US ECONOMICS

NATO / VENEZUELA / FOREIGN POLICY

U.S. Department of State. April 5, 2019. Interview With Norah O'Donnell of CBS This Morning. Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State. New York City

QUESTION: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo joins us this morning to talk about a lot of different hotspots around the world. Good morning, Secretary. How are you?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Nora, it’s great to be with you.

QUESTION: First, let’s talk about Mar-a-Lago. A Chinese woman goes into the President’s private club, she’s got four cell phones, she’s got malware. Is this an act of espionage?

SECRETARY POMPEO: So I can’t talk about the details of the incident. There’s an active investigation taking place. But I think this tells the American people the threat that China poses, the efforts that they’re making here inside the United States not only against government officials, but more broadly. It’s one of the topics that’s being discussed in these trade negotiations. The theft of American intellectual property is a big business to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, and President Trump is determined to push back against it.

QUESTION: You mean China stealing hundreds of billions of dollars worth of property from us, Americans?

SECRETARY POMPEO: That’s right, intellectual property. That is, they come in, take it through software. Companies that do business in China, they just flat-out steal it. It’s been going on for decades. The first president to actually take it seriously is President Trump, and Secretary Mnuchin and Ambassador Lighthizer are doing their best to get an enforcement mechanism so this will stop.

QUESTION: And is the woman who was arrested in Mar-a-Lago connected to that effort?

SECRETARY POMPEO: I can’t say anything about that particular incident.

QUESTION: But it’s being looked at closely?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes. Yes, ma’am.

QUESTION: How are we fighting back against that Chinese threat? Because you’ve described it as a threat to our democracy from the Chinese.

SECRETARY POMPEO: It very much is. They very much want to undermine our Western values, the rule of law, transparency. All the things that we hold most dear, China has a different value set. Look, they’re an important trading partner. We have – in Kansas, we sold a lot of products into China. We want that; President Trump wants that too. But we have to change the relationship in a way that it is fair, that it’s reciprocal, that they’re not stealing our stuff, and push back against them, whether the threat is in the South China Sea, the threat is to our intellectual property, or the threat is of their espionage here inside the United States.

QUESTION: This week, the 70th anniversary of NATO, probably the most important alliance in the world. And I know you addressed a number of the ministers and warned about this Chinese threat, as well as Russian aggression – the latest Russian aggression, of course, in Venezuela. When is there going to be a resolution to that situation?

SECRETARY POMPEO: So it was great to have all of the foreign ministers from now 29 nations that make up NATO. It was an important meeting to both celebrate 70 years of success, but to take the mantle from the founders. The threats have changed. I was a young soldier patrolling the then-East German border. The threat from Russia today is different. The threats to NATO from China today are fundamentally different. And that’s what we spoke about.

As for Venezuela, this administration is engaged in helping the Venezuelan people restore democracy. This is something they’re demanding, it’s something countries in Latin America --

QUESTION: Will you go there?

SECRETARY POMPEO: I’m going to head to the region before too long. I’m going to go visit some of the great partners and allies that the State Department has built out who are each as determined as we are to restore democracy there.

QUESTION: I want to turn now to North Korea because you have been heavily involved in this. You’ve met more with Kim Jong-un, the leader, than just about anybody else. President Trump’s second summit with the North Korean leader failed to produce an agreement to declare and denuclearize their nuclear weapons. Will there be a third summit with North Korea?

SECRETARY POMPEO: I’m confident there will be.

QUESTION: When?

SECRETARY POMPEO: I don’t know.

QUESTION: Soon?

SECRETARY POMPEO: I hope so. Look, we came out of Hanoi with a deeper understanding of each other, the positions that the two sides had. The two leaders were able to make progress in that respect. We didn’t get as far as the world is demanding. These are global sanctions that are on North Korea today.

QUESTION: Are you disappointed?

SECRETARY POMPEO: It’s a negotiation, and we’ve always known this was going to take a while, so I don’t know that I was disappointed. You always hope you’ll make progress faster, better. You know that in every interaction you have. We’re determined; I’m convinced the North Koreans are determined as well. Chairman Kim has promised me, he’s promised President Trump he will denuclearize. Now it’s the mission of my team to make sure that that happens.

QUESTION: And so this is really going to come to a head next week, again, because the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, is coming to the White House to meet with President Trump and you. Will you agree to some easing of economic sanctions to continue the momentum on these talks with the North Koreans?

SECRETARY POMPEO: President Trump has been unambiguous. Our administration’s policy is incredibly clear: Economic sanctions, United Nations Security Council sanctions, will not be lifted until we achieve the ultimate objective that we set out now almost two years ago.

QUESTION: So it’s my understanding that the South Koreans are really pushing the U.S. to try and open some of these economic sanctions – the Kaesong manufacturing park, the reopening of tourism in North Korea – they want to continue this. You’re saying the U.S. is going to say, no, we’re not going there?

SECRETARY POMPEO: I talk to my South Korean counterpart a lot. She’s a delightful, capable minister for their country. They’re neighbors with the North Koreans. Many North – South Koreans have family members there. I understand the sentiment, but they’ve been great partners, and we have worked closely together to enforce these sanctions. We appreciate what they’re doing.

QUESTION: And just to give the context of why I’m asking that question is because it’s my understanding the South Koreans are pushing for that because the diplomatic channels have gone cold. Have the diplomatic channels gone cold?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Nope.

QUESTION: They’re still open?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes.

QUESTION: With the North Koreans?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes.

QUESTION: Between the U.S. and the North?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes.

QUESTION: And the South and the North?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes.

QUESTION: Those diplomatic – okay.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes, we have had conversations after Hanoi about how to move forward.

QUESTION: And again, the significance of next week, April 11th, the day that the South Korean president will meet with President Trump, it’s a big day in North Korea --

SECRETARY POMPEO: Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: -- is my understanding, that Kim Jong-un is going to give a big speech there. What are you watching from in that speech? Are we expecting some sort of surprise out of North Korea next week?

SECRETARY POMPEO: It is a big day. It’s something that’s an annual event where the leader of North Korea speaks to his people. We’ll watch very closely what he says. I don’t expect there’ll be great surprise, but I do hope that he will share his sentiment, his sentiment that says: We – I believe, as the leader of North Korea, I believe the right thing to do is for us to engage with the United States to denuclearize our country, and that we’ll have a brighter future for the North Korean people.

We hope that’s what he’ll talk about with his people, and we’ll be watching it very closely.

QUESTION: I want to talk really quickly about Saudi Arabia. It has been six months since the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. This week, we saw the first pictures also out of Riyadh of what is Saudi Arabia’s first nuclear reactor. It’s close to completion. Is the U.S. going to allow Saudi Arabia to become a nuclear power?

SECRETARY POMPEO: We have worked closely with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia over the now two years of this administration on this very issue. I can’t tell you where the negotiations sit because they’re still ongoing, but make no mistake about it: We only wish that the previous administration had taken that threat seriously with respect to the Islamic Republic of Iran. They cut a deal that puts Iran on a path towards nuclear weapons. We will not permit --

QUESTION: So that makes it okay now for Saudi Arabia to have nuclear power?

SECRETARY POMPEO: We will not permit – we will not permit that to happen. We will not permit that to happen anywhere in the world. The President understands the threat of proliferation. We will never write a $150 million check to the Saudis and hand them over the capacity to threaten Israel and the United States with nuclear weapons, never.

QUESTION: Secretary Pompeo, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you very much.

U.S. Department of State. April 4, 2019. Press Availability at NATO Foreign Ministerial 2019. Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State. Dean Acheson Auditorium. Washington, DC

SECRETARY POMPEO: So good afternoon, everyone. Seventy years ago today, 12 courageous nations came together to form an alliance that to this day remains the bedrock guarantor of Western security and democratic liberties. Today, our 29 nations believe in our founding mission. We believe in deterrence to keep the peace. We believe in our common defense, as captured in Article 5 of the treaty. We believe that Western democratic ideals are worth defending – and defend them we will.

Our nations have inherited a strong alliance because our predecessors had the wisdom to continue to adapt to the challenges at hand. And now it’s our duty to adapt to the challenges like radical Islamic terrorism, cyber attacks, uncontrolled migration, Chinese strategic competition, and indeed, still, Russian aggression.

Today, we had wide-ranging, robust discussions. We took important decisions on urgent problem sets. Vladimir Putin harbors dark dreams of imperialism. This is evident from his invasions of Georgia and Ukraine, his meddling in Syria, and now in Venezuela. He wants to split our alliance and weaken our democratic resolve.

In light of Russia’s attacks on Western democracies, we agreed to improve our defenses against hybrid warfare, develop new strategies to deter it, and identify prompt and effective responses.

