EU still united on Brexit. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will travel to Brussels within days to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and try to strike a last-minute free trade agreement. Johnson reportedly also wanted to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, but both refused. EU leaders also pointedly declined to add Brexit to their agenda when they meet on Thursday and Friday, insisting that their negotiating mandate will not change and so there is nothing to discuss. Meanwhile, the British government said it would drop legislation that would breach the EU-U.K. Withdrawal Agreement after it reached a deal in principle with EU negotiators on the future status of Northern Ireland. Seoul floats TPP membership. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said his country will consider joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact. This is a departure from Seoul’s previous stance – one that notably came only after Beijing began expressing its own interest in the pact, which was conceived ostensibly as a way for Pacific nations to curb their dependence on China. (It’s hard to see Beijing getting an invitation.) Meanwhile, a bipartisan report in the U.S. called for Washington to […]
