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North Korea complains about ‘stink’ of U.S.-South Korea military exercises

InternationalMar 16. 2021

By Simon Denyer
The Washington Post

TOKYO – North Korea on Tuesday complained about ongoing U.S.-South Korea military exercises and warned the Biden administration that if it wanted peace for the next four years, it should refrain from “causing a stink.”

The complaint, issued by Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, comes as the United States’ top diplomat and its defense chief are in the region for talks with the Japanese and South Korean governments.

The annual joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, which began March 8, are always a source of tension with Pyongyang. They have been scaled back for the past three years and mostly conducted by computer simulation, initially to allow space for dialogue with the North but now also because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The main target of Tuesday’s statement was South Korea, and Kim Yo Jong made it clear that even a scaled-back exercise, designed to target “fellow countrymen,” was unacceptable.

“War exercises and dialogue, hostility and cooperation can never exist together,” she said in a statement carried by state media.

She also criticized the Biden administration for giving off a “powder smell” in Korea.

“If it wants to sleep in peace for coming four years, it had better refrain from causing a stink at its first step.”

Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said Kim Yo Jong’s statement “reeks of hypocrisy” coming after North Korea had conducted its own winter military drills.

U.S. officials said Saturday that the Biden administration had tried to contact North Korea three times since mid-February but had not received a response.

The silence is hardly surprising: The Biden administration is undertaking an internal review of policy toward North Korea, and Pyongyang may want to see what comes out of that process before formulating its response, while the annual military exercises are always a tense moment.

Kim Yo Jong, who has become a vitriolic critic of the government in Seoul over the past year, said North Korea was considering pulling out of a military agreement with the South that was designed to lower tensions along their heavily fortified border.

She said the “spring days” of 2018 – when Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held their first meeting – “won’t come easily again.”

In Tokyo, Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not respond to a reporter’s request for comment on North Korea’s statement. He is accompanied by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and the two will be holding talks with their Japanese counterparts Tuesday before heading to Seoul.

Some experts worry North Korean regime may try to get the attention of the Biden administration by conducting a missile test, while others say it may want to gauge the president’s approach first.

“The Kim regime’s rhetoric leaves more room for diplomacy than if it had welcomed Blinken and Austin with a long-range missile test,” said Easley. “But North Korea’s latest threats mean the allies have precious little time to coordinate their approaches on deterrence, sanctions and engagement.”

– – –

The Washington Post’s John Hudson contributed to this report.

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EU begins legal action against U.K. over Brexit deal violation

InternationalMar 16. 2021A jogger passes graffiti that reads “The village say no to an Irish Sea border” in the Village area of Belfast, U.K., on Feb. 4, 2021. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Paul Faith.

By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Ian Wishart

The European Union launched legal action against the U.K. in a major escalation of tensions between the two sides less than three months after Brexit was formally completed.

It follows Britain’s unilateral decision to delay implementing a key part of the Brexit deal relating to Northern Ireland. The move could ultimately lead to financial penalties or trade tariffs being imposed on the U.K.

The dispute is likely to worsen the already fraught relationship between the two sides that has led to disagreements over the export of Covid vaccines and the U.K. refusing to grant full rights to the bloc’s ambassador in London. The post-Brexit trade deal the two sides signed on Dec. 24 still hasn’t been formally ratified by the EU despite it taking effect on Jan. 1.

An EU official told reporters in Brussels on Monday that the bloc considered the U.K.’s actions an enormous problem and raised doubts about the government’s commitment to the Northern Ireland part of the Brexit agreement. The official said he hoped the government would hold talks with the commission to come up with joint solutions and draw a line under the legal action.

The commission is still deliberating whether to grant U.K. financial firms greater access to the bloc under a so-called regulatory equivalence decision. While there is no formal link between that decision and Monday’s legal action, there will be a joined-up response, said the official, who asked not to be identified because the process is private.

Under the Brexit deal, Northern Ireland effectively stayed in the EU’s customs union and single market. This avoided the need for border checks on the island of Ireland, but introduced them for the first time on goods coming into the province from Great Britain, leading to delays and disruption.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has come under increasing pressure from members of his own party, as well as unionist politicians in Northern Ireland, to renegotiate the Brexit deal’s Northern Ireland Protocol.

Last month, the U.K. said it would temporarily waive rules set begin on April 1 that would have required firms sending food between Great Britain and Northern Ireland to provide additional customs paperwork — a move the commission warned violated the terms of the Protocol. Britain also plans similar delays in other areas, including checks on parcels.

The U.K. is committed to the Northern Ireland protocol, but wants to see areas of concern addressed, Johnson’s spokesman Jamie Davies told reporters on a call on Monday. The measures the government has taken are “temporary” and “operational” steps designed to “minimize disruption,” he added.