We also discussed terrorism. NATO plays a key role in the fight against Islamist terrorism both inside and outside of our alliance. The U.S. especially appreciates NATO’s commitment to the NATO mission in Iraq. For nearly 18 years, NATO allies and partners have fought terrorism in Afghanistan. We’ve trained and advised and assisted the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. I updated our NATO counterparts on the work of Ambassador Khalilzad and his diplomatic undertaking that he is executing at my direction. The United States will ensure that our collective sacrifices are not wasted and that terrorists can never again threaten us from Afghanistan’s soil.

Lastly, we discussed burden sharing. No alliance can survive without proper investment from all of its partners. Our allies have joined the United States in recognizing the need for greater burden sharing – each and every one of them. I am pleased to say that since 2016 our allies have pledged 41 billion, and that number will increase to 100 billion by the end of next year, 2020. That’s no small feat. It’s money well spent. Nations who have contributed should be proud. You have the deep gratitude of President Trump for that.

But I told them too there’s more work to do. It’s important for them to make the case to their citizenry for why this collective deterrence remains important, that spending commitments matter; they lead to political solidarity. As a military alliance, our officers should be second to none. It’s self-evident that our armies, navies, and air forces must be fully trained and equipped and ready to go when called upon in conflict or crisis.

At the Leaders Summit last July, we took a major step forward in agreeing to the Four Thirties Initiative. Now it is time for us to fulfill those goals.

Seventy years ago, the great Dean Acheson said that the NATO alliance was, quote, “a statement of the facts and lessons of history,” end of quote. He knew that if free nations do not stand together, they will fall one by one. The same is true today.

As for the United States, we will continue to bear our fair share. We will continue to lead within NATO, and by doing so we will defend the freedoms of the American people and the people of our allies.

I’m happy to take a few questions.

MR PALLADINO: We’ll start off with Latvia TV. Ina Strazdina.

QUESTION: Thank you so much. Mr. Pompeo, Ina Strazdina, Latvian Television. Seeing growing aggression of Russia, do you see that NATO presence in the Baltics is sufficient, or would you see even plans to strengthen it even more? Thank you.

SECRETARY POMPEO: So there’s lots of discussion always – at this meeting, at the summit, at the Leaders Meeting last July – about proper allocation of resources. Where are the right places? Where do we need to do more? We’ve certainly talked about that as a geographic matter, so I don’t have anything to add with respect to the Baltic states today.

But it’s not just a geographic matter. We’ve also talked about new challenges that face us, right? So telecommunication systems, infrastructure, cyber, hybrid warfare – things that aren’t resolved by more troops sitting on the ground someplace but which present risk to the Baltics, to all of your – to all the NATO partners, including the United States and Canada as well.

So we’re trying to make sure that our resources, our focus, are meeting the challenges of today. We talked a lot about it, the 70th anniversary, we talked a lot about the history of the founders of the 12 nations that began this important alliance, and the fact that it’s now our time, the leaders of today, to take on the mantle and the challenges that the world presents to NATO today.

MR PALLADINO: Let’s go to BBC. Barbara Plett Usher.

QUESTION: Test, test. Mr. Secretary, on Turkey. The Turks are disputing your readout of the meeting you had with the Turkish foreign minister this week. So my question is: Have you made any progress in meetings this week on issues like the S-400s and northern Syria, or have things actually gotten worse?

And then I have another question about China. NATO allies have not followed U.S. requests to cut off Huawei. So do you think that that could become a risk for intelligence sharing and military communications in the alliance in the future?

SECRETARY POMPEO: So as for the first question, I reread – I saw the comments by my Turkish counterpart. I reread the readout of our meeting – spot on. Stand by every word of it.

QUESTION: Have you made any progress?

SECRETARY POMPEO: We are continuing to have conversations. I think the Turkish Government understands the American position quite clearly. I think I heard the Vice President speak to that yesterday as well. Our position hasn’t changed. There’s great opportunities for the United States and Turkey to work closely together, and I had a good, long conversation with my – with the Turkish foreign minister yesterday, and I am very confident we’ll find a path forward.

As for the risks associated with the installation of Chinese technology in systems related to security, there is undoubtedly the risk that NATO or the United States will not be able to share information in the same way it could if there were not Chinese systems inside of those networks, inside of those capabilities.

We’ve done our risk analysis in the United States; we have now shared that with our NATO partners, with countries all around the world. They understand the concerns – not our concerns, but the factual concerns associated with companies so deeply connected to their own government who would be willing to act at the behest of their government, the risk that that presents to information management. And we have made clear that if the risk exceeds the threshold for the United States, we simply won’t be able to share that information any longer. And our task is to do education, make sure they understand – every sovereign nation that will make its own decision, and then the United States will make its decision.

MR PALLADINO: Let’s go to Italy. La Stampa, Paolo Mastrolilli,

QUESTION: Thank you very much. Two questions. Today, the Libyan General Haftar order his troops to march on Tripoli. Did you discuss them, this issue in terms of the terroristic threats from the south? And the second question: Italy signed BRI Initiative with China. Do you consider that to be a threat to the interoperability of NATO?

SECRETARY POMPEO: So with respect to the first question, let me – I don’t have anything to add. We’re following closely what has been taking place there over the past weeks and months. We have been following the UN process, trying to do the best we can to be a positive force to deliver a good solution for the people of Libya and increase stability there, to be sure.

Second, as I said in response to the previous question, every country has to make its own decisions about how it wants to respond to Chinese debt-trap diplomacy or Chinese efforts to sell goods at below market. They clearly have a security component to the transaction. But each nation will make its own choices. Then the task falls to every other country to observe that, see what risk it presents to them if they begin to engage in those systems, in that infrastructure, that IT infrastructure or transportation infrastructure, and respond to that threat.

MR PALLADINO: Germany. DPA, Ansgar Haase.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Let me just add one thing to that. It is one thing to compete in an open, fair, transparent way. The United States is prepared to compete with our NATO allies, with China, with any country that shows up with a commercial transaction – a better mousetrap, a better idea – and compete with fair, reasonable, transparent transactions. It is a very different thing to engage in transactions that have a national security component to them. When a nation shows up and offers you goods that are well below market, one ought to ask what else is at play, why it was that that entity showed up with a deal that is literally too good to be true.

MR PALLADINO: DPA, please.

QUESTION: Thanks. Maren Hennemuth, DPA. The President and the Vice President have been quite clear that they want Germany to step up on defense spending. So – but according to the latest projection, they won’t even reach 1.5 percent in 2024. What concrete consequences is the U.S. considering if they don’t step up? Do you have any steps in mind, like withdrawing troops from Germany?

SECRETARY POMPEO: It’s important to step back just a bit. Remember that this notion of 2 percent isn’t made up. It wasn’t created by this administration in the United States; it wasn’t created by the previous administration in the United States. It was a commitment that every NATO ally agreed to in Wales. That includes Germany, who committed to that. So the promise that is being fulfilled is a promise that the German Government made. So we’re very hopeful, and we’re very hopeful that they will get it right, that they will understand that it is important for our collective defense, and we will urge them to continue to do so.

MR PALLADINO: Norway, Aftenposten. No?

Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: I just wanted to ask you, Secretary – I’m from Spain, from ABC. Did you manage to talk about Venezuela and the presence of Russian troops in Venezuela as a part of the meeting today, and what’s your position regarding those 100 soldiers that, according to Special Envoy Abrams, were calibrating a missile system?

SECRETARY POMPEO: We did talk about Venezuela. The American position was made clear by President Trump. They need to – they need to leave. And we talked about that. We talked about that in the context of Russian efforts all around the world, whether that’s efforts in Ukraine, the Russians’ continued malign activity in Syria. We talked about it in Venezuela, we talked about what they did in the Sea of Azov. In each case we are doing our best, collectively, to respond. In the case of Venezuela, the United States has its responses being prepared as well.

MR PALLADINO: Let’s do one more question. Sir, in the pink shirt back there. Please, yes.

QUESTION: Hello, my name is Farhad Pouladi. I’m with the Voice of America Persian Service. In your morning’s remark, you said NATO should seek peace through strength in era of great power competition from Russia, China, and Islamic Republic of Iran. So my question is this: What challenges the NATO and specifically U.S. is facing from regime in Tehran? Thank you.

SECRETARY POMPEO: The list is long, but let me speak about it in countries other – the risk to countries other than the United States. I have articulated the threat that we believe the Islamic Republic of Iran presents to our country. They are many. We’ve asked the Islamic Republic of Iran to simply behave like a normal nation, but give me – let me give you a concrete example.

