TEL AVIV – Pop superstar Madonna declared that calls to boycott Israel would not stop her from coming to the country to perform during Saturday’s grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv.
“I’ll never stop playing music to suit someone’s political agenda nor will I stop speaking out against violations of human rights wherever in the world they may be,” Madonna said in a statement to Reuters.
Pro-Palestinian BDS supporters have called on artists to boycott the contest, saying it is “whitewashing” Israel’s crimes.
The Gaza-based Palestinian Artists Association last week accusing Israel of using the event to “perpetuate oppression, promote injustice or whitewash a brutal apartheid regime.”
The association pointed to the killing of over 60 Palestinians during the violent border riots last year on the same day Israel won the Eurovision song contest. However, 50 of the dead were later claimed by Hamas to be members of the terror group.
“My heart breaks every time I hear about the innocent lives that are lost in this region and the violence that is so often perpetuated to suit the political goals of people who benefit from this ancient conflict,” Madonna said. “I hope and pray that we will soon break free from this terrible cycle of destruction and create a new path towards peace.”
Last month, Pink Floyd vocalist and BDS overlord Roger Waters appealed to Madonna to rethink her decision to perform at Israel’s Eurovision, saying it “normalizes the occupation, the apartheid, the ethnic cleansing, the incarceration of children, the slaughter of unarmed protesters.”
Madonna is expected to arrive Wednesday morning with an entourage of some 135 people including rapper KoVu, a choir of 40 singers and 25 dancers.
Her two-song performance comes at a $1.3 million cost and will largely be covered by Canadian-Israeli philanthropist Sylvan Adams.
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Ministry on Sunday launched a public relations campaign aiming to counter BDS efforts by buying up Google ads ostensibly supporting a boycott but that actually link to a pro-Israel website.
Google adwords including “boycott” and “Eurovision” lead users to a website, boycotteurovision.net, which praises Israel as “Beautiful, Diverse, Sensational,” in a wordplay standing in for “boycott, divestment and sanctions.”
The Palestinian-led BDS movement described it as it “crude propaganda straight out of apartheid South Africa’s playbook.”
“After its theft of Palestinian land and culture, Israel is now trying to appropriate a symbol of our nonviolent resistance,” Alia Malak of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), which oversees the BDS movement’s academic and cultural campaigns, was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Last week, the ministry released a report saying that BDS activists had used bots and 232 fake Twitter accounts calling for the boycott of Eurovision.
Madonna has performed in Israel three times: in 1993, 2009, and 2012, and has made frequent private visits to the country, drawn by her attraction to Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism.
Her Ray of Light foundation supports a number of Palestinian projects, Reuters said.
Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev’s agreement with his Greek counterpart, Alexis Tsipras, to end a decades-old dispute over the Balkan country’s name has been widely praised in Brussels, Washington and EU capitals.
But many hurdles remain to be overcome before the path is clear for Macedonia — or North Macedonia, as it would be known under the deal — to become an EU member.
Among those obstacles is fierce domestic opposition in both Macedonia and Greece. Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov declared Wednesday he would not sign off on the deal. Tsipras’ coalition partners and the main opposition party have also criticized the plan.
Just as importantly, EU leaders are divided over whether to give the green light for membership talks to Macedonia and Albania at a summit at the end of this month.
Broadly speaking, there are two camps in the EU debate. One, led by France and the Netherlands, argues the bloc should focus on reforming itself after Brexit before considering new members. These countries also worry that inviting in countries from the Balkans, with its legacy of war and deep-seated problems of organized crime and corruption, would be a gift to populist opponents of the EU in next year’s European Parliament election.
France and the Netherlands have drafted conclusions for the June 28-29 European Council summit that would push a decision on talks to the second half of next year, according to a text obtained by POLITICO.
The pro-enlargement camp includes top European Commission officials, senior German politicians, and governments from Central and Eastern Europe. They argue the EU must keep Balkan countries in its orbit to counter increased influence in its southern backyard from rival powers.
“If the EU does not manage to make headway in the accession process with these countries, there will be fatal consequences,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a speech in Berlin on Wednesday.
“For a long time now, other powers — Russia, China, Middle Eastern countries, that is, states with completely different notions of order and stability than those held by us Europeans — have sought to fill this gap,” he said.
Pro-enlargement officials also assert that opening membership talks with a country gives the EU greater leverage to push for more democracy and rule of law in candidate countries and bolster pro-EU leaders there.
For pro-EU Balkan leaders such as Zaev who have taken big political risks to get a shot at membership talks, the bloc would be “extremely short-sighted to smack the door back in their faces,” one EU diplomat said.
Talks about talks
At the moment, it looks like the best Macedonia and Albania can hope for from the summit is an agreement to begin preparations for membership talks. But they would have to undertake more reforms before they could actually sit down at the negotiating table.
“I expressly support the conditional opening of accession negotiations with these two countries,” declared Maas, one of a number of EU politicians who helped to broker the deal between the Macedonian and Greek governments.
The deal is meant to finally resolve a 27-year-old dispute, which began when Macedonia seceded from the disintegrating communist Yugoslavia. Greece asserted that the new country’s name implied a claim on a region of northern Greece of the same name and also falsely laid claim to ancient Greek culture. Athens vowed to block Skopje from joining the EU and NATO until the dispute was settled.
Under the terms of the deal, the country would be renamed North Macedonia and this name would be used both internally and externally. But both Skopje and Athens will not find it easy to implement.
Macedonian President Ivanov could block the deal if it gets through parliament. Although he would in theory be compelled to approve it if lawmakers backed it for a second time, he could nevertheless still withhold his signature.
The Macedonian government will also put the deal to a referendum and need a two-thirds majority in parliament to pass the required constitutional changes.
In Greece, Tsipras’ coalition partners have rejected the deal and the main opposition New Democracy has also been critical. That means he will have to cobble together an ad-hoc alliance if he is to get it through parliament.
Commission challenges Council
Also involved in the Macedonia talks was Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn, who — together with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini — threw down the gauntlet to EU leaders to approve membership talks with Skopje.
“We now look forward to the Council endorsing our recommendation of 17 April to open accession negotiations with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in June,” they said in a joint statement.
But the summit conclusions drafted by France and the Netherlands would not even give the two countries a conditional green light to join Serbia and Montenegro in EU membership talks. Both Albania and Macedonia would be required to undertake more measures to reform their judiciaries, overhaul the public administration and fight crime and corruption.
The European Council would then review progress in a report compiled by the European Commission “during the second semester of 2019,” according to the draft text. Significantly, that review would come after the European Parliament election.
Diplomats said Greece also wants to see Macedonia implement the deal before it gives the go-ahead for the start of membership talks.
“Macedonia under the previous government had been backsliding on rule of law … and so now has catch-up work to do. My take: basically, there’s enough reasons for Greece, the Netherlands and others to kick the decision to next year. And they will,” predicted another EU diplomat.
A third diplomat said much would depend on a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, at which they aim to hammer out a common position on a range of EU issues ahead of the summit.
Complicating the prospects of a deal at the summit is the stance of Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. His government is a champion of EU membership for Western Balkan countries including Macedonia and Albania. But it is also pushing for a formal suspension of Turkey’s moribund membership talks — and suggesting it will block the entire package of enlargement-related conclusions if it doesn’t get its way, diplomats said.
The organizers of Friday’s “D.C. Dyke March,” a parade to celebrate LGBT Pride Month, have banned Gay Pride flags with a Jewish “Star of David” because they say it resembles the Israeli flag and evokes “violent nationalism.”
Writing in the Washington Blade, a Washington, DC, newspaper focusing on the LGBTQ community, Yael Horowitz and Rae Gaines — two self-described “Dykes … [and] self-loving Anti-Zionists” explain their reasons for the ban:
The organizers say that the Star of David can be displayed in other ways — just not on a Gay Pride flag. They appear to have a particular problem with the “Jewish Pride Flag,” a rainbow flag with a white Star of David in the middle, and refer to events at the “Chicago Dyke March.”
It was there, in 2017, that marchers were ejected for wearing the Gay Pride flag with a Jewish star, which in turn drew publicity and condemnation to the exclusion of pro-Israel, or merely proudly Jewish, participants.
Lesbian Jewish activist A.J. Campbell wrote at Tablet:
The left-leaning Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has already condemned the D.C. Dyke March for its stance, according to the Jewish Journal:
It is unclear whether any other national flags — including the American flag — are also being suppressed by the march. One organizer wrote to Campbell: “Palestinian symbols and Jewish symbols are both welcome and encouraged. However, Israeli symbols will not be welcome.”
Israel is the only country in the Middle East that protects LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights. Prime Minister Benjamin Nentayhu recently appointed Israel’s first openly gay minister, Amir Ohana. He will serve as interim justice minister until a new government is formed after the Sep. 17 elections.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
The former Red Devils defender believes those at Old Trafford should be looking to invest in a proven playmaker during the summer transfer window
Manchester United should be favouring a move for James Maddison over Jack Grealish, says Jaap Stam, with the Aston Villa star considered to be a more of a “winger” than a playmaking rival at Leicester.
The Red Devils remain in the market for added creativity heading towards the summer transfer window.
Big-money moves have been mooted for two highly-rated talents currently tied to Premier League rivals.
More teams
Maddison and Grealish are said to figure prominently on the recruitment radar of those at Old Trafford, with both considered to possess the qualities that an inconsistent United are crying out for.
Stam can see why the Red Devils would be keen on both, but feels a potential target in the East Midlands wins out over another in the west.
“I like Maddison a lot,” the 1999 Treble winner told 888sport.
“He’s a midfield player who is very comfortable on the ball and he’s always going into certain positions where he becomes an extra man. He can go by players and score goals as well as creating opportunities for others.
“Jack Grealish, I see more as a winger coming in. For United, they need to look more at direct wingers with pace going forward, instead of a player like Grealish.
“Who knows, he might be an important player because he is good in tight areas. But for me, it’s Maddison for United.”
United’s efforts to get another midfielder on board may be stepped up if a long-running saga involving Paul Pogba eventually leads to the France international moving on.
Former Red Devils defender Stam hopes that situation can be avoided, adding on the World Cup winner: “Pogba is a quality player and I’d like to see him back in the squad because he brings something extra in terms of his ability on the ball and his passing.
“Then there’s his strength going forward and scoring goals and bringing others into positions to score goals.
“The difficult thing is that agents are always pressing on behalf of their players, especially when you’re a big player and a manager tells you that you’re not going to play. You then want to go somewhere else and play for another club.
“And if you’re a big player like Pogba there are always teams asking for you and who want to sign you. That makes things difficult for the manager who has to keep the player calm and make him feel happy and appreciated.”
For the first time since 2007, more Europeans than not believe “my voice counts in the EU,” according to a survey of over 27,000 people across the Continent.
Yet the same poll — released Wednesday to mark one year until the 2019 European Parliament election — also found a warm welcome for the anti-establishment parties shaking up politics in the bloc.
The survey, carried out for the European Parliament by Kantar Public, a consultancy, found that 48 percent of EU citizens surveyed agree their voice counts in the EU, while 46 percent disagree — and Brexit appears to have improved the pro-EU mood. Before the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU in 2016, just 37 percent of Europeans agreed their voice counted in the EU.
However, citizens feel more connected to national politics than pan-European: 63 percent of Europeans agree their voice counts at the national level, with that figure topping 90 percent in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands.
The good news for the Eurocrats and politicians preparing for next year’s election is that support for the EU is “the highest score ever measured since 1983” according to the survey report.
But attitudes vary dramatically across the Continent, and there are several warning signs for the traditionalists, notably support for anti-establishment parties.
Just 38 percent consider these new parties a threat to democracy — not a view shared by many of the old guard — and 63 percent of those aged 24 and under agreed “new political parties and movements can find solutions better” than existing parties.
Overall 70 percent did agree that “just being against something does not improve anything.”
Better news for the EU is that 67 percent believe their country has benefited from EU membership, according to the survey, and 60 percent say being part of the bloc remains a good thing. (12 percent say it’s bad for their country.) In 2011, at the height of the EU’s financial and economic crises, just 47 percent said EU membership was a good thing.
Levels of support for the EU have gone up in 26 of the bloc’s 28 member countries‚ the exceptions being Germany and the United Kingdom which recorded 2 percent decreases in support (within the survey’s margin of error).
In Italy, which is on course to have a populist governing coalition comprising the far-right League and the anti-establishment 5Star Movement, twice as many people believe their voice isn’t heard at EU level (61 percent to 30 percent), as believe that it is.
Italians are also the least likely to think their country has benefited from EU membership (44 percent agree while 41 percent disagree), and twice as many think the EU is going in the wrong direction (49 percent) as the right one (24 percent).
When it comes to the longer term, overall, more Europeans think the bloc is headed in the wrong direction (42 percent) than in the right direction (32 percent).
Greeks were most down on Europe, with 68 percent of those questioned answering “wrong direction.” The most positive country was Ireland, with two-thirds of respondents saying their country and the EU are moving in the right direction.
Election opinions
If the survey results are anything to go by, the EU will have difficulty getting more people out to vote next year than they have in the past (turnout in the 2014 ballot was 42.6 percent, a record low).
According to this year’s survey results, only half of the EU population has an interest in the Parliament elections. That’s on a par with previous results in the same survey.
As for what should be on the agenda ahead of the election, citizens picked terrorism as the most pressing topic of discussion, ahead of youth unemployment and immigration.
In the same survey in 2013, terrorism ranked lowest on a list of concerns, nominated by just 7 percent of those surveyed. In 2018, that had risen to 49 percent overall across the EU.
The results varied widely between countries. There is a great deal of concern about immigration in Italy (where 66 percent said it is a priority issue), Malta (65 percent), and Hungary (62 percent).
Fighting youth unemployment and support for economic growth are the top concerns in Spain, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus and Croatia. Dutch, Swedish and Danish citizens describe “social protection of citizens” as their top concern.
No matter what the election campaign focuses on, many Europeans have little interest in the Parliament and its work.
While citizens in most European countries would trust the Parliament with a greater role in EU decisions, only in Ireland (52 percent) did the Parliament score a majority positive rating. In most EU countries fewer than one-third of citizens have a positive view of the assembly — and in France, just one in six voters had a positive view of the institution (which moves to Strasbourg once a month).
Spitzenkandidaten
The survey asked voters about the EU’s latest effort to connect with voters: the Spitzenkandidat system, which pushes political parties to choose a candidate to be European Commission president, with the party receiving the most votes getting their choice into the top job in the Berlaymont (subject to approval by the member countries).
While a majority of respondents agreed the system increases both the transparency and legitimacy of the European Commission, 70 percent agreed “it only makes sense if accompanied by a real debate about European issues and the future of the EU.”
The survey was carried out in April among 27,601 Europeans.
NEW YORK (AP) — Social media has spoken, and Kim Kardashian West has listened.
The reality TV star and makeup mogul has decided to change the name of her Kimono Solutionwear.
The move comes less than a week after backlash from social media users who objected to what they said was appropriation of the traditional Japanese kimono in the name of her upcoming shapewear line.
The European Commission has given Disney the go ahead to buy parts of Fox on certain conditions | Drew Angerer/Getty Images
EU clears tie-up between Disney and Fox
The transaction raised concerns over the wholesale supply of TV channels.
The European Commission on Tuesday approved Disney’s acquisition of parts of Fox on the condition that it divest a number of channels.
The transaction, which was notified to the Commission on September 14, raised concerns over the wholesale supply of TV channels. The Commission said that the deal would have eliminated competition between two strong suppliers of “factual channels” such as the National Geographic and History channels.
To address the Commission’s competition concerns, Disney committed to divest its interest in all factual channels it controls in the EEA, namely: History, H2, Crime & Investigation, Blaze and Lifetime channels. These channels are currently controlled by A+E Television Networks, which is a joint venture between Disney and Hearst.
The Commission also investigated the impact of the merger on the production and distribution of films for release in movie theaters, the distribution of content for home entertainment, and the licensing of TV content. No competition issues were identified in those markets.
CORRECTION: This article has been amended to reflect a new statement on divestments from the Commission.
Striking school students attend a Fridays for Future climate change protest in front of the Brandenburg Gate on May 24, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. | Sean Gallup/Getty Images
EU horse-trading goes green
Young voters in the EU’s west went green — although that wasn’t mirrored in the east.
Aggressive policies on tackling climate change turned out to be a vote-winner in the European election — at least in the west of the Continent.
Because of that, climate policy may play a big role in the horse-trading that’s now starting over the key jobs in the EU.
“I would expect that the Green wave that we had in many countries, not in all, will have a strong impact on the program of the next Commission president,” European Commission Secretary-General Martin Selmayr said at a POLITICO post-election event on Monday.
The Green group in the European Parliament looks set to be the fourth biggest with 69 MEPs, gaining 17 seats compared to 2014 thanks to a strong showing in Western and Northern countries such as Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands, Ireland, Finland, France and Belgium; however, aside from the Baltics, not a single Green was elected east of Berlin.
“Climate change was one of the top concerns of the EU citizens that went to vote. And this is reflected in the results,” said Thomas Pellerin-Carlin, head of the Jacques Delors Energy Center.
It’s not just the Green party that took climate seriously. Frans Timmermans, the lead candidate of the Socialists, proclaimed it would be his top priority if he becomes the next Commission president.
The issue already looked set to feature prominently on the agenda of the incoming Parliament and the Commission: EU leaders are debating the bloc’s long-term climate strategy, and pressure is building on the bloc to back a goal of cutting emissions to net zero by 2050. That’s something the outgoing Commission proposed in November and, so far, is backed by an alliance of largely Western and Northern members.
Selmayr said he expects the Greens to “dedicate all their resources” to “make sure there’s as much of their program” included in the portfolio of the next Commission chief and would support candidates based on this premise.
The conservative European People’s Party, which remains the largest group in the assembly with 180 seats but incurred significant losses, is scrambling to recover after placing climate as a low priority during the election. The group is hunting for support among other parties to secure the Commission president post for their candidate — Manfred Weber — which means it may have to give ground on climate policy.
“We’ve got to change course … on climate policy,” Peter Liese, a German MEP from the Christian Democratic Union and the outgoing environmental coordinator for the EPP — who was reelected — said Monday.
The Greens, who have no chance of securing the top Commission job and are instead aiming to get a commissioner, are already positioning themselves as Parliament’s kingmakers and key for any future political alliances.
They’re competing with the assembly’s third biggest group, the new liberal ALDE plus Renaissance plus USR Plus alliance, which also says the fight against climate change is one of its priorities.
Continental climate concerns
The concern about climate change showed up in voting behavior across much of Western Europe.
In Germany, the big election winners were the Greens, taking second place with an estimated 21 seats, and pushing the Social Democrats into third place. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc still came out top, but lost ground compared to the previous election.
The results show German mainstream parties “really need to become green if they want to have a political future,” said Pellerin-Carlin.
Polling data published by German broadcaster ZDF showed that over 30 percent of voters under 30 voted for the Greens, compared with 13 percent for the conservative bloc.
Both German mainstream parties — which form the country’s governing coalition — have grudgingly conceded that failure to take on climate change contributed to their poor results.
Climate change has “for some reason become a global issue,” Armin Laschet, the conservative premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, said Sunday evening on German television.
Other leading conservative politicians are now pledging to carve out a clearer position on climate policy plans. The head of the Christian Democratic Union, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, said the leadership will discuss climate policy at an upcoming session.
But the Green surge petered out in most of eastern Germany, with the exception of a few urban strongholds like Berlin. Instead the right-wing and climate skeptic AfD did much better.
Belgian regional elections showed a surge of support for far-right and anti-immigrant parties in Dutch-speaking Flanders, but the Greens did well in Brussels and French-speaking Wallonia.
In France, young people similarly flocked to the Greens, with more than a quarter of voters under 34 supporting the party. President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party picked up support from the right, according to exit polls, but hemorrhaged voters to the Greens, something the government has noticed and is likely tied to Prime Minister Edouard Philippe’s effort to push for an ambitious environmental policy at the EU and national level.
There was “a European green wave tonight that we contributed to,” Yannick Jadot, lead candidate for the French Greens, said Sunday. “Europeans want ecology to be at the heart of their lives.”
The east isn’t green
Those kinds of concerns aren’t likely to find much favor with the nationalist and populist parties that did well in Italy and across much of Central and Eastern Europe.
Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy’s League, greeted his party’s strong result — it won 28 seats — as a mandate to push policies on migration and cutting taxes. In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his victorious Fidesz party talked of stopping migration, defending nation states and Europe’s Christian culture.
In Poland, one of the candidates from the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party was Grzegorz Tobiszowski, the deputy energy minister in charge of restructuring the hard coal industry.
“In the European Parliament there is a need for a stronger voice with arguments in favor of Poland’s energy mix — where there is place for coal as well as [renewables],” he told Polish media during the campaign.
Poland still generates about 80 percent of its electricity from coal, and tangled with the Commission and other countries over its go-slow approach to cutting emissions and phasing out coal.
In Poland, younger voters skewed right rather than green, with 47 percent of those under 30 supporting either Law and Justice or the far-right Konfederacja.
This article has been updated to include Finland as a country where the Greens did well.
Left-wing actress Rosie O’Donnell slammed President Donald Trump as “evil” in a political painting seemingly inspired by progressive filmmaker Rob Reiner’s political rant posted to Twitter Tuesday.
O’Donnell posted the image without much context, writing #evilTRUMP.
While it is not entirely known what she is specifically referring to, O’Donnell linked to a tweet from Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner, who posted a lengthy message, seemingly accusing the Trump administration of lying to the American people and providing “alternative facts” about the chaos unfolding on the southern border.
“You can lie all you want & try to gaslight the American people with alternative facts, but you will never be absolved of your cruelty. The trauma of ripping children from parents & forcing them into cages, living in filth, is just evil,” Reiner tweeted, adding the hashtag, #CloseTheCamps.
This is far from the first time O’Donnell and Reiner have taken aim at the president. Last month, Reiner begged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to take action on Trump, even floating imprisonment.
“We don’t have to choose between Impeachment & Prison,” he tweeted. “The preservation of Democracy & The Rule of Law requires both.”
Similarly, O’Donnell predicted Trump’s arrest in January.
“I think he’ll be arrested,” she told TMZ.
“I believe in America and I believe in our political system and I believe we will right the wrong of the tyranny of Donald Trump,” she added.
O’Donnell released another artistic creation of the president back in April, declaring him “done.”
Of course, the Mueller report virtually exonerated Trump, with former Special Counsel Robert Mueller confirming no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. He also did not suggest charging the president with obstruction.
U.S. President Donald Trump | Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Trump rejects EU offer to scrap car tariffs
The US president also says the WTO is ‘the single worst trade deal ever made.’
U.S. President Donald Trump said the EU’s offer to scrap tariffs on cars is “not good enough” because European consumers’ “habits are to buy their cars, not to buy our cars.”
In an interview with Bloomberg published Friday, Trump also said the EU “is almost as bad as China, just smaller.”
On Thursday, EU trade chief Cecilia Malmström told European Parliament’s trade committee that Brussels is willing to scrap tariffs on all industrial products, including cars, in its trade talks with the United States.
“We are willing to bring down even our car tariffs down to zero … if the U.S. does the same,” she said, adding that “it would be good for us economically, and for them.”
Trump also took aim at the World Trade Organization, telling Bloomberg: “If they don’t shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO,” adding that the agreement establishing the body is “the single worst trade deal ever made.”
The U.S. president said his country has “rarely won a lawsuit” in the WTO, “except for last year.”
He said: “In the last year, we’re starting to win a lot. You know why? Because they know if we don’t, I’m out of there.”
According to Bloomberg, of the 54 cases brought by the U.S. over the life of the WTO, Washington won at least one finding in its favor in 49 of them, and of the 80 cases brought against the U.S., a WTO panel ruled against it in at least one aspect in 69 cases.