The commission launched infringement proceedings under EU law, the official said. That means it can ultimately ask for a ruling from the European Court of Justice, which could impose financial penalties. Despite the ECJ’s influence in the U.K. being a bone of contention in the campaign in the run-up to the 2016 Brexit referendum, the government accepted a role for the EU court in the treaty.

The commission is also taking action under the dispute resolution mechanism of the treaty itself, which could eventually see the establishment of an arbitration panel and — if the U.K. lost — could potentially see the suspension of part of its overall trade deal with the EU, or tariffs imposed.

Both options could take well over a year to reach a conclusion and officials on both sides have said they want to reach a settlement before getting as far as the imposition of penalties.

The commission previously initiated infringement proceedings against the U.K. after Johnson’s government announced plans in September to override part of the Protocol. These were dropped when the government backed down shortly before the trade deal was signed in December.

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China’s soaring economic activity masks uneven recovery

InternationalMar 16. 2021Cranes stand at a construction site for a residential development on the outskirts of Shanghai, China, on March 14, 2021. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Qilai Shen.

By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg

China’s economic activity surged in the first two months of the year compared with a year ago, though the figures showed an uneven recovery with strong industrial output fueled by exports but lagging consumer spending.

The official data released Monday show unprecedented growth rates of more than 30% for key indicators, largely due to distortions when compared to last year’s shutdowns. Industrial production growth of 35.1% beat economist’s expectations of 32.2%, reflecting a shorter Lunar New Year holiday this year as the government encouraged workers to remain in factories rather than return to their hometowns.

Combined with strong export data for January and February, the statistics show that China has largely continued the pattern established last year of a recovery based on growth of industrial production for export and investment in sectors such as real estate, delaying Beijing’s efforts to re-balance the economy toward domestic consumer demand.

Retail sales reported by China’s statistics bureau climbed 33.8% in the period, beating a forecast of 32% in a Bloomberg poll of economists. On a two-year average basis, which corrects for the huge drop seen last year as China introduced pandemic restrictions, retail sales growth was 3.2%, a sharp contrast with 8.1% growth in industrial output over the same period.

Retail sales in February rose only 0.56% from the previous month, the data showed. This indicates that “the Lunar New Year may have had a weaker boost to national consumption than expected,” according to Bruce Pang, an economist at China Renaissance Securities.

The central bank kept market liquidity neutral earlier Monday, prompting money market rates to rise on persistent concerns about liquidity.

The central bank’s action “just offset maturity, indicating the People’s Bank of China’s tightening intention,” said Xing Zhaopeng, an economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group. “Since the start of this year, PBOC has net drained over 600 billion yuan in funds from the market in order to curb asset bubbles.”

The government imposed travel restrictions before the new year holidays, which fell in February this year, to curb sporadic virus cases in some parts of the country. That helped to boost industrial output, with factories able to remain open or resume production earlier than usual to meet soaring export demand. But it also suppressed spending on travel, restaurants and leisure activities.

Fixed-asset investment rose 35%, well below a projection of 40.9%. Since real estate has been the biggest driver of investment growth over the past year, that likely reflects Beijing tightening financing for property developers. Economists expect investment by manufacturers will strengthen in 2021 following a recovery in their profits. However, the lower-than-expected investment figures showed manufacturers are still cautious, Pang added.

“Domestically, the unbalanced recovery is still notable and the foundation for the economic recovery is not solid yet,” Liu Aihua, a spokeswoman for China’s statistics bureau said in a statement. The urban unemployment rate of 5.5% in February remained above pre-pandemic levels, with the rate among younger people particularly high.

“The retail sales and industrial consumption figures were widely above estimates and shows there is resilience in the economy,” said William Ping, managing director at Peaceful Investment in Shenzhen. “Currently the closest thing to a worry of mine is whether the nation will put enough emphasis on domestic consumption in the long run,” he added.

China is still the only major economy to have powered out of the pandemic after early control over the virus and then surging global demand for medical goods and work-from-home devices. The economy grew 2.3% in 2020 and is forecast by economists to expand 8.4% this year.

The government is targeting more modest growth of “above 6%” in 2021, allowing officials to focus on longer-term challenges such as technological upgrading and curbing risk in the financial system. Beijing has signaled it wants to scale back its pandemic stimulus, with analysts predicting a gradual reduction in monetary and fiscal support.

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CEOs become vaccine activists as back-to-office push grows

InternationalMar 16. 2021Low-dead space syringes filled with the Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Thursday, March 4, 2021. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Jennifer Gauthier

By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Thomas Buckley

Some chief executive officers are so eager for their employees to get vaccinated against covid-19 that they’re granting workers time off or cash incentives to get shots.