Today there continues to be a concerted assassination effort, campaign, inside of Europe. We’ve seen it. You’ve seen European countries respond to this threat. This is real. This is – this isn’t something that was made up. This is an effort by the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran – the president, Rouhani, who’s the president of Iran, is permitting to take place, where they’re going to Europe and killing people on European soil. This is unacceptable in Western Europe. To allow something like this to happen is just unacceptable. We are working with our partners all around Europe to make sure we all have the right information placed in the right place at the right time to reduce this risk and reduce this threat.

But a second component of this is the deterrence effort, which is the undertaking that the United States is engaged in to reduce the capacity of the Islamic Republic of Iran to undertake precisely this kind of activity by sanctioning them in a way that forces them to have fewer resources so that they can create these risks around the world.

I’ll give you a second one we spent time on today. There are European foreign terrorist fighters sitting today in Iraq and in Syria that we now have to figure out a way to make sure do not return to the jihadi battlefield. The efforts that Iran is engaged in in Syria fundamentally make that problem set more difficult, as do Iranian Shia militias that are not under the control of the Iraqi Security Forces in Iraq. That malign activity by Iran makes Europe, NATO countries, less secure. We talked about those, we talked about how we would collectively seek to approach them to reduce the risk to NATO members.

Great, thank you all very much for being with me today.

MR PALLADINO: Thank you all. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

U.S. Department of State. April 5, 2019. Interview With Steve Doocy, Brian Kilmeade, and Ainsley Earhardt of Fox & Friends. Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State. New York City

QUESTION: Okay, there’s the President yesterday being very clear, we’re going to close the border in a year. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is here. He said unless they stop the flow of drugs and migrants, in a year we’re going to close the border maybe and – but we will start slapping tariffs. So it sounds like the President is giving them a little breathing room rather than closing it tomorrow.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah, Steve, I think that’s right. But make no mistake, Congress shouldn’t have any breathing room. We’ve got to change these laws. This is a real crisis at the border, not only the people – the tragic stories that you hear about folks coming across, the risk to security it presents. I think about this as the Secretary of State every day – the drugs that are coming across the border: fentanyl, opioids, other substances moving is a serious issue. President Trump is using every tool in his toolkit to try to stop this.

QUESTION: I’m sure you’re in communication with the administration down in Mexico. What are they saying? Are they saying they’re going to work with the President and they’re going to stop these migrants from crossing our border?

SECRETARY POMPEO: They are. They’re saying they’re going to do it.

QUESTION: They are? What are they going to do?

SECRETARY POMPEO: So we need to see action. So it’s one thing to talk about it, it’s one thing to say it. What we need to do is see not only that they have the will, which they have communicated to us they do; now we need to make sure they have the capacity. So we’ve worked with them to help them for years and years. We’ve provided lots of resources, not only to Mexico but to Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador as well. They need to get a handle on the situation in their countries. We’re happy to help them if they need technical assistance to do that, but it is going to be about their decision, and they have to do it, and if not, the President is going to ensure that we protect our nation.

QUESTION: If we can pivot over to Venezuela, you guys made the bold move to say the standing government under Maduro should not stand, and you have Guaido who says, “I’ll take over,” and you look at him as the rightful leader of that country. As it’s about to fall, in come the Russians again, like they did in Syria, and they’re propping up Maduro. Reports are that they’re bringing even more troops into that country. With the Russians there, Maduro stays. How do you stop this game? Because we saw the script already and it worked in Syria. How do you stop it from working in Venezuela?

SECRETARY POMPEO: This is our neighborhood. This is going to be fundamentally different. President Trump’s made very clear that we have an important national interest in ensuring that the Venezuelan people get the democracy that they deserve. This is – Brian, you know – a once-rich nation. We’re going to return them to that. And so I don’t want to talk about the options that we are working our way through, but the President was clear. The Russians must leave and the President has also been clear Maduro must go.

QUESTION: Right.

SECRETARY POMPEO: We’re working to deliver on each of those.

QUESTION: Have you spoke to Lavrov and was there – is there a shot across the bow to him, your counterpart in Russia? Because it’s really these two guys making all these decisions.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes.

QUESTION: Can you let me know how that – how did that conversation go? How would you describe it?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Direct. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: And do they – do they show any sign of budging? Because if their troops don’t move, then Maduro stays, and then we end up in a standoff and people suffer.

SECRETARY POMPEO: I haven’t seen any evidence that they’ve started to move out. Indeed, there’s risk that it will get worse before it gets better, but we’ve made very clear that the costs will be high. We’ve done the same thing with the Cubans, who are also there, helping Maduro stay in power. We’re working with the Chinese, who also have interests there. We’ve built out a coalition of now 50-plus countries that are working to make sure the Venezuelan people have the chance that they deserve.

QUESTION: Down in Central America, the Triangle countries – you mentioned them a moment ago – El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala. The President cut off aid to those countries officially.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes.

QUESTION: Have you heard from them?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes.

QUESTION: And?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes.

QUESTION: I’d imagine they were direct.

SECRETARY POMPEO: They’re – they’ve made commitments. They made commitments to the State Department and to DHS. We’ve seen them begin to marshal resources to try and take down the big piece of this, the caravans that are moving across, and we’ve seen them take real actions. I want to give them credit for that.

QUESTION: Like what?

SECRETARY POMPEO: They begin to put police on the streets, run checkpoints, put some security. Look, they have some limited capacity challenges too. Controlling one’s border is hard; we know that. But the first step is recognition that you have a problem and that American support is contingent on changes in your behavior.

QUESTION: So they’re doing more now --

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes.

QUESTION: -- than they did six months ago?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Six months, even as recently as two or three weeks ago.

QUESTION: Wow.

SECRETARY POMPEO: They’re doing more, but, Steve, there’s still more that they can do. They have this responsibility to ensure their folks do not flee across their borders.

QUESTION: Go ahead.

QUESTION: You got this award. It was the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation award for freeing these hostages, and then they decided to revoke the award. Is that bullying? How did you feel about that?

SECRETARY POMPEO: So first I want to say that President Trump has made an enormous priority getting hostages back. It was a blessing. I got to bring three --

QUESTION: Yeah.

SECRETARY POMPEO: -- folks back from North Korea. We brought back Pastor Brunson. Danny Burch just a few weeks ago from the Middle East. The list is long. The accomplishments we’ve had there are enormous. We’d been recognized by this organization for that good work. I was personally going to receive the award on behalf of the administration and the State Department and then --

QUESTION: But what happened?

SECRETARY POMPEO: They had announced it and then all of a sudden I wasn’t invited anymore, and it’s sad. I regret it because the work we’ve done --

QUESTION: Why did you get uninvited?

SECRETARY POMPEO: The – well, the return of hostages isn’t partisan. It’s not political.

QUESTION: Right.

SECRETARY POMPEO: This is an American – this is an American activity. We’ve worked with Democrat members of Congress on this. This is not partisan. And yet, it sounds like some in the media who were underwriting this event, sponsors for the event, said, “If Pompeo is there, we won’t be.” And I think that’s why the organization ultimately pulled --

QUESTION: Is it about money?

QUESTION: They took it away from you because they wanted to sell more tables?

SECRETARY POMPEO: You’ll have to talk to them about it. We don’t know. Here’s what I know: I was invited for the great work we’ve done. We continue to do great work. I had all of the hostage families out at the State Department on Tuesday of this week. It was quite – it was emotional, it was special. I wanted them to know what was on President Trump’s heart about getting these people back, and then we had this happen. It’s really unfortunate.

QUESTION: Well, and the reason they do it, they do not think you’ve been strong enough against Saudi Arabia about the murder of Khashoggi, and in fact, the House and Senate voted to stop supporting in any way we do the Saudis’ war in Yemen. But when you do that, that might be fine, but you’re actually giving Yemen to Iran. Do people know there’s – you might not like Saudi Arabia, but do you want to give Yemen to Iran? That’s what happens.

SECRETARY POMPEO: This has been the administration’s point all along. The true threat there in the region is the Islamic Republic of Iran. We don’t want to do things that benefit them. I regret – I don’t know, maybe it was because of they don’t think we’ve done enough with respect to Mr. Khashoggi. I actually think we’ve done a great deal and are prepared to do more. But make no mistake about it, regardless – Diane Foley, this organization – she’s a great lady. Her son was beheaded.

QUESTION: Yeah, of course. James Foley.

SECRETARY POMPEO: We love her dearly. And make no mistake, we will – regardless of the fact we were disinvited, we’re going to keep bringing Americans home.

QUESTION: Good.

