Brad Setser
“Tariffs are currently 7.5 percent on electric vehicle battery packs but 25 percent on the components of those packs. The lower rate should be raised. China had long steered its subsidies to companies that manufacture and source their products in China - and sometimes had required those companies to be Chinese-owned. In order to build up industrial sectors where China has a first-mover advantage and now a cost advantage you need to have an insulated market - and to use some of the tools that China has already used.”
3 hours ago
Lael Brainard
“China's policy-driven overcapacity poses a serious risk to the future of the American steel and aluminum industry. China cannot export its way to recovery. China is simply too big to play by its own rules.”
3 hours ago
Ruth Harris
“War is a physical human endeavour and you have a force that is utterly exhausted, not slightly fatigued. It's a heavily attritional war. It's messy, it's bloody, there is nothing glorious about this. The glide bombs that are currently used are hugely devastating. They're cheap to make. They are pretty damn accurate and they can be adapted really quickly. They are fast and [the Russians] have a lot of them. This is a war of mass cost and pace. That's the operational factor on the ground.”
8 hours ago
Ali Vaez
“We are in a situation where basically everybody can claim victory. Iran can say that it took revenge, Israel can say it defeated the Iranian attack and the United States can say it successfully deterred Iran and defended Israel. If we get into another round of tit for tat, it can easily spiral out of control, not just for Iran and Israel, but for the rest of the region and the entire world.”
8 hours ago
Lloyd Austin
“Whether it's munitions, whether it's vehicles, whether it's platforms, I'll just tell you that Ukraine right now is facing some dire battlefield conditions. We're already seeing things on the battlefield begin to shift a bit in Russia's favour. We are seeing them make incremental gains. We're seeing the Ukrainians be challenged in terms of holding the line.”
19 hours ago
Brad Setser
“Tariffs are currently 7.5 percent on electric vehicle battery packs but 25 percent on the components of those packs. The lower rate should be raised. China had long steered its subsidies to companies that manufacture and source their products in China - and sometimes had required those companies to be Chinese-owned. In order to build up industrial sectors where China has a first-mover advantage and now a cost advantage you need to have an insulated market - and to use some of the tools that China has already used.”
3 hours ago
Lael Brainard
“China's policy-driven overcapacity poses a serious risk to the future of the American steel and aluminum industry. China cannot export its way to recovery. China is simply too big to play by its own rules.”
3 hours ago
Ruth Harris
“War is a physical human endeavour and you have a force that is utterly exhausted, not slightly fatigued. It's a heavily attritional war. It's messy, it's bloody, there is nothing glorious about this. The glide bombs that are currently used are hugely devastating. They're cheap to make. They are pretty damn accurate and they can be adapted really quickly. They are fast and [the Russians] have a lot of them. This is a war of mass cost and pace. That's the operational factor on the ground.”
8 hours ago
Ali Vaez
“We are in a situation where basically everybody can claim victory. Iran can say that it took revenge, Israel can say it defeated the Iranian attack and the United States can say it successfully deterred Iran and defended Israel. If we get into another round of tit for tat, it can easily spiral out of control, not just for Iran and Israel, but for the rest of the region and the entire world.”
8 hours ago
Lloyd Austin
“Whether it's munitions, whether it's vehicles, whether it's platforms, I'll just tell you that Ukraine right now is facing some dire battlefield conditions. We're already seeing things on the battlefield begin to shift a bit in Russia's favour. We are seeing them make incremental gains. We're seeing the Ukrainians be challenged in terms of holding the line.”
19 hours ago
“Our worry [is] that removal of these barricades cannot exclude casualties. And that's why we want to be as careful as possible to make sure that there will be no destabilisation and relative peace and security will be in place. However, we cannot allow this violation of lawfulness and constitutionality for ever. So, yeah, this must end, sooner the better. The EU-US all agree that barricades should be removed. But they are also worried how this might be used and abused by Belgrade. I think that the worry of our western partners and friends is the links of Belgrade with Moscow. We do not know how they could be rendered operative in case of rising of tensions, towards escalation in the north. I think that their major concern is precisely this: now that Russia got severely wounded in Ukraine after its invasion and aggression, they have interest in spillover. They have interest in outsourcing their war-mongering drive to the Balkans where they have a client who's in Belgrade.”
