How to Protect the U.S. Judicial System from Interpol Politicization

Protecting the U.S. Judicial System from A Politicized Interpol, with Sandra Grossman, The Federalist Society, January 30, 2020. "The problem with Interpol is that not all national governments genuinely respect the divide on which Interpol’s constitution is predicated, the divide between offenses against ordinary criminal law on the one hand, and politicized offenses on the other. For too many governments, political opposition or financial independence is itself a criminal act. Since Interpol is for all intents and purposes a universal membership organization, it faces the relentless need to examine the uses its members are making of it, in order to ensure it is complying with its constitution. This is particularly true now the Interpol operates electronically, as the speed and interconnected nature of modern communications and databases means that the consequences of Interpol abuse – the use of Interpol for political or other forbidden purposes – can now have nearly instantaneous and worldwide effect."

Priorities for the U.S. in Europe in 2020

Six Key Priorities for U.S. Europe Policy in a Crucial Year, with Daniel Kochis, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5025, January 17, 2020. "The year 2020 will have an outsized policy impact on key issues facing the transatlantic alliance. Key challenges for U.S. policy in Europe in 2020 include the continued threat of Russia to U.S. interests and to American allies, Russia’s continued war in Ukraine, the pernicious effects of Chinese investments, the Trojan horse of Chinese 5G technology putting Western intelligence sharing at risk, and failure to secure the Balkans and allowing local conflicts to metastasize. U.S. policymakers should focus on six key priorities in 2020: (1) a U.S.–U.K. free trade agreement, (2) NATO deterrence capabilities, (3) U.S.–EU trade negotiations, (4) moving Europe toward a robust response to the rising threat from China, (5) supporting the Three Seas Initiative, and (6) continued engagement in European hotspots."

Reviewing the TRAP Act

The TRAP Act’s Contribution to Preventing Transnational Repression Through Interpol, with Sandra Grossman, Federalist Society Review, January 10, 2020. "The Transnational Repression Accountability and Prevention (TRAP) Act of 2019, introduced in both the House and Senate in September, is a bipartisan response to widespread concern about the abuse of Interpol by authoritarian governments for political purposes. Repressive regimes, particularly in Russia, China, Turkey, and Venezuela, use Interpol to issue illegitimate Red Notices and diffusions against political opponents. The effect of this abuse can be severe and is borne by individuals whose due process guarantees and human rights are harmed. As a result, Interpol abuse has drawn increasing attention and criticism from a wide range of international organizations, political leaders, and non-governmental organizations."

A Practical Step Towards Improved Anglo-American Cooperation

The U.S. Should Pursue Visa Liberalization with the United Kingdom, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #3461, January 10, 2020. "The term “visa liberalization” refers to a policy of making it easier for defined categories of foreign nationals to obtain valid visas to live and work in the United States. Visa liberalization with nations whose citizens respect the terms of their entry to the U.S. is not part of U.S. immigration policy. Rather, it is a way of reducing barriers to trade with foreign nations and increasing investment in the United States. The U.S. has pursued a policy of visa liberalization toward different foreign nations in different ways, including through U.S. statute, through a free trade area agreement, and through legislation associated with such an agreement. In spite of the Trump Administration’s “Hire American” policy, it has supported visa liberalization with New Zealand. Both the British and the American governments are eager to negotiate a free trade area agreement after the U.K. leaves the European Union. As part of this area, the U.S. should support, and the U.K. should seek, uncapped reciprocal visa liberalization for nonimmigrant professionals seeking to live and work in the U.S. or the U.K."

Britain's Tory Blowout

Conservative Blowout in Britain Puts Brexit Back on Track, Daily Signal, December 13, 2019. "Though the last votes are still being counted, it is clear that Britain’s Conservatives have won an overall majority in Thursday’s general election."

The End of the Do Nothing Parliament

Boris Johnson’s Projected Victory in British Election is Profoundly Encouraging for US, Fox News, December 13, 2019. "For the U.S., the British results are profoundly encouraging. The fact is that Britain has rejected the pre-election, do-nothing status quo."