QUESTION: Seventy years since NATO, and it’s time to celebrate that anniversary, and we know that they were here addressing a joint session of Congress, and the President said how much more money he’s brought into the organization. But there are signs of fraying in the middle when Italy goes and ignores us and goes and does a deal with China; when a lot of these Eastern European nations go to authoritarian rule, that doesn’t look good; and when you have Turkey decide I want the Russian system instead of F-35s from America, that’s not good. Are you worried about the foundation of the world’s longest alliance?

SECRETARY POMPEO: I’m not worried about it at its core, but I am worried about this: its collective defense. That means each of those countries has to contribute in a substantial way to the collective defense, and that’s what we talked about when they were all in Washington this week to celebrate 70 amazing years of work. They need – the European countries need to do more. When we see countries like Turkey make a decision to buy an important, significant, not just – not just AK-47s but a significant, complex Russian system, that doesn’t work, and we’re doing everything we can to convince them that they ought not complete that transaction.

QUESTION: And you think you’re making progress with Italy not – getting them not to do this China deal and making progress with Turkey not to do this Russian deal?

SECRETARY POMPEO: I think we’re making progress in each place, but at the end of the day, these countries will have to make their decisions and then the United States will make ours.

QUESTION: All right. Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for being with us. What an honor.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you very much. Thank you all.

QUESTION: Okay.

U.S. Department of State. April 5, 2019. Interview With Maria Bartiromo of Mornings With Maria on Fox Business Network. Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State. New York City

QUESTION: Joining me right now in a first-on-Fox interview is the Secretary of State of the United States, Mike Pompeo. Mr. Secretary, it’s always a pleasure to see you.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Great to be with you this morning, Maria.

QUESTION: Thank you so much for joining us. The IP theft issue is something we’ve spoken about before. How do you change something that’s really engrained in a country’s culture? Do you think the U.S. is going to be able to come up with some kind of an enforcement mechanism to put in place so that the Chinese keep their promises of not stealing from the West?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah, Maria, this is a challenge. It’s why the negotiations have taken as long as they have, and why we’re not complete yet. President Trump has, for the first time, called out China for this theft of intellectual property, hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars stolen by the Chinese over the past decades. President Trump is addressing it. The work that’s being done is about this enforcement mechanism. What is it you do if they don’t live up to the word? We’ve seen the Chinese enter into deals before where they didn’t follow through. And the mission that Secretary Mnuchin, Ambassador Lighthizer have is to get this deal done in a way that, after the deal is done, after the signing ceremony, American companies can count on the fact they can do business in China without substantial risk their IP will be stolen, and if it is, they will have a tool to recover for that loss.

QUESTION: And that’s why the President has been using tariffs as the leverage.

SECRETARY POMPEO: As a proxy, as leverage, yes, to get them to come to the table and take seriously this fundamental obligation for engaging in commerce with the American business community and with American citizens.

QUESTION: And there’s more to it. I mean, we’re trying to do a deal with a country that is just absolutely the opposite of our culture, right, I mean, when you look at the human rights abuses, for example, in China. Talk to us a bit about this police state that they have created in terms of, for example, rounding up Chinese Muslims. They’re saying that it’s for vocational training, and yet there are officers with guns and barbed wire around these vocational training centers for Muslims.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Maria, there’s a long history of China not abiding by its constitution, which says people can practice their faith, in China’s own constitution. And yet today, they’ve rounded up close to a million Muslims, Uighurs, in one part of their country, treating them horribly. They say they’re reeducation camps, but they, frankly, won’t let people in to see what’s truly going on there – very limited access to this. I met with four Uighurs last week in my office. One of them --

QUESTION: These are survivors of these camps or whatever they call them.

SECRETARY POMPEO: These are – some of them were survivors, some of them have family members in those camps. One of them, after our meeting, had his aunt and uncle rounded up and taken to a camp in China. This is the kind of thing that they do to impact his behavior, his – he’s here in America – to impact his behavior here in America. It’s unacceptable. They need to let this aunt and uncle – his mother is in a camp as well. She needs to get her U.S. passport back. This kind of behavior, these human rights abuses, are tragic, they’re historic, and President Trump is taking on each of these challenges.

QUESTION: So is this part of the discussions in terms of this near-term trade deal? What’s the discussion with the Chinese in terms of the broader issues, not necessarily a quid pro quo on a trade deal?

SECRETARY POMPEO: So the trade deal has its own conversation, its own dialogue that’s taking place, but it’s against the background of all of these other broader issues: issues with China’s use of technology in ways that will fundamentally put Americans at risk, this technology from Huawei that is now being put in place all across the world. It’s a company that’s very close to the Chinese Government and will do what the Chinese Government asks it to do. And so we have sounded the alarm urging nations, security apparatuses from around the world, not to put this technology. And the challenges with China are manifold, and we’re approaching each of them, sometimes in separate silos, but often as part of a broader conversation with China, asking them to engage in trade and conduct and human rights, and human rights activities that are consistent with the values that Americans hold dear.

QUESTION: Yeah, and when you came back from your Europe trip, which was really an important trip, when you were in Poland, we talked about this and how you were getting a little pushback from the European nations. You broke news on this program when you said, look, we will be forced to share less information with those countries that are using Huawei telecom. What’s your take on what Italy has done, signing a memorandum of understanding with China? I understand that may not include technology in telecom. What’s your take on China’s relationship with Italy?

SECRETARY POMPEO: So I was with the Italian foreign minister yesterday. He was in town for the celebration of NATO’s 70th anniversary, and we had a conversation about this. I think each of the European countries, including Italy, is working its way through this problem set. I think they now have become aware of the risk to their own people, not only directly from the technology but the risk that America won’t be able to work as closely with them, something they often count on and depend upon. I think what we’ll see is we’ll see European countries begin to take this threat very seriously, and I think we’ll make real progress at protecting citizens around the world from the threat of a Chinese surveillance state, Chinese technology inside of these networks.

QUESTION: Look, I mean, the world wants to get into China. We know that, right. 1.4 billion people, they want a chance to sell to their – to those consumers, but there are real risks here. So is that understanding – that partnership between Italy and China, does that exclude telecom? Does that exclude technology?

SECRETARY POMPEO: So I don’t know the details of what’s in their agreement.

QUESTION: Okay.

SECRETARY POMPEO: It is the case, Maria – we want to trade with China too.

QUESTION: Yeah, exactly.

SECRETARY POMPEO: I want Americans businesses to thrive and flourish and engage in commerce. We have deep economic relationships with them that are of real value to American consumers. This is what President Trump’s trade negotiations are about. He wants that to be fair; he wants that to be reciprocal. He wants American businesses to have a fair shake when we deal with China, not have to worry that if they do a deal, they’re going to give up the seed corn of their business.

QUESTION: The President made a big deal of the fentanyl agreement with the Chinese, that they are going to promise that they’re going to classify all classes of fentanyl. Let’s watch this closely and tell me what your thoughts are here, because I guess there was one issue that the Chinese say that fentanyl is used in a lot of things, including fertilizer. How do you make sure that fentanyl is not coming over the border, because isn’t this the synthetic precursor for opioids?

SECRETARY POMPEO: It is. This is a very important issue. The commitment that President Xi made to Trump was a very important commitment. Now China needs to follow through on it. We’ve seen some progress, some administrative progress inside of China. We hope they’ll deliver on this. The President’s down at the border today. One of the elements of the crisis that’s down there – we see it in the human suffering that takes place along the border that President Trump is so focused on – but he’s also focused on narcotics, drugs that are coming across the country. This fentanyl that comes from China often is trafficked through Mexico across that very border. It’s one more reason we have to get control of the crisis that’s at our border today.

QUESTION: Yeah, let me ask you about the border, because the President is planning to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to these three Central American countries in retaliation for what he’s calling their lack of help in cutting the flow of migrants to the U.S. border. What’s your take on this? I mean, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, already very weak countries. Foreign assistance programs are critical for them. Is this going to work? Is this another threat or how significant is this?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Maria, many of the illegal crossers today, those who are coming across our border illegally today, are coming from the three Northern Triangle countries, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. We’ve been working with those countries. State Department, DHS have been working with those countries. There are two pieces to their effort. One is will – are they willing to help us? Are they willing to stop people from leaving the country? The second is capacity. We’ve given them hundreds of millions of dollars over the past years to create the capacity for them to do so. They have not demonstrated the will, the willingness to actually engage in stopping these caravans from coming across their border.

Our mission, by telling them that this aid will be conditioned on the change in their behavior, is to convince them that they ought to have the will, that they need to try, they need to work at it. We’ll work with them to build out their capacity to do so, but we have not yet seen enough demonstration of their commitment to actually preventing these folks from crossing into Mexico and making this dangerous trek across Mexico, and then coming unlawfully into the United States.

