with the words: “In God We Trust.”

“Since the signing of the Declaration of Independence 241 years ago, America always affirmed that liberty comes from our creator. Our rights are given to us by God, and no earthly force can ever take those rights away,” he said.

Attendees at the event for veterans waved miniature American flags from their seats in the theater and raised their hands as a sign of praise while a large choir sang ahead of Trump’s remarks.

The president praised veterans from each of the U.S. military branches and highlighted his administration’s work to reform veterans’ services.

Trump, who is spending a long weekend at his property in Bedminster, New Jersey, flew back to Washington for the rally but did not spend the night at the White House, preferring to return to Bedminster.

Later, in a rare late-night post on Twitter, which he uses prolifically and sometimes controversially, Trump wrote:

“We will always take care of our GREAT VETERANS. You have shed your blood, poured your love, and bared your soul, in defense of our country.”

Trump has held campaign-like rallies regularly during his first few months in the White House and kicked off his own re-election campaign far earlier than other incumbents in recent history.

Part of his strategy to connect with his supporters has included criticizing the media, and he included harsh words for the press again in his remarks.

“The fake media is trying to silence us, but we will not let them,” he said. “The fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House. But I’m president, and they’re not.”

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Trump calls for firm response to North Korea, targets Seoul on trade

U.S. President Donald Trump (L) welcomes South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Jim Bourg

By David Brunnstrom and Lisa Lambert

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump called for a determined response to North Korea after talks with South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in on Friday where he stressed the importance of their alliance but took aim at Seoul over trade and sharing the cost of defense.

Trump said the United States was renegotiating what he characterized as a “rough” trade deal with South Korea agreed to five years ago by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and reiterated that an era of “strategic patience” over North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs had ended.

“Together we are facing the threat of the reckless and brutal regime in North Korea,” Trump said as he stood alongside Moon in the White House Rose Garden. “The nuclear and ballistic missile programs of that regime require a determined response.”

Despite the tough rhetoric, it remains unclear how Trump will find a way forward on North Korea, which is working to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has warned the consequences of any military solution would be “tragic on an unbelievable scale.” Trump had pinned his hopes on persuading China, North Korea’s neighbor and main trading partner, to do more to rein in Pyongyang, although he has lately grown frustrated that Beijing has not taken stronger action.

Trump called on regional powers to implement sanctions and demand North Korea “choose a better path and do it quickly.”

Moon, who warned of a “stern response” to any provocations, urged Pyongyang to return promptly to talks.

“Our two leaders will employ both sanctions and dialogue in a phased and comprehensive approach,” Moon said of South Korea and the United States.

Trump and Moon have said they are open to renewed dialogue with North Korea but only under circumstances that would lead to Pyongyang giving up its weapons programs.

Moon told an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank that moves by North Korea that could create conditions for dialogue could include a freeze on its nuclear and missile tests, or the release of three Americans it is holding in the country.

To be successful, talks would have to involve North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and have as their ultimate aim the complete dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear program, he added.

Trump sought to woo China since a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in April but the honeymoon period appears to be over. On Thursday, the United States targeted a Chinese bank and sanctioned Chinese individuals and a firm for dealing with North Korea and approved a $1.42 billion arms deal with Taiwan – decisions that angered Beijing.

STEEL AND AUTOS

South Korea is a long-standing American ally but Trump has spoken harshly about U.S. trade imbalances and threatened to tear up the bilateral trade pact.

“We will do more to remove barriers to reciprocal trade and market access,” Trump said, adding that the two leaders had talked about the thorny trade areas of steel and autos.

Trump said he was encouraged by Moon’s assurances that he would seek a level playing field for American workers and businesses, particularly automakers.

A joint statement said the two sides had agreed to work together to reduce over supply of basic materials such as steel and non-tariff barriers. It also said Trump had accepted an invitation from Moon to visit South Korea this year.

Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said it was unwise for Trump to air the trade issue so publicly.

“Public complaints by Trump about unfair trade and inadequate defense spending provide opportunities for China and North Korea to drive a wedge between the allies,” she said.

Trump also emphasized the need to ensure equitable sharing of costs for defense, returning to a theme he raised during his campaign and brought up with other allies, including NATO countries and Japan.

A senior U.S. official said in a briefing before the president’s meeting with Moon that South Korea was in many respects a “model ally,” given its spending of 2.7 percent of GDP on defense and Moon’s plan to grow capabilities.

“We shouldn’t view South Korea as somehow laggard on that front,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. goods trade deficit with South Korea has more than doubled since the U.S.-Korea free trade pact known as KORUS took effect in 2012. The agreement was forecast to boost U.S. exports by $10 billion a year, but in 2016 they were $3 billion lower than in 2011.

