More stories

  • in

    Ireland moves to ban trade with Israeli businesses in occupied Palestinian territories

    Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Ireland’s government will this week present plans to ban trade in goods with Israeli businesses in occupied Palestinian territories, becoming the first EU country to take such a step.Simon Harris, foreign and trade minister, said the planned legislation came in response to an escalation in what he called the country’s “war crimes” in Gaza.Harris will on Tuesday launch the process of drafting legislation, days after a majority of EU states voted to review the bloc’s trade deal with Israel. The move comes amid legal debate over whether trade in services such as Airbnb can be included in the bill.“It is clear war crimes are taking place, children are being starved and food is being used as a weapon of war,” Harris told the Financial Times. “The world has not done enough and we need to act.”Ireland’s goods imports from Israeli businesses in the occupied territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem are tiny. But the Dublin government, which last year recognised the state of Palestine together with Spain and Norway, wants European countries to follow its lead.“There has never been a targeted trade measure of this nature before at an EU level,” said Conor O’Neill, head of policy and advocacy at Christian Aid Ireland, who co-drafted a previous occupied territories bill in 2018, sponsored by an independent senator.Ireland’s move comes as legal debate continues over whether trade in services like Airbnb — with its European headquarters in Dublin — can be included in the bill More

  • in

    Donald Trump delays imposing 50% tariffs on EU until July 9

    Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldDonald Trump has agreed to delay his threat of 50 per cent tariffs on the EU to extend trade negotiations until July 9, after a conversation on Sunday with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.“She said she wants to get down to serious negotiation,” Trump told reporters. “We had a very nice call.”“She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out.”Von der Leyen said in a statement that the EU is ready to advance trade talks with the US “swiftly and decisively” but needed Trump to return to his original 90-day negotiation period.The discussion, in the first publicly disclosed call between the two leaders since Trump’s inauguration, came two days after the US president said he would impose 50 per cent tariffs on EU imports from June 1 in response to what he said were unsatisfactory negotiations with Brussels.That represented a big escalation in the simmering transatlantic trade war, and startled European negotiators. Trump had paused his initial imposition of 20 per cent tariffs against the EU in April to begin a 90-day negotiation that was set to end on July 9.“Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively. To reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9,” von der Leyen said in a post on social media, after what she described as a “good call” with Trump. Her office confirmed she had initiated the contact.The statement suggested a possible shift in the commission’s stance towards finding a compromise. On Friday, von der Leyen’s chief trade negotiator Maroš Šefčovič called for “mutual respect, not threats” and said Brussels would “defend our interests” in response to Trump’s escalation.Show video infoAfter Trump had threatened to impose the 50 per cent tariffs, later on Friday Treasury secretary Scott Bessent had said on Fox News: “I would hope that this would light a fire under the EU.”A White House official said they were frustrated the EU had not engaged like other countries. “We just haven’t seen anything material come out of the EU,” said a White House official.Stephen Moore, an outside economic adviser to Trump, said that von der Leyen’s statement is “a promising sign” that the EU is “ready to negotiate”.“It may not be as rapidly as Trump would like to see, but I think this is a peace offering,” Moore told the FT.Officials on both sides have acknowledged the lack of progress in the EU-US talks, as negotiators stick to long-held positions. Trump has attacked the EU for what he alleges are unfair trade practices, while EU officials say the US refuses to take into account its huge services surplus with the bloc.“I’m not looking for a deal,” Trump told reporters in the White House on Friday. “We’ve set the deal — it’s at 50 per cent.”In case Trump follows through on his threat, the EU has prepared a €21bn package of tariffs on US items such as maize, wheat, motorcycles and clothing, and is also discussing an additional list worth €95bn of other targets including Boeing aircraft, cars and bourbon whiskey. More