QUESTION: Well, there are a lot of pushback around this from the administration because the number of apprehensions are soaring. Why has the number increased so much? Is the word getting out that the --

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah.

QUESTION: -- U.S. has porous borders, let’s go there now and let’s make believe we’re families?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah, I think it’s always about incentives, right? What’s the risk, what’s the cost, and then what’s the opportunity when they come into the United States? What’s their opportunity versus what they’re facing wherever it is they live, whether that’s in Mexico or in the Northern Triangle? Mexico tried to keep them in Mexico by providing some forms of visas. I think that created a further incentive for them to leave Guatemala or Honduras or El Salvador and go to Mexico, and then they realized they wanted to make the transit into the United States.

We have to stop that. We have to control our border. President Trump’s going to go down there today and talk about the tools that we have at our disposal to do that. What we ultimately need is Congress to change the laws so that we can return these individuals who aren’t here properly under asylum back to the country from which they came.

QUESTION: Yeah, the President’s using every leverage point that he can, and I get that. He’s talking now about tariffs on cars coming out of Mexico, but does that contradict with the USMCA deal? I mean, we had Senator Capito here earlier – Capito, rather, pardon me – and she said, look, I’m going to support this deal, but I know that a lot of Democrats have come on this program and said we’re not going to support it. Now the President’s talking about new tariffs on cars coming out of Mexico.

SECRETARY POMPEO: We are trying to create the conditions at the border that will keep Americans safe, that will reassert American sovereignty along our southern border and the President’s using every tool in his kit. He’s also trying to convince Congress to take this threat seriously. We’re now seeing members of Congress from both sides of the aisle acknowledge the crisis, acknowledge that we are now in the thousands of people coming across that border each day with narcotics and trafficking in persons also coming across that border.

What we need Congress – once they’ve recognized there’s a crisis, we need them to change. These are simple changes to the law. They could do them today. They need to move. It’s time. This crisis – the American people aren’t going to stand for this and President Trump is using every tool in his kit to try and change the incentives, change the behavior so that we can reduce the risk here in the United States.

QUESTION: He sure is, and the President is also using the tariffs threat quite effectively with the Chinese. Do you expect that the President will likely leave those tariffs in place that are currently there for China?

SECRETARY POMPEO: I think he’s hoping what he gets is a real deal, an enforceable deal along not just the amount of trade to make that fair and reciprocal, an important component, but also to protect from illegal theft of intellectual property, technology transfer that is forced. If he gets that size of a deal, I’m confident the President will say that’s fair. Our tariffs are equal, we’re operating in a reciprocal trading arrangement, let’s go and compete and have a great relationship commercially between our two countries.

QUESTION: On the IP theft, the White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow this week said that China is finally acknowledging the issues around intellectual property theft. This is the first time they’re doing this, I think so, because they were consistently denying that they were even stealing, right?

SECRETARY POMPEO: It’s a good first step. It doesn’t seem like much --

QUESTION: Right.

SECRETARY POMPEO: -- to you and I to acknowledge something that is patently true that we’ve known about for decades but no president was prepared to take on. But yes, their acknowledgment that there is a problem that this is happening is a good first step because absent that, if they don’t understand what’s happening, won’t acknowledge that, then it’s really hard to fix and it is impossible to enforce. And so they have made real progress. There’s still work to do. It’s why the President said yesterday we don’t have a time just set to resolve this, but the team is hard at work and we hope China’s negotiating in good faith to get to the right resolution.

QUESTION: How worried are you about the agricultural situation and the fact that there’s swine flu going on there, the fact that China produces and consumes 50 percent of the world’s pork and yet 20 percent of their hogs are diseased?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah, it’s a real challenge for China. They have real risk that they’ll have a supply shortfall. We hope we get an opportunity to sell good old Iowa hogs and hogs from the United States of America into this.

QUESTION: Yeah, I think they’ve got 100 million dead hogs to dispose of.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah.

QUESTION: It’s pretty extraordinary. Mr. Secretary, I want you to stay with us because you have been doing such an incredible job across the world. You said at the start of your term you wanted to get the State Department’s swagger back. You certainly have and yet one group is dissing you this morning. We’re going to come back and talk about that.

More with Secretary Mike Pompeo when we come right back. Stay with us.

(Break.)

QUESTION: Welcome back, and back with me in a first-on-Fox interview is the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. And Mr. Secretary, I was thinking about this yesterday. China has 1.4 billion people. The U.S. is 320 million or something. I mean, it’s a much larger country. They want to be number one. They’ve got their Belt and Road Initiative. Is it just a matter of time that China will be running the world, China will overtake the United States in a number of areas?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Maria, I don’t remotely believe that.

QUESTION: No? Okay.

SECRETARY POMPEO: It depends on decisions we make. Are we prepared to engage with them, confront them when they behave in ways that are malign? Are we prepared to do the things we need to do at home? President Trump has reduced regulations, allowed our economy to grow, all the things that create wealth for the United States. Are we prepared to underwrite our military the way President Trump has so that we can keep our country secure?

If we do those things, we will have partners around the world who want to be part of Western values, who want to be part of our democracy. They live in a nation with a very different value set. I am bullish on America. If you’re betting, you should bet on us.

QUESTION: Yeah, I would bet on America too. Even as the Chinese are putting military bases across the world, we have the strongest and best military in the world --

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes, ma’am, no doubt about it.

QUESTION: -- on the planet. Look, you’re doing so much, Mr. Secretary, and we can’t even get into every issue today from Russia, to ISIS, to across the world, Venezuela. And because of all of this, the world thanks you for your efforts and how hard you’re working. You were honored with the James W. Foley American Hostage Freedom Award, and earlier this week, they are basically taking the award back. They are saying the freedom award that was given to you is going to be taken back. It was named for the journalist beheaded in 2014, but it’s because of complaints from media critics of the administration prompting this hostage rights group to withdraw this historic freedom award. What do you say to that?

SECRETARY POMPEO: So it was very unfortunate. I was set to receive an award on behalf of the State Department, the good work that this administration has done to bring back hostages. We work on this issue every day and we’ve brought back now almost two dozen Americans who were detained. Those families – I was with them. I had a big group of families, families whose children had not been returned, families whose children were still detained, and then a group from 1979 of people who had been held by the Iranians back when our embassy was captured in 1979. We work on this every day to get every American back. President Trump is so focused on this. And so I was very proud that President Trump’s work and the work that the State Department had done was going to be recognized with this award. I regret that there was pressure applied by the media for that award to be withdrawn.

QUESTION: As soon as it was announced, then it’s withdrawn. What did they say to you in terms of why they’re pulling this award?

SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah, I don’t know the details of what took place, but I think the moderator didn’t want to be around this administration. I think some of the folks who were underwriting the dinner didn’t want to be part of it. From my perspective, I just regret it. Diane Foley, who runs this organization, had her son beheaded, and she has worked so hard on behalf of getting Americans home to continue to give back to this nation. I just so regret this took place. The work that this administration has done will continue.

Award or no award, we’re going to keep working at this problem, and every family out there today that has one of their family members detained should know that the United States is hard at work, even as I sit here, to get them back. Whether it is Bob Levinson, who’s the longest-held person in Iran, or any of the others, we’re going to work to get them back and I am confident we’ll be successful.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, thank you for all of your work.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you, Maria.

QUESTION: We appreciate you joining us this morning. That was really an injustice to you. Secretary Mike Pompeo joining us there.

U.S. Department of State. April 5, 2019. Signing of Protecting Power Arrangement for the United States in Venezuela

Washington, DC - The United States and Switzerland reached an arrangement on April 5, 2019 regarding the Swiss acting as a protecting power for U.S. interests in Venezuela.

Until further notice that the arrangement is operative, the Swiss will not be able to provide services. Where possible, U.S. citizens in Venezuela who require emergency assistance should continue to visit the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate in another country.

We continue to warn U.S. citizens against travel to Venezuela and urge remaining U.S. citizens to leave Venezuela immediately. U.S. citizens who decide to remain in Venezuela should enroll their travel plans in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP.state.gov) so they can receive timely security alerts and other important updates to our public information on Venezuela.

The United States extends our deepest appreciation to the Swiss for offering to undertake this important function and assist U.S. citizens on our behalf.

U.S. Department of State. April 5, 2019. The United States Sanctions Companies Enabling Shipment of Venezuelan Oil to Cuba

Washington, DC - Today, the United States sanctioned two companies, Ballito Bay Shipping Inc. and ProPer in Management Inc., operating in Venezuela’s oil sector and the vessel Despina Andrianna used to transport oil to Cuba. Additional vessels, in which Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA has interests, are being identified as blocked property, pursuant to Executive Order 13850. These actions target entities and vessels that have been enabling the former Maduro regime to continue undermine the prosperity and democracy that Venezuelans deserve.

