NATO - The Foundation, But Not the Sole Focus, of U.S.'s Europe Policy

Ahead of 2023 NATO Summit, U.S. Policy in Europe Must Advance Prosperity and Security, with Dan Kochis, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5323, July 7, 2023. "The U.S. does not have a serious policy for Europe: The Biden Administration’s claim that foreign and domestic policy are now one is intended to excuse its failings abroad and justify its progressive policies at home. At the July 2023 NATO summit in Vilnius, the U.S. should press for the rapid adoption and full funding of NATO’s regional plans and support Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression, while building a wider security and economic framework that will serve the West in the face of an aggressive China. The Biden Administration remains reflexive in Europe, clearly keen to shelve the region and return to its domestic priorities once the war subsides. This approach does not serve U.S. interests."

All Blacks or Black and Tans?

President Biden’s Visits to United Kingdom and Ireland Must Serve Prosperity and Peace, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5311, April 6, 2023. "President Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement comes at a crucial time. Northern Ireland’s governing institutions have been badly damaged by the European Union’s vindictive approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol, negotiated as part of the U.K.’s exit from the EU. In practice, the EU values its Customs Union far more than it values the Good Friday Agreement, and despite U.S. praise for the Agreement, the U.S. has backed the EU’s approach. The President should avoid making things worse, reject the half-truths and mythologies on which U.S. praise for the Agreement is often based, and focus on deliverables, especially a free trade area with the U.K."

Limit U.S. Visas for Russia

The Administration Needs to Increase Visa Sanctions on Russia, with Simon Hankinson and Victoria Coates, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5291, September 27, 2022. "Economic sanctions against Russia as a result of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 are having an effect on the Russian economy and society, but not quickly or decisively enough to end the war. In addition to stronger economic sanctions, increased pressure is necessary to convince all Russians, not just Vladimir Putin, government officials, and/or Russian oligarchs, that they share some responsibility for the invasion and prosecution of the war and that they will not be able to travel freely while the conflict rages. Especially in conjunction with European Union visa sanctions, restricting visa issuance to all Russian citizens, anywhere in the world, will add more pressure on the Putin regime to bring his war to an end."

Biden's Wrong on Landmines

The Biden Administration Is Wrong to Abandon Anti-Personnel Landmines, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5284, August 3, 2022. "On June 21, 2022, the Biden Administration canceled the Trump Administration’s policy that allowed U.S. military forces to employ anti-personnel landmines outside the Korean Peninsula. The Biden policy is the third major change in U.S. anti-personnel landmine policy since 2009. The Biden policy denies U.S. troops the use of weapons that could help to reduce U.S. casualties and help the U.S. military to prevail in future conflicts. It was adopted against the advice of the U.S. military in order to please progressive activists who have led the campaign against anti-personnel landmines. The Biden policy is a gift to Russia’s military land power that will do nothing to curb the misuse of anti-personnel landmines, which has skyrocketed as the campaign against these weapons has helped to disarm democracies."

Brexit Britain in the Pacific

How the U.S. Can Support the U.K.’s Return to the Indo-Pacific Region, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5267, June 2, 2022. "The United Kingdom withdrew from major commitments East of Suez in 1968, but since 2019, Brexit Britain has returned to the Indo-Pacific region. While taking measures to restrict Chinese influence in the U.K., it has recognized China as a systemic competitor with values antithetical to its own, has built trading ties in Asia and the Pacific, and has developed new bilateral and multilateral security pacts in the region. The U.S. has benefitted from British initiative but has done little to encourage it. The U.K.’s return to the Indo-Pacific region is in the interests of the U.S. and the democratic world, and the U.S. should take steps to support the U.K."

U.S. Policies in Europe After Russia's Invasion

The Top Five U.S. Priorities for European Policy After Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, with Daniel Kochis, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5258, April 7, 2022. "The year 2022 is the most important in transatlantic relations since the end of the Cold War. Russia’s unprovoked second invasion of Ukraine brings new urgency to the need for cooperation between the United States and its European allies. The U.S. can only meet the demands of this new era of great-power conflict, in which Russia and China both pose grave and wide-ranging challenges, if the U.S. builds on the strength of the transatlantic alliance, which remains central to its security. The Russian attack demonstrates that Europe has profoundly underestimated the dangers for which NATO was founded—and exists—to deter. The shock of the Russian assault must lead to unified action."

ATT Is Bad for CATP

The Biden Administration’s Conventional Arms Transfer Policy Should Not Be Handcuffed by the Arms Trade Treaty, Hertiage Foundation Issue Brief #5235, November 1, 2021. "The Biden Administration is reviewing its Conventional Arms Transfer Policy (CATP), which governs conventional weapons export. A State Department official has indicated this review would determine “the proper relationship of the United States to the Arms Trade Treaty.” Incorporating the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in a revised CATP would be a grave error. The ATT would raise serious barriers to the conduct of U.S. foreign policy—and transform difficult questions of arms export policy into matters of law. The ATT is used solely to constrain the U.S.’s democratic allies: Most of its members do not take it seriously. The U.S. should continue to have a CATP that allows policymakers to weigh all relevant factors—not be handcuffed by the ATT."

Good for Bureaucrats, Good for Bugs

The European Union’s Biocidal Products Regulation Benefits Only Bureaucrats, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #6097, June 18, 2021. "The European Union controls the sale of biocides through its Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR). A biocidal product contains a substance that is designed to control or destroy a harmful organism, often a germ or virus. Unfortunately, the BPR is a one-size-fits-all model: It puts simple products containing everyday chemicals through a bureaucratic process more appropriate for complex products containing new substances. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the BPR restricted the supply of alcohol wipes inside the EU. The U.S. and the U.K. should press the EU to eliminate the non-tariff trade barriers the BPR creates. Both should oppose the broader EU model that prioritizes bureaucratic process over growth, jobs, consumer choice, and common sense."

A G-7 Agenda for 2021

The G-7 Must Act With Unity for Growth and Freedom, with Jim Roberts, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #6093, June 10, 2021. "This year’s Group of Seven (G-7) summit of world leaders faces a series of vital and interlinked challenges. As the world seeks to recover from the devastating personal and economic effects of COVID-19, the democracies are equally seeking to regain the initiative from the world’s autocracies. From Russia’s aggressions in the Caucuses and Ukraine—and its murderous attack by poison in Salisbury, close to the route from London to St. Ives—to the much broader economic, security, and political challenge of China, the democracies are back on their heels, which is where they were when the G-7 first came together in 1973."

What the U.S. Should Do in Europe in 2021

The Top Five U.S. Priorities for European Policy in 2021, with Daniel Kochis, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #6037, January 13, 2021. "2021 will be an inflection point for transatlantic relations. A new U.S. Administration and Congress should focus on reinforcing the transatlantic alliance and working with Europe to address threats from aggressive state actors, while meeting the monumental challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the policy differences between the U.S. and Europe on key issues will not disappear under a Biden presidency, the need to work together remains essential: U.S. security rests first and foremost on the strength of the transatlantic alliance."

Why the U.K. Is Ideally Placed to Negotiate an FTA with the U.S.

Why the U.K. Is an Ideal Free Trade Partner for the U.S., Heritage Foundation Issue Brief#6035, December 11, 2020. "The U.S. and U.K. are currently engaged in intensive negotiations for an ambitious free trade agreement. Such an agreement would build on the already vital trade and investment relationship, and security partnership, between the two nations. It would also offer wider advantages that would help the U.S. to build the positive free trade agenda it needs. The British public broadly supports pursuing free trade agreements outside the European Union, including an agreement with the U.S.; and the British government is moving vigorously to negotiate both continuity and new trade agreements as it exits the EU Customs Union. The U.S. should welcome the fact that the U.K. has entered the world economy as an independent trading nation, and take advantage of this reality by concluding an ambitious free trade agreement with the U.K. in 2021."

Interpol Elections Require U.S. Leadership

The U.S. Must Promote Democratic Leadership in Interpol, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #6025, November 10, 2020. "The next meeting of the Interpol General Assembly will likely be dominated by the election of a majority of Interpol’s Executive Committee, including a new president. The current public contenders for Interpol’s presidency hail from nations with a track record of abusing Interpol. The U.S. should work with other leading democracies to form a democratic caucus in Interpol to ensure that qualified candidates from law-abiding democracies fill these positions. While the agenda for Interpol reform is wide, the U.S.’s top priority must be ensuring that Interpol’s leadership is committed to opposing the autocratic abuse of Interpol."

Financial Sector Support for US-UK Regulatory Cooperation

How the U.S. and Britain Can Build on Private-Sector Support for an Ambitious U.S.–U.K. Free Trade Agreement, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #6017, October 26, 2020. "The establishment business organizations in Britain, which represent a small but visible minority of large firms, prefer the status quo, and have therefore for too long failed to realize the opportunities that Brexit offers. But an alliance of major British and American business organizations in the financial sector recently broke this pattern by announcing their support for deep and broad financial regulatory cooperation between the U.S. and the U.K. within the context of a U.S.–U.K. free trade agreement. The U.S. and Britain must take advantage of this constructive initiative and build on it as they negotiate an ambitious U.S.–U.K. free trade area."

UK Must Break Out of EU Rule-Making Orbit

The U.S. and Britain Should Conclude an Ambitious Free Trade Agreement as Soon as Possible, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #6012, September 24, 2020. "Both the U.S. and the U.K. have much to gain from negotiating and ratifying a free trade agreement, and both nations have shown strong political support for such an agreement. The fundamental goal of the European Union, on the other hand, continues to be to lock the U.K. into its regulatory orbit, thereby nullifying in practice many of Brexit’s achievements and making it effectively impossible for the U.K. to maintain an independent trade policy. The U.K. has made it clear that it will not become an EU client state and has demonstrated its commitment to developing its own trade policies. The U.S. and the U.K. must not allow narrow protectionist lobbies to defeat the broader objectives on which both nations are agreed, and should consider announcing an interim agreement as soon as possible."

The Interpol Presidency in 2020

The Top U.S. Priority at the 2020 Meeting of the Interpol General Assembly, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #6005, August 26, 2020. "The 2020 annual meeting of the Interpol General Assembly, to be held in December in Abu Dhabi, will likely be dominated by the election of a majority of Interpol’s executive committee, including a new president. The United States should work with other democratic nations to form a democratic caucus within Interpol to ensure that qualified candidates from law-abiding democracies fill these positions. While the agenda for Interpol reform is wide, the U.S. must anticipate that the autocracies will make a bid in particular to win Interpol’s presidency, and defeating that bid—not reforming Interpol—will have to be the top U.S. priority in 2020."

Assessing U.K. Objectives For An FTA With The US

How the U.S. Should Respond to the U.K.’s Negotiating Objectives for a Free Trade Agreement, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5069, May 6, 2020. "On March 2, the U.K. published its negotiating objectives for a free trade agreement with the U.S. These objectives make it clear that the U.K. is committed to free trade with like-minded democracies, including the U.S. The U.K. attaches particular importance to an ambitious and comprehensive free trade agreement with the U.S., viewing it as a strategic opportunity to strengthen the Special Relationship. The U.K. places particular emphasis on expanding trade in services with the U.S. and hopes the U.S. and U.K. can set a new gold standard for digital trade and the protection of intellectual property. The U.K.’s objectives demonstrate that, while negotiations for an agreement with the U.S. will not be free from challenges, there is a clear basis for the speedy conclusion of a free trade agreement between the U.S. and the U.K."

No, It's Not A CFIUS

The Potential Risks of the EU’s Investment Screening for the United States, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5055, April 6, 2020. "The EU has adopted a framework for screening foreign direct investment. While this framework has regularly been compared to the Committee for Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS), the reality is that the EU’s framework bears no similarities to CFIUS in form or likely effectiveness. In fact, the EU’s framework is riddled with weaknesses and perverse incentives. Moreover, because the EU’s framework covers EU programs that have been developed in order to create strategic distance between the EU and the U.S., it is likely that the framework will be used not only against the autocracies at which it is purportedly directed, but also against the United States. The U.S. should focus on improving investment screening at the national level, and vigorously protest any use of the EU’s framework against the U.S."

Quit the PoA

The United States Should Withdraw from the U.N.’s Programme of Action on Small Arms, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5040, February 20, 2020. "The last meeting of the U.N.’s Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (PoA), held in 2018, broke a U.S. red line and violated the PoA’s own rule of working by unanimous consent. The PoA has few if any substantive achievements. The only reason for the U.S. to participate was to prevent the PoA from making bad decisions and seeking to bind the U.S. with progressive norms. Now that the PoA has abandoned the principle of unanimity that allowed the U.S. to prevent bad outcomes, there is no reason for the U.S. to continue to participate. The U.S. should therefore take no part in the June 2020 meeting of the PoA."

Rejecting Obama's Unilateral Disarmament

The Trump Administration Is Right to Correct U.S. Landmine Policy, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5037, February 13, 2020. "On January 31, 2020, the Trump Administration canceled the Obama Administration’s policy that prohibited U.S. military forces from employing anti-personnel landmines outside the Korean Peninsula. The Obama Administration’s policy denied U.S. troops the use of weapons that could help to reduce U.S. casualties and help the U.S. military to prevail in future conflict. The Obama policy was adopted against the advice of the U.S. military, in order to please the progressive activists who have led the campaign against anti-personnel landmines, a campaign that has led only to the disarmament of democracies. The new U.S. policy issued by the Department of Defense responsibly authorizes Combatant Commanders, in exceptional circumstances, to employ advanced, non-persistent landmines specifically designed to reduce unintended harm to civilians and partner forces."

What Brexit Means for the U.S.

Brexit’s Three Key Implications for U.S. Policymakers, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5031, January 31, 2020. "The U.K’s exit from the EU will have three major implications for U.S. policymakers. First, as the U.K. regains its full diplomatic independence and represents itself in functional international organizations, it will be essential for the U.S. to deepen its bilateral diplomatic engagement with Britain. Second, as the U.K. recovers its freedom to negotiate trade agreements, the U.S. must take advantage of this opportunity to negotiate a free trade area with Britain. Third, as the U.K. restores its democratic national sovereignty, the U.S. should recognize that the U.K. has vindicated the principle on which the U.S. itself is founded, even though the history of the Special Relationship shows that the U.S. and the U.K. will not always agree with each other."