Bad News From the EU on Industrial Policy

An EU Industrial Policy Is Bad News for the U.S., Washington Times, November 11, 2019. "The European Union is afraid. It’s afraid that it’s not the home of the world’s largest and leading companies, and it’s afraid that it’s falling behind China and the United States. In its fear, it’s moving toward a policy of creating European champions that will only poison relations with the United States."

The Transatlantic Community

How and Why American Conservatives Must Fight for the Future of the Transatlantic Community, with James Carafano, Nile Gardiner, and Walter Lohman, Heritage Foundation Special Report #217, November 7, 2019. "The American experiment is rooted in Western religion, culture, and ideas, and over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries was recognized universally as the basis of modern Western civilization and the foundation for good governance and a just society. Like for all civilizations, foundational concepts are constantly under challenge, reinterpretation, and revision. Westerners’ belief in immutable rights, however, is the idea that brought the two sides of the Atlantic together—and gives them common cause in facing the world’s challenges every bit as much as a convergence of material interests. This belief and partnership are worth preserving—and it is why American conservatives have a stake in the future of the transatlantic community."

Boris's Brexit Deal

Boris Johnson Strikes a Brexit Deal, Daily Signal, October 17, 2019. "After days of optimistic leaks and rumors, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has done what the European Union said was impossible. He’s successfully re-opened the bad Brexit deal struck by former Prime Minister Theresa May, and won a new deal that is significantly better for Britain."

Get Brexit Done

It’s Crunch Time for Brexit. Here’s How It Could Happen, Daily Signal, October 2, 2019. "Within a month, Brexit will either have happened, or it will have been delayed yet again. It has now been over three years since the British people voted to leave the European Union, and the relentless delays imposed by the British courts, the Parliament, and the EU itself have been maddening."

A European Industrial Policy Is Bad News for the U.S.

The U.S. Should Oppose the EU’s Turn Toward Industrial Policy, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5004, September 24, 2019. "The EU is moving towards the adoption of an industrial policy that, while aimed primarily at the People’s Republic of China, is also motivated by resentment of the United States. Industrial policy is the wrong tool for addressing the problems posed by China’s rise, and the European support for the creation of so-called “European champions” in industry is deeply hypocritical. The U.S. must vigorously oppose the EU’s turn toward industrial policy and must emphasize that what the U.S. and the EU need are higher levels of economic growth, the prospects for which will only be damaged if the EU pursues industrial policies that damage its economy and further alienate the United States."

What The U.S. Should Do About Interpol, 2019 Edition

Key Goals for the U.S. at the 2019 Meeting of the Interpol General Assembly, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #5002, September 18, 2019. "The annual meeting of the Interpol General Assembly to be held in October 2019 in Chile offers a vital opportunity for Interpol, and its democratic member nations, to put meaningful—and necessary—reforms in motion. The U.S. should work with other democratic nations to form a democratic caucus within Interpol in order to stem the abuse by authoritarian regimes in Interpol by ensuring that Interpol leadership is entrusted to the democracies and by bringing accountability to its operations. As Interpol revises its rules, it is essential that the U.S. and other democracies play a leading role in increasing the transparency of Interpol’s work and ensure that these revisions do not create or legitimate new opportunities to abuse Interpol for political purposes."

Surprise, Surprise, the ATT's A Failure

Even Friends of the Arms Trade Treaty Admit It’s Not Working, Daily Signal, August 30, 2019. "The nations that are party to the Arms Trade Treaty gathered for their annual meeting this week in Geneva. The United States is not there, as President Donald Trump wisely withdrew from the treaty last month. The U.S. isn’t missing much in Switzerland. Even the treaty’s friends admit it’s a failure."

Finally, We're Out

How the U.S. Should Follow Up Its Unsigning of the Arms Trade Treaty, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #4995, August 20, 2019. "President Trump’s decision to notify the United Nations that the U.S. does not intend to become a party to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), and thereby to unsign the ATT, was proper and wise. The failure of the ATT is demonstrated by the poor track record of its states parties in fulfilling their reporting and financial requirements. The U.S. should follow up its unsigning of the ATT by putting further diplomatic pressure on the treaty and on the related network of U.N. small arms instruments."

Look Homeward

Why Europe Should Look Inward, Newsday, August 18, 2019. "U.S. relations with Europe are at a low ebb. While President Donald Trump has contributed to the tensions, many of the same difficulties were visible under President Barack Obama. And these tensions are likely to get worse, not better, in the years to come."