The former Maduro regime continues to line its pockets with the profits from natural resources that properly belong to the people of Venezuela. Meanwhile, Cuba is propping up the former regime and facilitating its repression of the Venezuelan people, through its military and intelligence support to Maduro.

The United States is taking action to curtail this and other ongoing corrupt activities of Nicolas Maduro and malign actors. We encourage companies, banks, and other institutions to refrain from providing services that support his repressive practices. We also urge countries to take appropriate legal measures to deprive Maduro and his cronies of assets held overseas and to prevent travel to their countries.

We will continue to use the full weight of U.S. economic and diplomatic power to complete the peaceful transition to a once-again free, prosperous and stable Venezuela.

U.S. Department of the Treasury. 04/05/2019. Treasury Sanctions Companies Operating in the Oil Sector of the Venezuelan Economy and Transporting Oil to Cuba

Washington – Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated two companies operating in the oil sector of the Venezuelan economy, pursuant to E.O. 13850, as amended.  Additionally, OFAC identified one vessel, which transported oil from Venezuela to Cuba, as blocked property that is owned by one of these companies.  Separately, OFAC is also identifying 34 vessels as blocked property of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), which was designated on January 28, 2019, for operating in the oil sector of the Venezuelan economy.  The United States continues to take strong action against the illegitimate regime of former President Nicolas Maduro, not only to isolate corrupt Venezuelan enterprises, but also to target Maduro’s supporters in Havana who continue to enable the oppression of the people of Venezuela.

“Cuba has been an underlying force fueling Venezuela’s descent into crisis.  Treasury is taking action against vessels and entities transporting oil, providing a lifeline to keep the illegitimate Maduro regime afloat,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin.  “Cuba continues to profit from, and prop up, the illegitimate Maduro regime through oil-for-repression schemes as they attempt to keep Maduro in power.  The United States remains committed to a transition to democracy in Venezuela and to holding the Cuban regime accountable for its direct involvement in Venezuela’s demise.”

The relationship between Cuba and Venezuela hinges on a two-decade long political, security, and economic alliance, particularly given Cuba’s reliance on a barter system for Venezuelan oil imports.  Cuba is a major importer of crude oil from Venezuela, and in return, sends assistance to Venezuela in the form of political advisors, intelligence and military officials, and medical professionals, all of whom are used to ensure Maduro’s hold on power and complete social control over the people of Venezuela.  Cuba’s influence has contributed to Venezuela’s failure.  Maduro continues to send aid to Cuba as Venezuelans suffer from a deepening humanitarian crisis while denying entry to food, medicine, and other supplies provided by the United States and our allies and partners.

Today’s action sheds light on the lifeline that Venezuela’s oil industry provides to the illegitimate regime of former President Maduro, targeting two companies that operate in the oil sector of the Venezuelan economy, delivering oil to Cuba on the vessel, Despina Andrianna:

• Despina Andrianna is a crude oil tanker (IMO: 9182667) that delivered crude oil from Venezuela to Cuba during February and March of 2019.
• Ballito Bay Shipping Incorporated is based in Monrovia, Liberia, and is the registered owner of the vessel, Despina Andrianna.
• ProPer In Management Incorporated is based in the port city of Piraeus, Athens, Greece, and is the operator of the vessel, Despina Andrianna.

Additionally, OFAC identified the following 34 vessels as blocked property as PdVSA has an interest in such vessels:

• AMAPOLA 1
• AMUAY
• BICENTENARIO I
• BICENTENARIO II
• BICENTENARIO III
• BICENTENARIO IV
• BICENTENARIO V
• BICENTENARIO VI
• BICENTENARIO VII
• BICENTENARIO VIII
• BICENTENARIO IX
• BICENTENARIO X
• BICENTENARIO XI
• BICENTENARIO XII
• BICENTENARIO XIII
• BICENTENARIO XIV
• BICENTENARIO XV
• BICENTENARIO XVI
• CARIBE
• CAYAURIMA
• CUMANAGOTO
• GARDENIA
• GP-21
• GP-23
• JAZMIN
• L-409
• MANAURE
• MARA
• MARGARITA 1
• PDVSA CARDON
• SABANETA
• TRIBILIN
• URDANETA
• YORACO

For information about the methods that Venezuelan senior political figures, their associates, and front persons use to move and hide corrupt proceeds, including how they try to exploit the U.S. financial system and real estate market, please refer to Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) advisories FIN-2017-A006, “Advisory on Widespread Public Corruption in Venezuela,” and FIN-2017-A003, “Advisory to Financial Institutions and Real Estate Firms and Professionals.”

As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of these entities, and of any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by the designated entities, that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.  OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all dealings by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked or designated persons.

U.S. sanctions need not be permanent; sanctions are intended to bring about a positive change of behavior.  The United States has made clear that the removal of sanctions is available for persons designated under E.O. 13692 or E.O. 13850, both as amended, who take concrete and meaningful actions to restore democratic order, refuse to take part in human rights abuses, speak out against abuses committed by the Maduro regime, and combat corruption in Venezuela.

Venezuela-related Designations, Designations Updates, and Designations Removals. OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL. Specially Designated Nationals List Update

The following individual has been added to OFAC's SDN List:

PERDOMO MATA, Adrian Antonio, Miranda, Venezuela; DOB 16 Sep 1969; Gender Male; Cedula No. 10540241 (Venezuela) (individual) [VENEZUELA-EO13850].

The following entity has been added to OFAC's SDN List:

MINERVEN (a.k.a. COMPANIA GENERAL DE MINERIA DE VENEZUELA; a.k.a. CORPORACION VENEZOLANA DE GUAYANA MINERVEN C.A.; a.k.a. CVG COMPANIA GENERAL DE MINERIA DE VENEZUELA CA; a.k.a. CVG MINERVEN), Via principal Carapal, El Callao, Bolivar, Venezuela; Zona Industrial Caratal, El Callao, Bolivar, Venezuela; National ID No. J006985970 (Venezuela) [VENEZUELA-EO13850].

The following deletions have been made to OFAC's SDN List:

PERDOMO ROSALES, Maria Alexandra (a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Maria A; a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Maria Alejandra; a.k.a. PERDOMO, Maria Alexandra; a.k.a. PERDOMO-ROSALES, Maria), 144 Isla Dorada Blvd., Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; 4100 Salzedo Street, Apt 1010, Miami, FL 33146, United States; DOB 25 Mar 1972; citizen Venezuela; Gender Female; Cedula No. 10538067 (Venezuela); Passport 135278046 (Venezuela) expires 14 Oct 2020; alt. Passport 079280833 (Venezuela) expires 22 Oct 2018; alt. Passport 018516885 (Venezuela) expires 04 Dec 2013 (individual) [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: GORRIN BELISARIO, Raul).

PERDOMO, Maria Alexandra (a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Maria A; a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Maria Alejandra; a.k.a. PERDOMO ROSALES, Maria Alexandra; a.k.a. PERDOMO-ROSALES, Maria), 144 Isla Dorada Blvd., Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; 4100 Salzedo Street, Apt 1010, Miami, FL 33146, United States; DOB 25 Mar 1972; citizen Venezuela; Gender Female; Cedula No. 10538067 (Venezuela); Passport 135278046 (Venezuela) expires 14 Oct 2020; alt. Passport 079280833 (Venezuela) expires 22 Oct 2018; alt. Passport 018516885 (Venezuela) expires 04 Dec 2013 (individual) [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: GORRIN BELISARIO, Raul).

PERDOMO-ROSALES, Maria (a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Maria A; a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Maria Alejandra; a.k.a. PERDOMO ROSALES, Maria Alexandra; a.k.a. PERDOMO, Maria Alexandra), 144 Isla Dorada Blvd., Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; 4100 Salzedo Street, Apt 1010, Miami, FL 33146, United States; DOB 25 Mar 1972; citizen Venezuela; Gender Female; Cedula No. 10538067 (Venezuela); Passport 135278046 (Venezuela) expires 14 Oct 2020; alt. Passport 079280833 (Venezuela) expires 22 Oct 2018; alt. Passport 018516885 (Venezuela) expires 04 Dec 2013 (individual) [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: GORRIN BELISARIO, Raul).