At the start of Friday’s talks, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the largest component of the deficit was automotive trade and many non-tariff barriers to U.S. auto exports to South Korea remained.

“I think the way to address it is to deal product by product with what we can do to change the export side and what we can do to reduce the bad imports side,” he said.

Ross said later on Friday that some progress had been made in the talks.

The current pact was agreed to despite protests by supporters of Moon, who was then in opposition. But analysts have suggested that given the need to preserve a unified front in the face of a hostile North Korea, there could be compromise on both sides to resolve issues.

(Additional reporting by Fatima Bhojani, Roberta Rampton, Tim Ahmann, David Chance, David Lawder and Eric Beech; Editing by Bill Trott and Andrew Hay)

Trump says he is sending federal help to fight Chicago crime

FILE PHOTO - Chicago police officer investigate a crime scene of a gunshot victim in Chicago, Illinois, United States, July 5, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Young

By Timothy Mclaughlin and Doina Chiacu

CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Friday he was sending federal help to fight crime in Chicago that has reached “epidemic” proportions.

The government is sending federal agents to Chicago and plans to prosecute firearms cases aggressively, Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Fox News when asked about Trump’s statement about the plan in an early-morning Twitter post.

“Crime and killings in Chicago have reached such epidemic proportions that I am sending in Federal help. 1714 shootings in Chicago this year!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

The president has regularly singled out Chicago’s violent crime problem and in January decried the high crime rate in the third-most populous U.S. city as “carnage.”

In 2016, the number of murders in Chicago exceeded 760, a jump of nearly 60 percent, and was more than New York and Los Angeles combined. There were more than 4,300 shooting victims in the city last year, according to police.

The number of murders, shootings and shooting victims have all decreased slightly this year in the city of 2.7 million. There have been 320 murders, down from 322 over the same period last year. There have been 1,703 shooting victims, down from 1,935, according to police figures.

Sessions said the anti-crime policies in Chicago have not worked and police “have been demoralized in many ways.”

The federal assistance will come in the form of the Chicago Crime Gun Strike Force, a collaboration between the police and the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The group, including police officers, federal agents and intelligence analysts, will work to impede the flow of illegal guns throughout Chicago and target repeat gun offenders.

“The Trump Administration will not let the bloodshed go on; we cannot accept these levels of violence,” Sessions said in a statement on Friday afternoon. The group became operational on June 1, Sessions said.

It will “significantly help our police officers stem the flow of illegal guns and create a culture of accountability” for the gangs that drive violence in the city, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a statement.

On Monday, the Chicago police announced that the ATF’s mobile ballistics lab had arrived in the city to help process shooting scenes.

“Six months ago we made it clear that we would welcome additional federal support, and six months later we appreciate the 20 new ATF agents that are now arriving,” Adam Collins, a spokesman for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, said.

“But the progress CPD (Chicago Police Department) has made this year has happened without any of the new resources from the federal government we requested.”

Chicago is also in the midst of reforming its police department after a federal investigation found officers routinely violated the civil rights of people, citing excessive force and racially discriminatory conduct.

Joseph Ferguson, the city’s inspector general, called on Chicago officials to agree to a consent decree to oversee changes to the department at a committee meeting on Tuesday – splitting with the mayor, who has said a court-enforced settlement is not necessary for reform.

In response to questions about Ferguson’s comments, Emanuel told reporters on Wednesday that the Justice Department has “walked away” from doing consent decrees, and so the city has sought a different strategy.

“There are multiple roads that allow you to make sure you make the changes and reform,” he said.

(Additional reporting by Julia Jacobs in Chicago; Editing by JS Benkoe and Matthew Lewis)

Trump to press South Korea leader on trade as North Korea looms

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes South Korean President Moon Jae-in to the White House in Washington, U.S., June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

By Jeff Mason and David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump will press South Korean President Moon Jae-in to solve trade differences over cars and steel in meetings in Washington focusing on the nuclear threat from North Korea.

Concerns about the U.S. military’s THAAD missile defense system and China’s role in the region also are likely to come up in talks between Trump and Moon at the White House.

Moon, making his first trip to the United States since becoming his country’s president in May, joined Trump and his wife, Melania, for dinner in the White House State Dining Room on Thursday evening ahead of further talks on Friday.

“I know you’ve been discussing with our people some of the complexities of North Korea and trade and other things, and we’ll be discussing them all as we progress, and it could be very well late into the evening,” Trump told Moon.

“I’d like to also congratulate you upon your election victory. It was a great victory, and you did a fantastic job. A lot of people didn’t expect that, and I did expect it. I thought that was going to happen.”

Both men have an interest in building a strong relationship but tensions could puncture that effort.

Trump has spoken harshly about U.S. trade imbalances with South Korea and threatened to tear up a trade agreement with the country. Moon has taken a wary stance on the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system that the United States deployed in South Korea in March.