“The barricades in the north will not be tolerated for too long. I cannot say it is a civic protest when there are armed people there [at the barricades] who want to return Kosovo to 1999 and who hold up slogans and photos of despotic [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”
“A referendum in the sovereign territory of another state is not a practice accepted by any democratic country. Serbs in Kosovo with dual citizenship can vote in Serbia's referendum by mail or in the liaison office in Pristina.”
“The activism and mobilization of our party in local elections continues not to be the same as it was in national ones. One of the reasons is maybe that Vetevendosje is identified with national topics and there is a lot more work than we thought to get identified in the municipalities with local issues.”
“We predicted there would be a reaction, but not the reaction that would see MiG-29 fighter jets in the air and T-72 tanks at our border and then armoured vehicles and military combat vehicles. These were not predicted.”
“Serbia is using Kosovo citizens to provoke a serious international conflict. Individuals or groups whose criminal activity endangers the rule of law and public order are attacking our state and disturbing the peace. They are clearly encouraged and supported by Serbia, namely the autocratic regime there.”
“The new measures [Serbs have to use Kosovo vehicle licence plates instead of Serbian ones] are not directed against the Serb community. Nothing extraordinary or discriminatory is happening today. We are just starting to implement an agreement both Serbia and European Union have agreed to. Today's actions undertaken by relevant institutions… are not aimed to infringe the right of Serb citizens for free movement or provoke any destabilisation.”
“Missing persons will always be a main topic in our relations with Serbia. We cannot pretend to have either a sustainable or secure future if we do not address the issues of the past.”
“It was rejected before it was read; this proves their unwillingness to reach an agreement. When our commitment to the missing was expressed to include the word 'dealing with the past', this was accepted by Borell but rejected by Vucic.”
“As a Prime Minister of a country whose citizens are being kept isolated by being denied visa liberalization, we understand the frustration of Albania and North Macedonia on the lack of progress on accession talks with the European Union but we must nevertheless commit strongly to EU integration, our democratization and economic development agenda for our citizens.”
“From my point of view, this first meeting was constructive. It will be hard, but I am an optimist. We now have an honest approach to the problems. The essence of our conflict is the lack of mutual recognition. US President Biden said loud and clear that we need that.”
“I strongly believe that only through direct and honest communication can we better understand each other, remove prejudices and misunderstandings, and address common challenges. The cultural diversity of our country is the strongest guarantee for lasting peace. As Prime Minister of Kosova, I will protect all our monuments and particularly the Orthodox churches and monasteries.”
“In my speech [to the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee], I said that we must not take peace for granted nor must we ignore history, because that means ignoring lessons written in the cemeteries of our continent.”
“We need additional information and documents regarding the agreements reached so far to prepare. At the same time, during May, we will meet opposition parties in Kosovo to have a principled and well-prepared dialogue, because we do not want to make mistakes. Sometime in June we might have beginning of a new chapter of the dialogue.”
“I will not be here in Brussels on May 11. The future dialogue with Serbia must be well-prepared in advance and based on clear principles. Belgrade needs to face its past. We should not be obsessed with history, but we also cannot ignore history. Belgrade should distance itself from [former Serbian leader Slobodan] Milosevic's regime and not continue the old goals with new means.”
“The challenges ahead for this government are new and old ones, but they are multiple. The pandemic remains the biggest challenge. As of today, we will start our journey to minimising inequalities and increasing the opportunities for all. It will be a long and arduous journey but together we will reach the desired aim.”
“The road ahead is long. We will have obstacles and we might make some mistakes, but we have a noble cause. We will not take revenge on anyone, but we will seek justice. Each and every one of us must be responsible for making our country a good place to live in.”