US ECONOMICS
IRAN
U.S. Department of State. JUNE 21, 2019. Statement on the Imposition of Financial Countermeasures on Iran. STATEMENT. MICHAEL R. POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE
Today, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) responded to Iran’s willful failure to address its systemic money laundering and terrorist financing deficiencies by requiring increased supervision of Iran-based financial institutions. The Islamic Republic of Iran regularly seeks to use deception and subterfuge to fund its illicit activities, threatening the integrity and security of the international financial system.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps continues to engage in large-scale illicit financing schemes to fund its malign activities. This includes its support for U.S.-designated terrorist groups like Hizbollah and Hamas. The IRGC’s illicit financing schemes are facilitated at the highest levels of Iran’s government. The international community has made clear that Iran must live up to its commitments to behave like a normal nation.
The FATF also reaffirmed its concern with terrorist financing risk emanating from Iran and the threat it poses to the international financial system. Three years after Iran committed to an action plan with the FATF, the majority of its necessary work remains incomplete. As I have stated before, Iran must ratify the Palermo and Terrorist Financing Conventions in line with the FATF standards or face additional measures.
U.S. Department of State. JUNE 22, 2019. Statement on Iranian Disinformation. MICHAEL R. POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE
WASHINGTON, DC - Iran’s leaders know the truth is a dangerous thing. It is important to correct the record.
First, President Trump did not pass a message through Oman calling for talks with Iran. We have made our position abundantly clear. We are willing to engage when the time is right. It’s telling that the Iranian regime rejected the recent, historic diplomacy of Japanese Prime Minister Abe, attacked a Japanese tanker in the Gulf of Oman, and shot down a U.S. aircraft operating in international airspace.
When the Iranian regime decides to forgo violence and meet our diplomacy with diplomacy, it knows how to reach us. Until then, our diplomatic isolation and economic pressure campaign against the regime will intensify.
Second, the United States has shown beyond any doubt that Iran shot down a U.S. unmanned aircraft in international airspace. Foreign Minister Zarif’s hand-drawn map disputing this fact is not credible. This attack marks the second time Iran targeted an American unmanned aircraft in recent weeks.
Third, the United States is not evacuating personnel from Balad Air Base in Iraq. Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States is more committed than ever to supporting our allies and partners in the region.
The United States stands for peace and stability in the Middle East. The decisions we have taken in response to Iran’s reckless attacks have been to deter the Islamic Republic of Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and delivery systems for those weapons, and to prevent the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism from threatening Americans and American interests worldwide. Iran’s leaders know this is the truth, which is why they resort to violence and disinformation. We will continue to set the record straight.
U.S. Department of State. JUNE 23, 2019. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo Remarks to Press. MICHAEL R. POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE. JOINT BASE ANDREWS
SECRETARY POMPEO: Hi. Well, good afternoon, everyone. I wanted to say a couple things as we head off on this extended trip. First, I think it’s really important for everyone to understand that the Iranians are out sowing disinformation in lots of places. First of all, you’ve seen the childlike map that Foreign Minister Zarif put out. The contrast with the excellence and professionalism of America’s military and our intelligence services should leave no doubt in anyone’s mind about where that unarmed vehicle was. It was flying in international airspace, and we shouldn’t let the Iranians have one moment where any reporter would write that there was even a credible response to the data set that the Americans have put forward.
Second, the Iranians are out telling a story about a message that traveled through Omani channels. That’s just false. It’s pure and blatant disinformation. They passed another message that said that the United States was removing forces from Balad Air Force Base. You can go see them. They’re there.
I mention all of these things because it’s very important as the days proceed and as our efforts, our diplomatic efforts to change the nature of what the Iranian regime is doing go on, it is very likely that Iran will continue to present things that are fanciful, that are fraudulent, that are false. And we need to make sure that every news outlet, everyone who is observing this, understands what’s true and what the Iranian regime wants you to believe. That’s truly important.
I’m heading out today. Our first stops will be in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two great allies in the challenge that Iran presents, and we’ll be talking with them about how to make sure that we are all strategically aligned and how we can build out a global coalition, a coalition not only throughout the Gulf states but in Asia and in Europe that understands this challenge and that is prepared to push back against the world’s largest state sponsor of terror.
You’ll see too that our campaign that began when President Trump took office will continue. On Monday there’ll be a significant set of new sanctions, and the world should know that we will continue to make sure it’s understood that this effort that we’ve engaged in to deny Iran the resources to foment terror, to build out their nuclear weapons system, to build out their missile program, we are going to deny them the resources they need to do that thereby keeping American interests and American people safe all around the world.
Two other thoughts as I head out. One, nearly the same time that I’m commencing my trip there are many people headed for Bahrain, where the administration will roll out the economic component of its Middle East peace plan. It was released yesterday. I hope everyone will take a good look at it. It presents a brighter future for Palestinian people anywhere they are in the world.
And then last night there was reporting about a letter that was sent from President Trump to Chairman Kim. I can confirm that that letter was, in fact, sent. And I am hopeful that this will provide a good foundation for us to begin to continue the important discussions with the North Koreans to denuclearize the peninsula.
With that, I’m happy to take a couple of questions.
QUESTION: Yeah, Secretary?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes, ma’am.
QUESTION: Something similar you are looking for from Iran to show that they are willing to de-escalate? And why don’t you just pick up the phone and call them (inaudible)?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Oh goodness, look, the President said this this morning. I think the Vice President reiterated this. We’re prepared to negotiate with no preconditions. They know precisely how to find us. And I am confident that at the very moment they’re ready to truly engage with us, we’ll be able to begin these conversations. I’m looking forward to that day. The President has said repeatedly we want a brighter future for the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Those negotiations are the gateway. That’s how we’ll ultimately achieve this.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, can you talk a little bit more about the sanctions that the government plans to unveil, what sectors of the Iranian economy specifically are ripe for further pressure? And also on North Korea, do you anticipate working-level talks re-commencing at some point in the near future?
SECRETARY POMPEO: With respect to your second question, I hope so. We have been working to lay the foundations for that since Hanoi. We think we’re in a better place, and I think the remarks you saw out of North Korea this morning suggest that that may well be a very real possibility. We’re ready to go. We’re literally prepared to begin at a moment’s notice if the North Koreans indicate that they are prepared for those discussions.
As for the sanctions, so today some 80-plus percent of the North Korean economy is sanctioned. I think it’s important for everyone to remember. I think this is – of the Iranian economy. Yes, of the Iranian economy is sanctioned. This will be – I don’t want to get out in front of what we’ll announce tomorrow, but this will be a further effort to ensure that their capacity not only to grow their economy but to evade sanctions becomes more and more difficult, and it will be an important addition to our capacity to enforce sanctions against Iran to ultimately achieve the objective that we’ve laid out.
QUESTION: And you have a (inaudible) at another drone, what happens?
QUESTION: We’re back to this?
QUESTION: Yes.
SECRETARY POMPEO: Look, the President will make a decision as to – I’m not going to address hypotheticals. I hope that the Iranians will understand that the world won’t tolerate this. It’s not just the United States. The world understands who the aggressor is here. They understand that it’s the Islamic Republic of Iran that now has for four decades conducted assassination campaigns in Europe, conducted terrorist activity, has attempted to influence now more than four capitals throughout the Middle East. The Iranian nation has been a series of bad actors. Their leadership has taken them in a direction that their people surely do not want. So how we will respond to any particular act that the Islamic Republic of Iran takes, the President will decide when we get there.
Thank you all very much. I look forward to traveling with you all.
MÉXICO
THE WHITE HOUSE. Washington Examiner. June 22, 2019. Mexico Becomes First Country to Approve USMCA
By Zachary Halaschak
“Mexico’s Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of approving the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade, a deal that would replace the North American Free Trade Agreement,” Zachary Halaschak reports. “[Canadian] Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said last week that Canada would be working ‘in tandem’ with the U.S. in hammering out final passage of the historic trade deal.”
Mexico’s Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of approving the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade, a deal that would replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The measure passed with a 114-4 vote, bringing the agreement one step closer to fruition. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador convened a special legislative session to hold the vote after the Senate convened in April.
“The USMCA is synonymous with opportunity in the short and long term,” Mexican Sen. Verónica Martínez García said of the pact.
Meanwhile, the deal is running into some roadblocks getting through Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has the authority to bring legislation on the matter before the chamber, but has expressed hesitation about the deal, which she says lacks adequate mechanisms to enforce its labor and environmental provisions.
Canada has already introduced legislation through its parliament to ratify the agreement and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to lobby Democrats to support the USMCA during his visit to Washington, D.C., this week. He is reportedly meeting with Pelosi on Thursday.
Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said last week that Canada would be working “in tandem” with the U.S. in hammering out final passage of the historic trade deal.
“We think of it as a kind of Goldilocks approach. Not too hot, not too cold. We’re not moving too fast, not moving too slow,” Freeland said.
If the agreement between the three North American countries gets finalized, it will replace NAFTA, which was established in 1994. In October 2018, the three countries agreed to work toward ratifying the USMCA.
VENEZUELA
THE WHITE HOUSE. The Washington Times. June 22, 2019. Pence Says Maduro ‘Must Go’ as Navy Aids Venezuelan Refugees
By Carlo Muñoz
“Vice President Mike Pence called anew for the ouster of Venezuela’s embattled President Nicholas Maduro on Tuesday, asserting that the socialist leader’s removal is the only way democracy can be restored in the South American nation,” Carlo Muñoz reports. “We are with our neighbors and we will stand with [the Venezuelan people],” the Vice President said.
Vice President Mike Pence called anew for the ouster of Venezuela’s embattled President Nicholas Maduro on Tuesday, asserting that the socialist leader’s removal is the only way democracy can be restored in the South American nation.
The Maduro regime is “a threat to peace and security across the hemisphere,” Mr. Pence said, pointing to the flood of thousands of refugees fleeing Venezuela’s economic meltdown to nations around the region — including to the United States.
Speaking in Miami, ahead of the deployment of the Navy’s USNS Comfort hospital ship to the region in response to the widening humanitarian crisis, Mr. Pence reiterated the Trump administration’s six-month-old assertion that Mr. Maduro “is a dictator with no legitimate claim to power.”
“Nicolas Maduro must go,” the vice president said in a speech alongside Adm. Craig Faller, the U.S. Southern Command chief. “Once he is gone, we believe there can be a pathway to free and fair elections [in Venezuela].”
U.S.-backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido and his followers made global headlines in May by announcing a self-declared “final phase” of internal efforts to oust Mr. Maduro from office.
Violent clashes briefly followed in Caracas between Guaido supporters and government troops, but ended when pro-Maduro military forces reasserted control over the Venezuelan capital.
Mr. Pence said Tuesday that under Mr. Maduro, Venezuela has devolved into “unprecedented crisis and oppression,” with nine out of 10 people now living in poverty.
The USNS Comfort’s deployment marks the second time in six months that the Navy hospital ship has headed to the region. Pentagon officials said the ship will make several stops in Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, Saint Lucia, and St. Kitts and Nevis.
The Comfort’s medical crews “will provide care on board and at land-based medical sites, helping to relieve pressure on national medical systems strained partly by an increase in displaced Venezuelans,” the Navy said in a statement on Monday.
U.S.-led humanitarian efforts in the region have seen Washington send some 500 metric tons of food, medicine and other material to Venezuela in recent months.
Mr. Pence lamented Tuesday that all of the aid has been blocked from entering Venezuela by military forces loyal to Mr. Maduro.
“We are with our neighbors and we will stand with them,” the vice president said of the ongoing effort to aid the Venezuelan people. “We will continue to stand strong until freedom, democracy and the rule of law are restored.”
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ECONOMIA BRASILEIRA / BRAZIL ECONOMICS
ENERGIA
ANP. 19 de Junho de 2019. A história do petróleo no Brasil
DOCUMENTO: http://www.anp.gov.br/institucional/a-historia-do-petroleo
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LGCJ.:
