Here is a summary of the most important events that unfolded last month, and which may affect economic, financial and geopolitical issues in the months ahead: 

North America

• After months of negotiations, Congress has finally passed a pandemic relief package. Though he initially hesitated to sign off on the bill, President Donald Trump signed the legislation which funds the government for 2021 and provides $900 billion worth of pandemic relief. However, after signing the bill, Trump demanded Congress removes wasteful spending from the bill and increases the stimulus checks. In response to the demands, the House of Representatives passed a bill increasing the stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000, but once it reached the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked the vote. McConnell is now pushing a bill which would tie the larger stimulus checks to the creation of a commission to study voter fraud and a repeal of a legal liability shield for tech companies, both issues which are opposed by Democrats.
• The US has begun a nationwide Covid-19 vaccination campaign. The Food and Drug Administration approved the BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for emergency use authorization just before the Christmas holidays. Within a couple of days, millions of doses were shipped out across the country. As of January 2^nd, more than 4.2 million people had received the first of two vaccine doses needed, falling far below the government’s goal of having 20 million people vaccinated by the end of December.
• Hackers allegedly linked to Russia’s foreign intelligence service infiltrated the highest levels of the US government, including the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, and parts of the Pentagon. The Department of Homeland Security has ordered all federal agencies to disconnect from the SolarWinds software that was compromised. Hundreds of other US companies, including Microsoft which also reported it has been hacked, use the SolarWinds software and may have been at risk. The National Security Council is coordinating an investigation.
• The Electoral College has confirmed Joe Biden’s win of the US presidential elections. Biden won with a solid majority of 306 votes despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results. Throughout December, Biden continued nominating members of his cabinet, including Deb Haaland to lead the Department of the Interior and General Lloyd J. Austin III to be Secretary of Defense. If confirmed, Haaland will be the first Native American cabinet secretary and General Austin would be the first Black defense secretary.
• Mexican lawmakers have approved legislation to restrict the activities of foreign law enforcement officers, drawing criticism from the US. Though the US was not specifically mentioned in the bill, many believe it is in response to the US’ arrest of a former Mexican defense minister in October. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and other critics have portrayed the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as an agency which infringes on Mexican sovereignty. US President Trump argues the new law hinders bilateral cooperation on drug and cartel issues. 

Europe

• Despite many months of rocky negotiations, the United Kingdom (UK) and European Union (EU) have agreed to a post-Brexit trade deal. Though the deal has been signed, there are still many issues that need to be hammered out. Border bureaucracy, new paperwork, and regulatory cooperation could still cause major disruption in trade between the UK and EU.
• Earlier this month, Great Britain became the first western nation to administer a Covid-19 vaccine. Since then, the UK has been administering millions of the BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Just a few days ago, it also approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine which is cheaper and easier to store than the other approved vaccines but not as effective. The approval of this vaccine comes as a new, more contagious variant of the Covid-19 strain has emerged. 
• After weeks of deadlock following Hungary and Poland’s veto of the budget, the EU approved a historic $2.2 trillion budget agreement which includes Covid-19 recovery funds. The bloc has also agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied the Russian government’s involvement in the poisoning of opposition leader Alexey Navalny. Ironically, the Russian government just launched a criminal case against Navalny accusing him of embezzling funds donated to an anticorruption organization that he is the leader of. Recent evidence in an investigation of the incident reveals Russian agents trained in using chemical weapons had followed Navalny before he was poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve agent.

Asia and the Pacific

• China continues to crackdown on Hong Kong, charging person after person with violations of the new national security law imposed early in 2020. Most recently, a group of protesters who were arrested in August for fleeing the city by boat were sentenced to 3 months-7 years in prison. Furthermore, Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai was charged with colluding with foreign forces. Rights groups and several countries, including the US, have condemned the sentencings. China has also announced that Americans with diplomatic passports will no longer be able to visit Hong Kong without visas.
• For more than a month, tens of thousands of Indian farmers have been protesting new agricultural laws passed by the Indian government, blocking roadways and railways into the country’s capital. Several rounds of talks between government officials and the farmers have failed to produce a breakthrough. The farmers fear that the three agricultural reform laws will end government-supported prices which many farmers depend on.
• Australia has asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) to investigate the 80% tariffs China has imposed on its barley, formalizing the trade dispute between the two countries. In addition to barley, the trade dispute has affected Australia’s trade in wine, lobster, beef, timber, cotton, and coal. After several failed attempts to resolve the issue privately, going to the WTO was the logical next step.
• Early in December, the US approved an additional $280 million sale of military equipment, sparking an expected condemnation from China. Beijing also protested the transit of a US warship through the Taiwan Strait by sending its own aircraft carrier through the strait on its way to conduct military drills in the disputed South China Sea. The US continues to support Taiwan as an independently governed nation while China views it as part of its sovereign territory.
• In 2019, 1.67 million people were killed by air pollution in India. The number accounts for nearly 18 percent of total deaths in the country in 2019 and is believed to have led to a 1.4 percent decrease in India’s gross domestic product. The country is home to some of the world’s most polluted air.

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