  • in

    FirstFT: Masayoshi Son floats idea of US-Japan sovereign wealth fund

    This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters hereGood morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter:Masayoshi Son floats idea of a US-Japan sovereign wealth fundChina’s cost-conscious tourists flock to Hong KongThe pride and pain of JapanophiliaSoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has floated the idea of creating a joint US-Japan sovereign wealth fund to make large-scale investments in tech and infrastructure across the US. What we know: The idea has been raised at very high political levels in Washington and Tokyo, including in discussions between Son and US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent. The plan has not yet crystallised into a formal proposal, though the idea has come up several times in recent weeks as Japanese negotiators and the Trump administration edge towards a trade deal.How the fund could work: Under the suggested wealth fund structure, the US Treasury and the Japanese ministry of finance would be joint owners and operators of the fund, each with a significant stake. They would then open the vehicle to other limited partner investors, and could potentially offer ordinary Americans and Japanese the chance to own a slice. One person familiar with the discussions said that to be effective in its investment ambitions the fund would have to be “enormous” — with potentially $300bn in initial capital and then heavily leveraged.What is the appeal of a joint fund? “The theory is that Bessent is looking for revenue streams for the Treasury that do not involve raising taxes, and however far out this joint fund may sound, it would in theory provide that,” said one person briefed on the situation. The person added that Japan wanted “a properly governed covenant that protects Japan from the ad hoc decisions of Oval Office politics”. Read more about Son’s joint fund idea.Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:Economic data: Singapore publishes the April industrial production index.Country Garden: The Chinese developer has a winding up hearing scheduled for today in Hong Kong’s High Court.South-east Asia: The 46th Asean Summit begins in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Five more top stories1. US oil executives are warning that a decade-long shale boom is ending, as Trump’s tariffs push up costs and falling crude prices squeeze profits. Oil companies are cutting spending and idling drilling rigs, while analysts slash output forecasts, despite the US president’s pledge to “unleash” production. 2. US pressure on Latin America to cut trade with China could lead to economic disaster because the region is so dependent on trade with Beijing, according to the outgoing head of the Organisation of American States. Luis Almagro, secretary-general of the political forum for the past decade, told the FT that “the worst thing that can happen to Latin America is to be forced to choose” between the US and China. Read the full interview.3. The EU is ready to advance trade talks with the US “swiftly and decisively” but needs Trump to return to his original 90-day negotiation period, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said yesterday after a call with the US president. The discussion came two days after Trump said he would impose 50 per cent tariffs on EU imports from June 1. Here’s more on the “good call” between the two leaders.4. Russia has carried out its largest aerial attack on Ukraine, shattering any hopes that a record prisoner exchange completed yesterday could lead to a cessation of hostilities. At least 12 people were killed and dozens more injured in Sunday’s overnight attack, which the Ukrainian air force said was the single-largest aerial assault of the war so far.5. Movie fans flocked to see Disney’s Lilo and Stitch and the eighth instalment of Paramount’s Mission: Impossible franchise, giving Hollywood hope for a return to box office growth after years of disappointment. Cinemas in North America raked in more than $260mn through Sunday, setting a record for the Memorial Day holiday weekend.Join us for a subscriber-only webinar on Wednesday for insights into the most consequential geopolitical rivalry of our time: the US-China showdown. Register now and put questions to our panel.News in-depthHong Kong welcomed more than 34mn visitors from China last year, a 27% increase over 2023 More