“I think they’ll have a friendly and frank discussion about the trade relationship,” a White House official told reporters on Wednesday, noting concerns about barriers to U.S. auto sales and surplus Chinese steel that arrives in the United States via South Korea.

After the dinner, Trump tweeted that he had a “very good meeting” with Moon and that “many subjects (were) discussed including North Korea and new trade deal!”

The U.S. goods trade deficit with South Korea has more than doubled since the KORUS pact took effect in 2012, from $13.2 billion in 2011 to $27.7 billion in 2016. It was forecast to boost U.S. exports by $10 billion a year but they were $3 billion lower in 2016 than in 2011.

In an interview with Reuters in April, Trump called the 5-year-old trade deal “horrible” and said he would either renegotiate or terminate it.

During remarks at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Moon said unfair trade practices would be eradicated and factors that limited competition, such as market entry barriers and price regulations, would be re-evaluated under his administration.

Trump has made challenging trade agreements a hallmark of his administration since taking office in January.

NORTH KOREA FOCUS

Despite tensions over that issue, his meetings with Moon are likely to focus largely on North Korea.

Moon has said he wants to form a friendship with the former New York businessman and find common ground on how to resolve the crisis over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

Trump wants to build ties with an important new leader in the region as he grows frustrated that his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping has not resulted in stronger action by Beijing to rein in Pyongyang.

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on two Chinese citizens and a shipping company for helping North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and accused a Chinese bank of laundering money for Pyongyang.

The Trump administration also announced it plans to sell Taiwan about $1.42 billion in arms.

Moon told Reuters in an interview last week he wanted to discuss a two-phased approach to resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, starting with a freeze on North Korea’s nuclear and missile development followed by complete dismantlement.

“I am planning to have frank and open discussions with President Trump on the step-by-step approach,” he said.

The THAAD defense system could be a sticking point.

Moon, who has advocated a more moderate approach toward Pyongyang, expressed shock late last month upon learning that four more launchers for the controversial system had been brought into the country. He ordered an investigation after his Defense Ministry failed to inform him of the move.

The system, whose installation irritated China, is meant to counter the threat from North Korea’s missile program. The White House said it did not expect THAAD to be a major point of conversation and Moon is expected to assure Washington that his recent decision to postpone full THAAD deployment to conduct an environmental review was a measure to follow domestic law.

Despite potential areas of disagreement, the two leaders are expected to express common resolve over threats from North Korea.

“The similarities in our approaches are already evident,” the White House official said, noting that both men had expressed willingness to engage with Pyongyang under the right conditions. “Even once the conditions may present themselves, to enter into dialogue we must maintain and actually increase pressure on North Korea. That’s President Moon’s approach; it’s President Trump’s approach.”

(additional reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Bill Trott and Tom Brown)

House cracks down on illegal immigrants with bills backed by Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump (L) meets with immigration crime victims at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

By Steve Holland and Amanda Becker

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Bills backed by U.S. President Donald Trump to crack down on illegal immigrants passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, drawing criticism from immigration activists and others who called them a threat to civil liberties.

The House voted 228-195 to pass the “No Sanctuary for Criminals Act” that would withhold some federal grants to so-called “sanctuary city” jurisdictions that do not comply with certain federal immigration laws.By a vote of 257-167, the chamber also passed “Kate’s law” to increase penalties for illegal immigrants who return to the United States. It is named for Kate Steinle, who was shot dead in San Francisco in 2015. An illegal immigrant who had been deported five times was charged with her murder.

“I applaud the House for passing two crucial measures to save and protect American lives,” Trump said in a statement. “These were bills I campaigned on and that are vital to our public safety and national security.”

Both bills will need approval from the Senate to become law. Trump’s Republicans control both chambers. But Democrats assailed the measures as fear-mongering.

“Although people who illegally re-enter the country do so to reunite with their families, or to flee violence or persecution, this bill considers them all dangerous criminals who deserve lengthy prison sentences,” Democratic Representative Jerrold Nadler said during debate on “Kate’s Law.”

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump demanded action against sanctuary cities, which provide some protection for illegal immigrants under laws that limit how much cooperation local police may have with federal immigration authorities.

The “No Sanctuary for Criminals Act” prohibits sanctuary cities from adopting policies that restrict police officers from asking individuals about their immigration status or the immigration status of others.

Under the laws, illegal immigrants would face mandatory detention for past convictions of an expanded number of offenses, such as driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

On Wednesday, Trump promoted both bills at the White House with speeches by parents of young people slain by people who live in, or immigrated to, the United States illegally.

(Reporting By Steve Holland and Amanda Becker; Editing by Grant McCool, Howard Goller and Diane Craft)