Belaboring the Obvious on Interpol, Part 2

Examining Trends in Political Unrest and Allegations of Interpol Abuse, with Yuriy Nemets, Forbes, August 2, 2019. "One of the striking patterns in cases received by the CCF is the way that some countries appear regularly among the top ten nations, whereas other countries appear suddenly."

Belaboring the Obvious on Interpol, Part 1

Does Political Unrest Contribute to INTERPOL Abuse?, with Yuriy Nemets, Forbes, August 2, 2019. "Because the CCF groundlessly refuses to release the information about member countries’ violations of INTERPOL’s rules, any study of this subject is fraught with many uncertainties, which the current authors acknowledge and emphasize. But it is clear, at least, that the public profile of INTERPOL abuse is higher than it was a decade ago. It is likely that this higher profile has led more people to take more cases, including meritorious ones, to the CCF. But it is also likely that the public profile of INTERPOL abuse is higher because, as the CCF numbers imply and as many journalists and analysts have concluded, there is simply more abuse now than there used to be. Even if this increase in abuse was driven partly, or significantly, by the creation of INTERPOL’s I-24/7 system, it is worth exploring other potential causes for it."

House of Commons Evidence on Interpol Abuse

UK House of Commons, Foreign Affairs Committee, "Autocracies and Foreign Policy Inquiry," HC 1948, July 23, 2019, evidence published AFP 0028.

Tariffs Are A Losing Battle

U.S. Fighting An Old Trade Tussle, Newsday, July 14, 2019. "President Donald Trump has threatened to impose more tariffs on European trade with the United States. This is not the first time he has made this threat, and it is not an idle one. It is, however, bad economics and bad policy. Worse, it is a distraction from a better trade agenda and the true trade threats from Europe."

U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Testimony on US-EU Trade

Testimony in hearing on “Transatlantic Policy Impacts of the U.S. – EU Trade Conflict,” hearing in the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment, June 26, 2019.

Britain's Activist Courts and the ATT

Britain’s Foolish Advocacy of the Arms Trade Treaty Bites Back, Forbes, June 25, 2019. "The British Court of Appeal has ruled that British arms sales to Saudi Arabia are unlawful, on the grounds that British ministers had “made no concluded assessments of whether the Saudi-led coalition had committed violations of international humanitarian law in the past, during the Yemen conflict, and made no attempt to do so.” This ruling offers further proof, if any is needed at this point, that the primary – and indeed, the only – purpose of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is to constrain the Western democracies."

Operation Whoops I Shouldn't Have Said That

China Confesses To Abusing Interpol System In The United States, Forbes, June 25, 2019. "Meng Qingfeng’s open acknowledgement that China is using Interpol to procure back-door extraditions from the United States, while not genuinely new, is nonetheless shocking, and the U.S. should take immediate action to end this practice of collaborating with the police state of Communist China."

Brexit in the Times (and Democrat)

U.K. Should Exit the EU, Times and Democrat (Orangeburg, SC), June 24, 2019. "It was the largest exercise of democracy in Britain’s long democratic history. On June 23, 2016, the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. The best single reason for the U.K. to leave the European Union at the end of October is that this is what the British people voted to do."

We Got Lucky

When Inheritance Is Everything, Newsday, June 23, 2019. "The protests in Hong Kong that begin in April reflect the courage of the people of Hong Kong. But they also reflect Hong Kong’s British inheritance. And as we approach the Fourth of July, they remind us how lucky we are to enjoy both that inheritance and our freedom."

It's Not No Deal

Why the U.S. Is Right to Back the ‘Mini-Deal Brexit', Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #4971, June 20, 2019. "The dichotomy between a Brexit governed by outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement and a “no-deal” exit is a false choice. A network of mini-deals among Britain, the European Union, and the U.S. is already in place. The U.K.’s economy has enjoyed unprecedented strength, and it is in an excellent position to leave the EU on the basis of this “mini-deal Brexit.” The U.S. can play a valuable role in facilitating Brexit by continuing to make it clear that it is ready to conclude an ambitious free trade area with the U.K., and by urging both the U.K. and EU authorities to conclude an agreement facilitating free trade after Brexit."