  • in

    Fed’s Powell urges US university students to protect democracy

    Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldFederal Reserve chair Jay Powell called on students to protect democracy while praising American universities as “a crucial national asset”, days after the Trump administration escalated its attacks on higher education. “We lead the world in so many ways, including in scientific innovation and economic dynamism,” the US’s central banker told students in a commencement address at Princeton on Sunday. “Our great universities are the envy of the world and a crucial national asset.”This week the Trump administration barred Harvard University from enrolling international students, the latest assault on the Ivy League over perceived leftwing indoctrination and antisemitism. It has revoked student visas and demanded colleges hand over information about which students have participated in protests.While extolling American universities, Powell, who has himself come under attack from the US president, urged Princeton graduates “to take none of this for granted”. “When you look back in 50 years, you will want to know that you have done whatever it takes to preserve and strengthen our democracy, and bring us ever closer to the Founders’ timeless ideals,” the Fed chair said. The bar on Harvard, which places the future of more than 6,500 international students in limbo, was temporarily blocked on Friday by a US district court judge. The administration has also cut billions in funding for higher educational institutions in the US, leading European countries such as France to offer academic positions to leading scholars currently based in the US.Ivy League colleges, which include Harvard and Princeton and six other universities, regularly top global rankings. Powell called on the class of 2025 to take risks, consider public service and guard their integrity “carefully”. “Fifty years from now, you will want to be able to look in the mirror and know that you did what you thought was right, in every part of your life,” the Fed chair said. “At the end of the day, your integrity is all you have.” Powell was appointed by Trump during his first term, but is now under fire from the president for not cutting interest rates fast enough.  The US president has labelled him “Mr Too Late” and a “major loser” after the Fed left interest rates on hold at between 4.25 and 4.5 per cent this year. Powell and other Fed officials say they cannot lower interest rates until it becomes clear that the president’s global trade war will not trigger another wave of persistent US inflation. Kevin Hassett, head of Trump’s National Economic Council, last month signalled the administration would “continue to study” ways to fire Powell before his term ended next May. Trump has since said he has “no intention” to fire the Fed chair. Powell, who intends to serve his full term, has said he believes that firing him over differences of opinion on monetary policy is “not permitted under the law”. A Supreme Court opinion issued earlier this week indicated that the US’s nine top justices believed the White House did not have the right to meddle with the Fed’s independence to set monetary policy as it saw fit by firing members of the central bank’s rate-setting committee.  More

  • in

    King Charles to walk diplomatic high wire with Ottawa speech

    This article is an on-site version of our The Week Ahead newsletter. Subscribers can sign up here to get the newsletter delivered every Sunday. Explore all of our newsletters hereHello and welcome to the working week.Us Brits (like our American cousins) will begin the next seven days with a holiday. But not King Charles. He’s got work to do in one of his other realms and there is a lot of local excitement about this. Charles is going to make history by becoming the first reigning monarch this century (and the first in 50 years) to address the state opening of parliament in Ottawa, setting out the legislative agenda of Canada’s newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney.The king‘s health while travelling has been a talking point locally ahead of the two-day state visit, but more importantly, (constitutionally at least) there is concern about whether his speech will address the elephant in the room — Donald Trump — and how the US president, known to be a fan of the royals, will react. Charles and Queen Camilla will also perform the usual royal duties such as planting a tree, watching a 28-horse escort with military honours and, slightly more unusually, joining a game of street hockey. The official state opening will provide Carney, who has been good so far with the big stuff like visiting the White House, a chance to shine at home with his first big domestic set-piece. Election attention will focus on Poland, when the next president will be decided in a run-off vote on Sunday. The contest has turned into a cliffhanger after the pro-EU mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, secured an unexpectedly narrow win over the nationalist candidate Karol Nawrocki in the first round. This week’s vote may well be decided by the two-fifths of voters who opted for candidates who failed to make the run-off.The outcome is hugely consequential for the EU and the reform agenda of centre-right Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Victory for Nawrocki could augur the collapse of Tusk’s coalition government and a return to power of his Eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) party in 2027. Company results are down to a trickle this week, partly because of the US financial markets being closed on Monday for Memorial Day. Corporate news could well be generated by senior executives speaking at conferences, however. To take one example, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg is among those addressing the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on Thursday. He is expected to cover several issues that have been making headlines recently, including 737 production stability as well as the outlook for the 777X, the F-47 fighter aircraft and Air Force One. The central bankers are also out in force on the speaking circuit. There is a limited run of economic data, notably EU nation inflation reports and quarterly GDP estimates (and updated estimates) from the US, Canada, France, India, Brazil and Turkey. These will be watched, though G7 bond market trends, national and geopolitics will probably continue to be the overarching influence on market sentiment. More details below.One more thing . . . Some of you have noted a glaring lack of comment in last week’s newsletter about Wednesday’s Europa league final. I’ll admit that, as a long-standing/suffering Spurs fan, I did not want to jinx it. Perhaps it worked. But there was also the fact that this feels like a much stronger news week for the beautiful game as the European football season reaches its climax. On Saturday Munich hosts the Champions League final between France’s Paris Saint-Germain (who have never won this trophy) and Inter Milan. It will be a moment — the 70th edition of Europe’s biggest club football tournament. If you want more FT insight on the business of football, read this.Thank you for your feedback on this newsletter. You can email me at [email protected] or, if you are reading this from your inbox, hit reply.Key economic and company reportsHere is a more complete list of what to expect in terms of company reports and economic data this week.MondaySpain: April producer price index (PPI) inflation rate dataUK: late May bank holiday. Financial markets closedUS: Memorial Day public holiday. Financial markets closedTuesdayJapan: April services producer price index (PPI) inflation rate dataUK: British Retail Consortium May Shop Price Index. Also, Adzuna Job Market ReportUS: Conference Board consumer confidence indexResults: AutoZone Q3, Soitec FYWednesdayJoint Opec and non-Opec ministerial monitoring committee meeting to review oil production output policyAustralia: April consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate dataFrance: Q1 GDP estimate and April PPI inflation rate dataGermany: April labour market figuresUS: Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes publishedResults: Agilent Technologies Q2, Aroundtown Q1, C&C Group FY, Grosvenor FY, HP Q2, Kingfisher Q1 trading update, Nvidia Q1, Pets at Home FY, Salesforce Q1ThursdayBoeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg to speak at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference. Other executives taking part include Doug Ostermann, Stellantis chief financial officer, and John Waldron, president and chief operating officer at Goldman SachsUK: Bank of England April capital issuance statisticsUS: second Q1 GDP estimateResults: Auto Trader FY, Bath & Body Works Q1, Best Buy Q1, Costco Wholesale Q3, Dell Technologies Q1, Gap Q1, Hollywood Bowl HY, Nationwide Building Society FY, Royal Bank of Canada Q2FridayAustralia: April retail sales figuresBrazil: Q1 GDP estimateCanada: Q1 GDP estimateGermany: May CPI and harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) inflation rate dataIndia: Q4 GDP estimateTurkey: Q1 GDP estimateUS: April personal income and outlays dataWorld eventsFinally, here is a rundown of other events and milestones this week. MondayAustralia: National Sorry Day, commemorating the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their parentsCanada: King Charles and Queen Camilla begin a visit to the country where he remains head of stateMalaysia: 46th Asean Summit is held in Kuala LumpurRomania: Nicușor Dan, Romania’s president-elect, is expected to be sworn in at a ceremony in the nation’s parliament building in BucharestTuesdayBelgium: EU General Affairs Council meeting in Brussels. The agenda includes how to simplify and strengthen the carbon border adjustment mechanism, preparations for the June European Council meeting and Spain’s request to include Catalan, Basque and Galician in the EU’s language regime regulationCanada: King Charles addresses the state opening of parliament in Ottawa, the first time a ruling monarch has conducted this duty in person in 50 yearsIndonesia: France’s President Emmanuel Macron and his wife begin a two-day state visit to the south-east Asian nation, promoting trade agreements and pitching France as a reliable alternative to US-China rivalryUS: 2025 Spelling Bee competition begins with preliminary rounds, televised from the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The winner will be crowned at the finals on ThursdayWednesday600th day since the start of the Hamas-Israel conflict, after Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7 2023UK: New rules covering gross misconduct in the police in England and Wales come into force. Settlement payments by London’s Metropolitan Police for misconduct cases more than doubled in the 2023-24 financial year to £7.6mn, according to data obtained by the FTThursdayAscension day, a Christian holiday celebrated in many countriesUK: 75th anniversary of the first pilot episode of The Archers being broadcast on the BBC’s Midlands Home Service. Set in the fictional village of Ambridge, the show is now the world’s longest-running soap operaUS: Former Goldman Sachs partner Tim Leissner is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court in Brooklyn, having pleaded guilty to corruption charges for his role in helping loot billions of dollars from Malaysia’s 1MDB development fund. Leissner testified at the April 2022 trial of Roger Ng, a former managing director at Goldman Sachs, who was found guilty on three countsFridaySingapore: a key Asian defence summit, the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, begins. The three-day gathering will include discussions on the region’s most pressing security challengesSaturdayThe Anglo American demerger of Anglo American Platinum is expected to become effective, following approval by shareholders at April’s general meeting.Germany: Uefa Champions League final in MunichSundayFirst day of summer in the northern hemisphere, according to the meteorological seasonOpec+ meeting of the eight key countries to review market conditions, conformity and compensation, and decide on July production levelsPoland: presidential election run-off voteUK: a ban on the sale of disposable vapes comes into effectRecommended newsletters for youWhite House Watch — What Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world. Sign up hereFT Opinion — Insights and judgments from top commentators. Sign up here More