DE PERDOMO, Maria A (a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Maria Alejandra; a.k.a. PERDOMO ROSALES, Maria Alexandra; a.k.a. PERDOMO, Maria Alexandra; a.k.a. PERDOMO-ROSALES, Maria), 144 Isla Dorada Blvd., Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; 4100 Salzedo Street, Apt 1010, Miami, FL 33146, United States; DOB 25 Mar 1972; citizen Venezuela; Gender Female; Cedula No. 10538067 (Venezuela); Passport 135278046 (Venezuela) expires 14 Oct 2020; alt. Passport 079280833 (Venezuela) expires 22 Oct 2018; alt. Passport 018516885 (Venezuela) expires 04 Dec 2013 (individual) [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: GORRIN BELISARIO, Raul).

DE PERDOMO, Maria Alejandra (a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Maria A; a.k.a. PERDOMO ROSALES, Maria Alexandra; a.k.a. PERDOMO, Maria Alexandra; a.k.a. PERDOMO-ROSALES, Maria), 144 Isla Dorada Blvd., Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; 4100 Salzedo Street, Apt 1010, Miami, FL 33146, United States; DOB 25 Mar 1972; citizen Venezuela; Gender Female; Cedula No. 10538067 (Venezuela); Passport 135278046 (Venezuela) expires 14 Oct 2020; alt. Passport 079280833 (Venezuela) expires 22 Oct 2018; alt. Passport 018516885 (Venezuela) expires 04 Dec 2013 (individual) [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: GORRIN BELISARIO, Raul).

TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela Antonina (a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Mayela T; a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Mayela Tarascio; a.k.a. TARASCIO DE PERDOMO, Mayela A; a.k.a. TARASCIO DE PERDOMO, Mayela Antonina; a.k.a. TARASCIO, Mayela; a.k.a. TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela), 4100 Salzedo St., Unit 804, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; DOB 20 Feb 1985; citizen Venezuela; Gender Female; Passport 083111668 (Venezuela) expires 28 Jan 2019; alt. Passport 023639818 (Venezuela) expires 13 Jun 2014; alt. Passport C1453352 (Venezuela) expires 02 Nov 2009 (individual) [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Gustavo Adolfo).

TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela (a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Mayela T; a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Mayela Tarascio; a.k.a. TARASCIO DE PERDOMO, Mayela A; a.k.a. TARASCIO DE PERDOMO, Mayela Antonina; a.k.a. TARASCIO, Mayela; a.k.a. TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela Antonina), 4100 Salzedo St., Unit 804, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; DOB 20 Feb 1985; citizen Venezuela; Gender Female; Passport 083111668 (Venezuela) expires 28 Jan 2019; alt. Passport 023639818 (Venezuela) expires 13 Jun 2014; alt. Passport C1453352 (Venezuela) expires 02 Nov 2009 (individual) [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Gustavo Adolfo).

TARASCIO, Mayela (a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Mayela T; a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Mayela Tarascio; a.k.a. TARASCIO DE PERDOMO, Mayela A; a.k.a. TARASCIO DE PERDOMO, Mayela Antonina; a.k.a. TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela; a.k.a. TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela Antonina), 4100 Salzedo St., Unit 804, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; DOB 20 Feb 1985; citizen Venezuela; Gender Female; Passport 083111668 (Venezuela) expires 28 Jan 2019; alt. Passport 023639818 (Venezuela) expires 13 Jun 2014; alt. Passport C1453352 (Venezuela) expires 02 Nov 2009 (individual) [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Gustavo Adolfo).

DE PERDOMO, Mayela T (a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Mayela Tarascio; a.k.a. TARASCIO DE PERDOMO, Mayela A; a.k.a. TARASCIO DE PERDOMO, Mayela Antonina; a.k.a. TARASCIO, Mayela; a.k.a. TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela; a.k.a. TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela Antonina), 4100 Salzedo St., Unit 804, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; DOB 20 Feb 1985; citizen Venezuela; Gender Female; Passport 083111668 (Venezuela) expires 28 Jan 2019; alt. Passport 023639818 (Venezuela) expires 13 Jun 2014; alt. Passport C1453352 (Venezuela) expires 02 Nov 2009 (individual) [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Gustavo Adolfo).

TARASCIO DE PERDOMO, Mayela A (a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Mayela T; a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Mayela Tarascio; a.k.a. TARASCIO DE PERDOMO, Mayela Antonina; a.k.a. TARASCIO, Mayela; a.k.a. TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela; a.k.a. TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela Antonina), 4100 Salzedo St., Unit 804, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; DOB 20 Feb 1985; citizen Venezuela; Gender Female; Passport 083111668 (Venezuela) expires 28 Jan 2019; alt. Passport 023639818 (Venezuela) expires 13 Jun 2014; alt. Passport C1453352 (Venezuela) expires 02 Nov 2009 (individual) [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Gustavo Adolfo).

TARASCIO DE PERDOMO, Mayela Antonina (a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Mayela T; a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Mayela Tarascio; a.k.a. TARASCIO DE PERDOMO, Mayela A; a.k.a. TARASCIO, Mayela; a.k.a. TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela; a.k.a. TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela Antonina), 4100 Salzedo St., Unit 804, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; DOB 20 Feb 1985; citizen Venezuela; Gender Female; Passport 083111668 (Venezuela) expires 28 Jan 2019; alt. Passport 023639818 (Venezuela) expires 13 Jun 2014; alt. Passport C1453352 (Venezuela) expires 02 Nov 2009 (individual) [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Gustavo Adolfo).

DE PERDOMO, Mayela Tarascio (a.k.a. DE PERDOMO, Mayela T; a.k.a. TARASCIO DE PERDOMO, Mayela A; a.k.a. TARASCIO DE PERDOMO, Mayela Antonina; a.k.a. TARASCIO, Mayela; a.k.a. TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela; a.k.a. TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela Antonina), 4100 Salzedo St., Unit 804, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; DOB 20 Feb 1985; citizen Venezuela; Gender Female; Passport 083111668 (Venezuela) expires 28 Jan 2019; alt. Passport 023639818 (Venezuela) expires 13 Jun 2014; alt. Passport C1453352 (Venezuela) expires 02 Nov 2009 (individual) [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Gustavo Adolfo).

The following changes have been made to OFAC's SDN List:

CONSTELLO INC., Saint Kitts and Nevis [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela Antonina; Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Gustavo Adolfo). -to- CONSTELLO INC., Saint Kitts and Nevis [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Gustavo Adolfo).

CONSTELLO NO. 1 CORPORATION, 4100 Salzedo Street, Unit 804, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; DE, United States [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela Antonina; Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Gustavo Adolfo). -to- CONSTELLO NO. 1 CORPORATION, 4100 Salzedo Street, Unit 804, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; DE, United States [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Gustavo Adolfo).

MAGUS HOLDINGS USA, CORP., 4100 Salzedo St., Unit 804, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Gustavo Adolfo; Linked To: TARASCIO-PEREZ, Mayela Antonina). -to- MAGUS HOLDINGS USA, CORP., 4100 Salzedo St., Unit 804, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Gustavo Adolfo).

RIM GROUP INVESTMENTS I CORP., 4100 Salzedo Street, Apt 1010, Miami, FL 33146, United States; 4100 Salzedo Street, Unit 608, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; 4100 Salzedo Street, Unit 807, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: GORRIN BELISARIO, Raul; Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Maria Alexandra). -to- RIM GROUP INVESTMENTS I CORP., 4100 Salzedo Street, Apt 1010, Miami, FL 33146, United States; 4100 Salzedo Street, Unit 608, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; 4100 Salzedo Street, Unit 807, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: GORRIN BELISARIO, Raul).

RIM GROUP INVESTMENTS II CORP., 4100 Salzedo Street, Apt 1010, Miami, FL 33146, United States; 4100 Salzedo Street, Unit 813, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; 4100 Salzedo Street, Unit 913, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: GORRIN BELISARIO, Raul; Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Maria Alexandra). -to- RIM GROUP INVESTMENTS II CORP., 4100 Salzedo Street, Apt 1010, Miami, FL 33146, United States; 4100 Salzedo Street, Unit 813, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States; 4100 Salzedo Street, Unit 913, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: GORRIN BELISARIO, Raul).

RIM GROUP INVESTMENTS III CORP., 4100 Salzedo Street, Apt 1010, Miami, FL 33146, United States; 144 Isla Dorada Blvd., Coral Gables, FL 33143, United States [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: GORRIN BELISARIO, Raul; Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Maria Alexandra). -to- RIM GROUP INVESTMENTS III CORP., 4100 Salzedo Street, Apt 1010, Miami, FL 33146, United States; 144 Isla Dorada Blvd., Coral Gables, FL 33143, United States [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: GORRIN BELISARIO, Raul).

