“Coalition of the Willing” summit begins in Kyiv
The gathering today, which falls on the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union, brings together nearly three dozen European countries supporting Ukraine with financial and military aid against Russia. Top on the agenda is Kyiv’s urgent request for more air defenses ahead of winter, as Russian airstrikes continue to pummel Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure. But Kyiv’s Western backers are themselves running low on missile interceptors because of previous allocations to Ukraine and the US’s use of Patriots to fight Iran. The US is still weighing a request to allow Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles domestically, amid pushback from US arms manufacturers who don’t want to send production elsewhere. Europe is now the main supplier of military and financial aid to Ukraine, with €90 billion (around $105 billion) in EU funds allocated through 2027, along with a number of bilateral commitments. Norway announced another $9 billion package for next year on Sunday.
US and Canada now “at war” over trade
That’s how Canadian PM Mark Carney described things over the weekend after trade talks between the US and its second largest trade partner collapsed late last Friday, triggering substantial new duties on both sides. A deal had seemed close, but Carney ultimately scrapped negotiations, citing last-minute US demands to restrict Canadian entertainment content and limit Ottawa’s freedom to strike deals with third countries. As a result, the US on Saturday slapped 50% tariffs on 5% of Canada’s total exports, in addition to existing tariffs on Canadian metals. Both sides now run risks: some US politicians and business leaders have warned that the spat with Canada could boost inflation ahead of the midterms. Carney, meanwhile, is banking on his country’s ability to withstand a trade war with the world’s top economy.
US threatens economic “D-Day” for Iran
In an op-ed in the Financial Times today, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that Washington plans to inflict severe economic pain on Iran through a series of new measures starting this afternoon. The plan will likely include secondary sanctions on countries that continue to do business with Iran, although it remains unclear how China, the largest buyer of Iran’s oil, will respond. With Iran’s economy battered by the war and its currency hitting a record low of 2.02 million rials to the US dollar this morning, the Trump administration is betting that economic warfare will be enough to force Iran to return to negotiations. Tehran, meanwhile, is digging in its heels, threatening to fine and confiscate cargo from 46 ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and announcing the discovery of a massive 7.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas that it says is worth “tens of billions of dollars.”