  • in

    Oil chiefs warn of end to US shale boom

    US oil companies are cutting spending and idling drilling rigs, as Donald Trump’s tariffs push up costs and falling crude prices squeeze profits, prompting executives to warn that a decade-long shale boom is ending.Surprise decisions by the Opec+ cartel to pump more oil have compounded the gloom across the US oil patch, sparking fears of a new price war and prompting analysts to cut output forecasts.“We’re on high alert at this point,” Clay Gaspar, chief executive officer at Devon Energy in Oklahoma City, told investors this month. “Everything is on the table as we move into a more distressed environment.”Oil output will fall by 1.1 per cent next year to 13.3mn barrels a day, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights, as prolific shale drillers that made the US the world’s biggest producer idle rigs in the face of prices driven lower by fears of oversupply and Trump’s trade war. That would mark the first annual decline in a decade, excluding the 2020 pandemic when collapsing demand sent oil prices below zero and triggered widespread bankruptcies across states such as Texas and North Dakota. US oil prices settled lower again on Friday, ending the week at $61.53 a barrel, down about 23 per cent from its high point this year. Shale producers need an oil price of $65 a barrel to break even, according to the quarterly energy survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Some content could not load. Check your internet connection or browser settings.“The watchword now is, ‘hang in there’,” Herbert Vogel, chief executive officer at SM Energy in Denver, said at the Super DUG conference in Fort Worth.A fall in production would end a stunning run in US energy, where the shale revolution delivered ever greater volumes of cheap oil and gas to power the economy, a boost to GDP and labour markets, and an export surge that improved the country’s trade balance.Soaring shale output has also broken the US’s dependence on foreign suppliers such as Saudi Arabia and other Opec cartel members, while freeing the White House to target exporters such as Iran, Russia and Venezuela with sanctions. Trump has promised to “unleash” more drilling and production in a bid to secure US “energy dominance”. But production, which hit a record high under his predecessor Joe Biden, could fall still further if prices keep sinking. Scott Sheffield, the former head of shale driller Pioneer Natural Resources, told the Financial Times that if crude drops to $50 a barrel, US production would probably lose up to 300,000 barrels a day — more than the total output of some smaller Opec members.Riyadh’s decision to pump more oil in recent months would be a direct threat to US producers’ share of the global market, he suggested. “Saudi is trying to regain market share and they’ll probably get it over the next five years,” Sheffield said.The onshore US oil rig count, a barometer of drilling activity, was 553 last week, down 10 since the week earlier and 26 lower than a year ago, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. Some content could not load. Check your internet connection or browser settings.Some big producers are already shedding jobs. Chevron and BP have between them announced 15,000 job cuts globally, though in the US so far employment in the sector has remained relatively stable this year, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.The top 20 US shale producers, excluding ExxonMobil and Chevron, slashed their 2025 capital expenditure budgets by about $1.8bn, or 3 per cent, according to Enverus, an energy research firm.“As operators, we cannot control the macro, but we can control how we respond,” said Vicki Hollub, chief executive of Occidental Petroleum, which cut rig count by two in the first quarter. Many companies will slash more if prices hit $50 a barrel — the price Trump officials have indicated would help tame inflation.“In this environment, we drop the rigs and buy back stock,” said Travis Stice, chair and chief executive officer at Diamondback Energy, which recently warned investors US oil production has probably peaked. “Every single conversation I’ve had is that this oil price won’t work.”But the president’s other policies are also rattling the sector. Tariffs have pushed up the prices of steel and aluminium — crucial inputs in the oil patch. The price of casing, the metal used to line wells and the largest expense to drill a well, has risen 10 per cent in the past quarter alone.“The economics will be challenged. We’ll see more capital pullback as the quarters progress,” said Doug Lawlor, chief executive of Continental Resources, one of the country’s biggest privately held energy companies.That will force companies to batten down the hatches further as they try to keep Wall Street investors happy by protecting free cash flow to pay dividends and repay debt. “You have to focus on dividends, they’re sacrosanct in this environment,” said Jim Rogers, partner at Petrie Partners, a boutique investment firm in Houston. More