RIM GROUP INVESTMENTS, CORP., 4100 Salzedo Street, Apt 1010, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: GORRIN BELISARIO, Raul; Linked To: PERDOMO ROSALES, Maria Alexandra). -to- RIM GROUP INVESTMENTS, CORP., 4100 Salzedo Street, Apt 1010, Coral Gables, FL 33146, United States [VENEZUELA-EO13850] (Linked To: GORRIN BELISARIO, Raul).

EMPLOYMENT

DoL. BLS. April 5, 2019. THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- MARCH 2019

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 196,000 in March, and the
unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.8 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Notable job gains occurred in health care and
in professional and technical services.

This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household
survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic
characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours,
and earnings by industry. For more information about the concepts and
statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical Note.

Household Survey Data

The unemployment rate remained at 3.8 percent in March, and the number of
unemployed persons was essentially unchanged at 6.2 million. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men
(3.6 percent), adult women (3.3 percent), teenagers (12.8 percent), Whites
(3.4 percent), Blacks (6.7 percent), Asians (3.1 percent), and Hispanics
(4.7 percent) showed little or no change in March. (See tables A-1, A-2,
and A-3.)

In March, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks
or more) was essentially unchanged at 1.3 million and accounted for 21.1
percent of the unemployed. (See table A-12.)

The labor force participation rate, at 63.0 percent, was little changed
over the month and has shown little movement on net over the past 12 months.
The employment-population ratio was 60.6 percent in March and has been
either 60.6 percent or 60.7 percent since October 2018. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes
referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was little changed at 4.5
million in March. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time
employment, were working part time because their hours had been reduced
or they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-8.)

In March, 1.4 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force,
little different from a year earlier. (Data are not seasonally adjusted.)
These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available
for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They
were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in
the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See table A-16.)

Among the marginally attached, there were 412,000 discouraged workers in
March, about unchanged from a year earlier. (Data are not seasonally
adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work
because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 944,000
persons marginally attached to the labor force in March had not searched
for work for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.
(See table A-16.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 196,000 in March, with notable
gains in health care and in professional and technical services. Employment
growth averaged 180,000 per month in the first quarter of 2019, compared
with 223,000 per month in 2018. (See table B-1.)

Health care added 49,000 jobs in March and 398,000 over the past 12 months.
Over the month, employment increased in ambulatory health care services (+27,000),
hospitals (+14,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000). 

Employment in professional and technical services grew by 34,000 in March
and 311,000 over the past 12 months. In March, computer systems design and
related services added 12,000 jobs. Employment continued to trend up in
architectural and engineering services (+6,000) and in management and technical
consulting services (+6,000).

In March, employment in food services and drinking places continued its
upward trend (+27,000), in line with its average monthly gain over the prior
12 months. 

Employment in construction showed little change in March (+16,000) but has
increased by 246,000 over the past 12 months.

Manufacturing employment changed little for the second month in a row (-6,000
in March, following +1,000 in February). In the 12 months prior to February,
manufacturing had added an average of 22,000 jobs per month. Within the
industry, employment in motor vehicles and parts declined in March (-6,000).

Employment in other major industries, including mining, wholesale trade,
retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial
activities, and government, showed little change over the month.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased
by 0.1 hour to 34.5 hours in March, offsetting a decline of 0.1 hour in
February. In manufacturing, the average workweek was unchanged in March at
40.7 hours, while overtime decreased by 0.1 hour to 3.4 hours. The average
workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm
payrolls rose by 0.1 hour to 33.7 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

In March, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm
payrolls rose by 4 cents to $27.70, following a 10-cent gain in February.
Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.2 percent.
Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory
employees increased by 6 cents to $23.24 in March. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for January was revised up from
+311,000 to +312,000, and the change for February was revised up from +20,000
to +33,000. With these revisions, employment gains in January and February
combined were 14,000 more than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result
from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since
the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)
After revisions, job gains have averaged 180,000 per month over the last 3 months.

FULL DOCUMENT: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

CONSUMER CREDIT

FED. April 5, 2019. Consumer Credit February 2019 

In February, consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4-1/2 percent. Revolving credit increased at an annual rate of 3-1/4 percent, while nonrevolving credit increased at an annual rate of 5 percent.

FULL DOCUMENT: https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/default.htm

NOMINATION

U.S. Department of the Treasury. 04/05/2019. Statement by Secretary Mnuchin on Treasurer Jovita Carranza’s Nomination as Administrator of the Small Business Administration

Washington - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin issued the following statement today on Treasurer of the United States Jovita Carranza’s nomination as Administrator of the Small Business Administration:

“Jovita Carranza is exceptionally qualified to lead the Small Business Administration. As Treasurer of the United States, Jovita played an important role in the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which reduced taxes on small businesses to the lowest level in nearly eighty years and led to the strongest U.S. economy and job markets in generations. Jovita’s experience—including time as Deputy Administrator for the Small Business Administration—will be an asset to President Trump and the SBA, as they continue to promote pro-growth economic policies, eliminate job killing regulations, and fight for the small businesses that are the lifeblood of the American economy.”

U.S. Department of the Treasury. 04/05/2019. Statement by Secretary Mnuchin on the Confirmation of Mark Calabria as Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency

Washington - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin issued the following statement today on Mark Calabria’s confirmation as Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA):

“I applaud the Senate for voting to confirm Mark Calabria, an experienced economist. Mark will be an effective leader of the FHFA and a critical partner in carrying out President Trump’s federal housing finance reform agenda, and I look forward to working closely with him.

“I would like to also thank Comptroller Joseph Otting, who has effectively served as Acting FHFA Director at such an important time for the Agency.”

U.S. Department of the Treasury. 04/05/2019. Statements by Secretary Mnuchin and Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump on Approval of David Malpass to be World Bank President

Washington - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin and Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump issued the following statements today regarding the approval of David Malpass to serve as President of the World Bank Group:

Secretary Mnuchin

“President Trump made an excellent choice when he nominated David Malpass to serve as President of the World Bank Group, and we’re pleased that he was unanimously approved by the Board of Directors. As Under Secretary for International Affairs at the Treasury Department, David played an important leadership role in development policy, supporting international debt transparency and encouraging reforms at the Bank that would help raise living standards in the world’s poorest countries. All this makes him an ideal fit to lead the World Bank, and I look forward to working with him in his new capacity.”

Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump

“Congratulations to David Malpass on his unanimous election as World Bank President. He will be an extraordinary leader of the World Bank. I look forward to continuing our work to economically empower women globally and further the Bank’s core mission of ending poverty.”

________________

ORGANISMS

THE WORLD BANK. APRIL 5, 2019. World Bank’s Executive Directors Select David Malpass 13th President of the World Bank Group

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2019 - The Executive Directors of the World Bank today unanimously selected David R. Malpass as President of the World Bank Group for a five-year term beginning on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. The Board expressed its deep gratitude to Interim President Kristalina Georgieva for her dedication and leadership in recent months.

The Executive Directors followed the selection process agreed in 2011. The process included an open, transparent nomination where any national of the Bank’s membership could be proposed by any Executive Director or Governor through an Executive Director. This was then followed by thorough due diligence and a comprehensive interview of Mr. Malpass by the Executive Directors.

The Board looks forward to working with Mr. Malpass on the implementation of the Forward Look  and the capital package agreement as articulated in the Sustainable Financing for Sustainable Development Paper.

Mr. Malpass previously served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs for the United States.  As Under Secretary, Mr. Malpass represented the United States in international settings, including the G-7 and G-20 Deputy Finance Ministerial, World Bank-IMF Spring and Annual Meetings, and meetings of the Financial Stability Board, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

In his role as Under Secretary, Mr. Malpass played a crucial role in several major World Bank Group reforms and initiatives, including the recent capital increase for IBRD and IFC. He was also instrumental in advancing the Debt Transparency Initiative, adopted by the World Bank and IMF, to increase public disclosure of debt and thereby reduce the frequency and severity of debt crises.     

Prior to becoming Under Secretary, Mr. Malpass was an international economist and founder of a macroeconomics research firm based in New York City. Earlier in his career, Mr. Malpass served as the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Developing Nations and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Economic Affairs. In these roles, he focused on an array of economic, budget, and foreign policy issues, such as the United States’ involvement in multilateral institutions, including the World Bank.

Mr. Malpass has served on the boards of the Council of the Americas, Economic Club of New York, and the National Committee on US–China Relations. Mr. Malpass earned his bachelor’s degree from Colorado College and his MBA from the University of Denver.  He undertook advanced graduate work in international economics at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

The World Bank President is Chair of the Boards of Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). The President is also ex officio Chair of the Boards of Directors of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the Administrative Council of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

________________

LGCJ.: