Yellen Heads to Asia With Russia Oil-Price-Cap Top of Mission
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is heading out on her first trip to Asia since taking office, aiming to use sit-downs with global counterparts to help…
July 08, 2022 at 05:09 PM
4 minute read
Federal GovernmentTreasury Secretary Janet Yellen is heading out on her first trip to Asia since taking office, aiming to use sit-downs with global counterparts to help build momentum for a complex effort to cap prices for Russian oil.
Yellen, who previously traveled to the region as Federal Reserve chair, departs Saturday on a 10-day trip that includes stops in Tokyo and Seoul. In between, she'll attend the Group of 20 finance ministers gathering in Bali, Indonesia, July 15-16.
The trip poses a fresh economic-diplomacy challenge for the Treasury chief, who led talks last year on a global corporate-tax deal — though one that's now proving a struggle to complete. Group of Seven leaders last week instructed their ministers to explore the Russia oil-price-cap plan favored by the US, putting Yellen's role in the spotlight.
The aim is an arrangement to ban, by the end of this year, the insurance and transport services needed to ship Russian crude and petroleum products unless the oil is purchased below an agreed price.
US Treasury officials signaled that the price cap is a central focus of the trip, saying Yellen would pursue the topic at each of her three stops. Speaking to reporters Thursday, they added that US officials have been discussing the plan with a growing circle of governments, without offering specifics.
The goal is to limit the revenue Moscow earns from oil exports without driving Russian oil off the global market, and thus causing prices to once again soar. But critics have called it too complex to work in practice. It's also unclear whether countries like China and India, both G-20 members who are among the largest buyers of Russian oil, would cooperate.
Meantime, Russia's expected presence at the G-20 meetings could prove contentious — as was the case at a spring gathering in Washington — preventing the group from issuing an official communique. Those statements are typically stuffed with watered-down language on general goals, but can signal progress toward coordinated action on pressing global issues.
"It's hard to see how a group like the G-20, with Russia as a member, is going to agree on much of anything," said Matthew Goodman, senior vice president for economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "Half of the people won't agree to anything with Russia in the room, and the other half won't agree to anything without Russia in the room."
Yellen's focus may be forced to shift somewhat to the bilateral and small group meetings to advance the Biden administration's agenda, Goodman said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken appears to be taking a similar approach this week at a gathering of G-20 foreign ministers.
Among Yellen's expected other priorities on the trip:
- Maintaining the international alliance that's imposing sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine
- Keeping alive the somewhat troubled pact on global corporate taxes
- Urging progress on pandemic preparedness, climate change and food security
- Doing more to help heavily indebted countries as they struggle with a strengthening US dollar and slowing global growth
On the debt-relief front, China has proved a challenge for Yellen and her developed-nation counterparts. Beijing, the dominant official lender to poor countries, has shown little enthusiasm for a new G-20 program, known as the Common Framework, meant to streamline the process of organizing creditors to act jointly with struggling debtors.
At a meeting in Bonn, Germany last month, G-7 finance ministers called out China, urging it to "contribute constructively" on debt treatment.
On her first stop, in Tokyo July 10-12, Yellen will likely hear concerns about the strengthening of the US dollar against the yen in recent months. Japan's currency has tumbled in recent weeks to the lowest since 1998, in a trend that's sapped household purchasing power and stoked concern in the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
While few observers think there's any likelihood of coordinated US-Japan foreign-exchange intervention at this point, it wouldn't be a surprise for currency matters to come up in Yellen's meetings.
"My assumption is the Japanese will want some kind of reassurance on the continued strengthening of the dollar that — under certain circumstances — the Treasury would agree to coordinated intervention to slow or stop depreciation of key currencies," said Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.
Asked about the topic during the press briefing, a Treasury official declined to comment.
Yellen will also visit Seoul after the G-20. South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, has also seen currency depreciation. It's also featured as a key component of talks on strengthening semiconductor supply chains; President Joe Biden visited the nation in May.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllBig Law Practice Leaders 'Bullish' That Second Trump Presidency Will Be Good for Business
3 minute readBig Law Lawyers Fan Out for Election Day Volunteering in Call Centers and Litigation
7 minute readCOVID-19 Death Suit Against Nursing Home Sent to State Court, 11th Circuit Affirms
Florida Judge Threatened With Assault, Kidnapping and Death
Trending Stories
- 1Infant Formula Judge Sanctions Kirkland's Jim Hurst: 'Overtly Crossed the Lines'
- 2Trump's Return to the White House: The Legal Industry Reacts
- 3Election 2024: Nationwide Judicial Races and Ballot Measures to Watch
- 4Climate Disputes, International Arbitration, and State Court Limitations for Global Issues
- 5Judicial Face-Off: Navigating the Ethical and Efficient Use of AI in Legal Practice [CLE Pending]
- 6How Much Does the Frequency of Retirement Withdrawals Matter?
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250