In the U.S., retailer Lidl is giving its staff $200, while Aldi, Dollar General and Trader Joe’s are offering extra hours of pay. Online grocery delivery firm Instacart is providing a $25 stipend for workers and contractors. Yogurt makers Chobani and Danone are offering as much as six hours of paid leave, and the French company says it will cover the cost of inoculation in countries where vaccines aren’t free.

Other companies are taking a harder line. U.K. handyman empire Pimlico Plumbers has said it plans a “no jab, no job” policy for new members of its workforce. United Airlines wants to make shots mandatory, drawing concerns from unions.

Many CEOs see themselves as leaders of the fightback against a pandemic that’s killed more than 2.6 million people. They’re standing up against anti-vaccination sentiment that’s strong in countries like the U.S., France and Russia, and trying to keep their workers safe. For some, there’s also a more pragmatic motivation: Vaccination will facilitate a return to the office after a year of working from home that’s strained corporate cultures and spawned a new epidemic of Zoom fatigue.

“I think what we’d like to do is have carrots and sticks — we want people to take it; we think it’s a far better thing,” JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. The bank won’t make vaccination mandatory for the moment due to legal concerns but airlines and hotel companies may attempt to do so, he said.

– – –

The legality of companies requiring their clients and workers to get vaccinated varies from country to country. In many U.S. states, an employer can fire workers at will for any legal reason, which could include the refusal to comply with a vaccine mandate.

At the moment, less than 1% of companies in the U.S. require covid vaccination for all employees, and only 6% say they plan to once shots are readily available, according to a survey of 1,800 in-house lawyers, human-resources workers and executives by employment law firm Littler Mendelson.

In countries where employment protection is stronger, officials are tiptoeing around the issue. The U.K. government has said it’s up to businesses to determine immunization policies for their workforces but that those insisting on vaccination would be discriminatory.

In practice, it’s only legal for an employer to mandate inoculation if it’s considered a “reasonable instruction” related to the employee’s role, which is likely to be in sectors such as health care or hospitality, according to an employment law guide published by U.K. law firm Pinsent Masons. For companies that conduct home visits, such as Pimlico Plumbers, having employees vaccinated and posing less of a health threat to customers could also be a selling point.

So as not to be dragged into courtroom disputes, many CEOs are opting for persuasion over enforcement. The effectiveness of their advocacy will be critical to reopening the global economy, including offices where millions of workers toil away amid little direct contact with customers.

– – –

Unilever chief Alan Jope said he’s signing weekly letters to the company’s 150,000 employees urging them to get vaccinated when possible, and has invited the company’s doctor to promote inoculation on twice-monthly virtual town halls, which see about 14,000 workers dial in.

“We absolutely don’t want anti-vax or vaccine hesitancy to be part of the Unilever culture, and it’s so helpful for them to hear from someone they trust, who is a medical authority, and we will use that platform to answer people’s questions and to advocate for vaccines,” Jope said in an interview.

Budweiser, which is owned by Anheuser-Busch, decided not to run a commercial during the Super Bowl for the first time in 40 years and instead allocated that spending to the Ad Council’s pro-vaccination campaigns. Immunizations will “liberate people,” CEO Carlos Brito said in an interview.

Some CEOs are leading by example. Nestle’s Mark Schneider said that if a vaccine were immediately available to him, “I would get vaccinated in front of all our people to be a role model.”

“It’s the best possible way to protect yourself and to protect your colleagues, and we’ll be very clear on that, just like we were very clear early on on the masks,” he said in an interview. “One of the downsides last year was that very good, effective prevention measures such as masks were politicized.”

– – –

Osem Investments, a Nestle subsidiary in Israel, will bar employees who haven’t been vaccinated or recovered from covid-19 from the workplace unless they submit a negative virus test every three days. Businesses including Check Point Software Technologies and Intel’s Mobileye have also asked workers who are vaccine holdouts to stay home or provide a recent negative test.

Several airlines are taking an equally hard line: Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, has said he wants to make vaccination a requirement for the company’s 60,000 workers. The initiative is dividing employees — the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 141, a union representing fleet and passenger service staff at United, has said it’s received complaints from workers who don’t want to get shots as well as concerns from employees who don’t want to come into contact with unvaccinated colleagues.

Striking a persuasive tone on vaccination will become ever more important as executives hasten a return to the office. Employees at jeweler Tiffany & Co. in the U.S. have been instructed to work at least two days from the office from the beginning of March — whether they’re vaccinated or not.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said at a conference last month that more of the firm’s bankers would have been back in the office by now if vaccine distribution had been faster in the first quarter.

Working from home is an “aberration that we are going to correct as quickly as possible,” he said.