  • in

    Latin America trade halt with China would be disaster, says regional leader

    Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldUS pressure on Latin America to cut trade with China could lead to economic disaster because the region is so dependent on trade with Beijing, according to the outgoing head of the main political forum grouping 35 nations across the Americas. Luis Almagro, secretary-general of the Organization of American States for the past decade, told the Financial Times in an interview ahead of his departure on May 25 that trade with China was essential.“China is the biggest or second biggest trading partner of practically every Latin American country. Take that out of the equation . . . and you are going to have a very violent regional economic disaster,” he said.The Trump administration has been pressing Latin American nations to downgrade relations with Beijing. It has forced Panama’s exit from the Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, hinted at trade sanctions on Colombia if it joins Belt and Road, and urged Mexico to reduce Chinese investment in its factories.But Almagro, a 61-year-old Uruguayan diplomat who is stepping down this month after 10 years leading the Washington-based OAS, said that “the worst thing that can happen to Latin America is to be forced to choose” between the US and China.© Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images“You must have the best trade relations you can with everyone,” he said.Trump has pushed aggressively in his second term to reassert US control over the American-built Panama Canal, ceded to Panama at the end of the last century under an international treaty.In his first administration he revived the idea of the Monroe Doctrine, a 19th century concept that Latin America was a zone of exclusive US influence.“The stronger you are, the more power you have, the more you are obliged to keep to agreements you have signed,” Almagro said of the US and Panama. “That’s a demonstration of your strength and your integrity. For us, that should never be in doubt.” Almagro gave a bleak assessment of Latin America’s progress over the past decade. Repeated failures of political leadership had compounded long-standing problems of discrimination and inequality, holding back economic progress, he said.The answer was “better democracies”, with properly functioning institutions, respect for the rule of law, clean elections, freedom of expression, greater social equality and less discrimination. In his native Uruguay, often held up as an example of successful development, the marginalisation of groups such as single mothers and people of African descent has not changed since independence from Spain in the early 19th century, he said. “Two hundred years later, we have the same social structure.”In his decade at the OAS, a forum for political co-operation and promoting democracy and human rights across the Americas, Almagro was known for outspoken criticism of Venezuela’s authoritarian socialist government and Cuba’s communist rulers. His leftwing Frente Amplio party in Uruguay expelled him in 2018 for aligning himself too closely with the first Trump administration’s efforts to force regime change in Caracas through “maximum pressure” sanctions.Almagro is unrepentant, lashing out at what he called the “very poor” development of ideology in Latin America across the political spectrum. “We are stuck in a personal confrontation between leaders,” he said. “Ideas have disappeared and enmities have remained.”Neither Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro nor Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel are genuine leftwingers, he says. “Call them fascist dictators and where are you wrong? Nowhere.” But both are likely to remain in power, thanks to a “well-oiled repressive machine”, he said.Michael Shifter, former president of the Inter-American Dialogue think-tank in Washington, said Almagro inherited a difficult task at the OAS.“The cost of his principled stand on Venezuela, which he deserves credit for, was that he alienated other governments,” he said. “In their view, if you are leading a multilateral organisation, you need to consult and seek consensus.”Almagro’s successor is Albert Ramdin, the former foreign minister of Suriname, a Caribbean nation with 630,000 people. Ramdin has previously served as OAS assistant secretary-general but Shifter said he faced a tough challenge as he takes up his new post on May 30. “It will be very very difficult, especially with the US,” he said. “He doesn’t inherit a very robust organisation.” More