Here are some critical issues to watch around the globe over the coming month:

North America

At the G-20 summit this past weekend, the U.S. and China agreed to restart trade talks. This is a step in the right direction after trade tensions escalated with Chinese tech bans and tariff hikes. Despite the ban on doing business with Chinese tech giant Huawei last month, U.S. companies are finding ways to side-step the ban.

With trade disputes threatening to weaken the economy, Fed chairman Jay Powell is moving towards cutting interest rates. Markets are expecting a cut of up to half a percentage point between and December. The Fed will be watching how anticipated economic and political events, will unfold in the coming weeks.

The U.S. Senate voted to block a multi-billion-dollar munitions sale to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. This bipartisan decision rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to circumvent Congress by declaring an emergency over Iran.

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have escalated this month. After the U.S. blamed Iran for attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran shot down a U.S. drone flying over the Strait. In response to the incident, President Trump imposed new sanctions on Iran. Iranian leadership reacted by stating the path to diplomacy is now closed.

Mexico became the first country to ratify the new North American free trade agreement which was finalized last October. In a meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Trump a couple of weeks ago, they agreed to be working towards ratification of the agreement.

Europe

British Prime Minister Theresa May and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed a post-Brexit bilateral trade deal at a meeting in London in early June. President Trump encouraged Britain to leave the European Union and ensured “everything will be on the table” when it comes to negotiating a trade deal between the two countries.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters have taken the streets in Prague, Czech Republic in the largest demonstration in the country since the fall of the Iron Curtain. Citizens are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Andrej Babis as he faces fraud charges.

European Union leaders cannot agree on who will run the European Commission next. The deadlock is yet another sign of a dysfunctional and fractured EU.

The race for British Prime Minister has narrowed down to candidates Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt. The figurehead of the Conservatives and supporter of Brexit, Boris Johnson, is the clear leader but a rather controversial character in British society.

Asia-Pacific

Prayuth Chan-ocha was elected Prime Minister by lawmakers in Thailand this month. Chan-ocha has been leading the country since a 2014 military coup. The election signified a big win for the military as Parliament is now dominated by a pro-military party.

Since the beginning of June, millions of protesters have taken the streets in Hong Kong in a series of demonstrations against a controversial extradition bill. If the extradition bill is passed by Hong Kong’s government, suspects could be sent to mainland China for trial. Protestors are concerned that the bill would allow China to encroach on the rights of Hong Kong citizens.

India implemented a tariff hike on U.S. exports after the U.S. suspended India from its preferential tariff system. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited India last week to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss trade disputes and reduce tensions.

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un hosted China’s President Xi Jinping in North Korea to discuss denuclearization and peace in the Koreas. Though China has been North Korea’s only major ally, China has also sided with tougher sanctions on North Korea’s nuclear program and pushed for denuclearization.

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