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NATION/WORLD Saturday, June 2, 2018 East Oregonian Page 9A EU in flux as U.S. alliance creaks, populists rise in Italy FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Certainties Europe has relied on for decades seem to be crumbling: that the U.S. is a reliable trade partner, and that the founding members of the EU Macron all remain commit- ted to the bloc. On Friday, U.S. Presi- dent Donald Trump imposed tariffs on European steel and aluminum, dismiss- ing Europe’s pleas, and an anti-EU populist government took office in Italy. Added to Britain’s expected depar- ture next year from the Euro- pean Union, the milestones show a region entering a new state of flux, with potential implications for the prosper- ity of its people and global relations. “Germany and France should very quickly show joint political leader- ship now,” said Daniela Schwarzer, director of the German Council on Foreign Relations. That role would belong in large part to Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s Emmanuel Macron when it comes to strengthening Europe’s currency union. Collectively, the EU could seek to ease worries about trade by strengthening com- mercial ties with other part- ners like Japan, China and countries in South America. But the trade relationship with the U.S. is the biggest in the world, and will be hard to make up for, if the U.S. and EU escalate their spat by imposing counter-tariffs on each other. U.S. trade helped Europe recover from the dev- astation of World War II and enriched U.S. companies that sold consumer goods to the continent. A souring in rela- tions could also have impli- cations for cooperation in other spheres, like security. “The situation is worry- ing, it could escalate,” said the EU’s trade chief, Cecilia Malmstrom, adding that the tariffs could hurt economic growth. “The United States is playing a dangerous game.” The EU officials were far more cautious in their reac- tion to the political situa- tion in Italy, for fear of fur- ther provoking supporters of the new government led by the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement and the anti-im- migration the League. But they were likely not less wor- ried, having seen European financial markets plunge this week on Italy’s political chaos. Law professor and polit- ical neophyte Giuseppe Conte was sworn in Friday as the head of Italy’s populist government. The two par- ties plan tax cuts and more spending, including a basic income for the poor. Italy, one of the original signers of the 1957 Treaty of Rome that created a common market and paved the way for today’s European Union, has the second heaviest debt load in Europe after Greece. U.S. blocks UN health panel from backing taxes on sugar drinks Associated Press GENEVA — The Trump administration has torpedoed a plan to recom- mend higher taxes on sug- ary drinks, forcing a World Health Organization panel to back off the U.N. agen- cy’s previous call for such taxes as a way to fight obe- sity, diabetes and other life-threatening conditions. The move disappointed many public health experts but was enthusiastically welcomed by the Inter- national Food and Bever- age Alliance — a group that represents companies including Coca-Cola, Pep- siCo. and Unilever. The revelations came Friday as a WHO panel on non-communicable dis- eases issued a report that aimed to cut down on dis- eases like diabetes, can- cer and obesity, which kill about 40 million people each year. The fight against such diseases is a priority for WHO’s director-gen- eral, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Dr. Sania Nishtar, co-chair of panel, said most of its 26 members supported a tax on sugar sweetened beverages but one commissioner — whom she did not iden- tify — hampered drafting stronger language. Eric Hargan, the U.S. deputy secretary for Health and Human Services, reported he was that mem- ber, arguing it was not clear that imposing taxes on sug- ary drinks like sodas and fruit juices would improve public health — even though WHO has argued exactly that over the last two years. “Deputy Secretary Har- gan opposed endorsing increasing taxes on sug- ary drinks in the commis- sion report,” HHS spokes- woman Caitlin Oakley said, noting that the pan- el’s mandate was to make “bold” recommenda- tions. “Taxes on sugary drinks is not new, bold, or innovative.” She also claimed that “evidence is lacking that such a tax produces posi- tive health outcomes.” The U.S. provides a significant percentage of WHO’s yearly budget. The sweetened-drink industry has come out strongly against any such tax but Nishtar said she was not aware of any industry lobbying of the commissioners. Commission member Ilona Kickbusch, a former WHO staffer who directs the Global Health Center at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, said the United States “made it clear” that it did not want more regulation. AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File Soft drinks are on display at a supermarket in London. An independent World Health Organization panel is backing away from the U.N. health agency’s own call two years ago for taxing sugary drinks, in a new report on diseases like cancer, obesity and diabetes that some experts slammed as being “conspicuously limp.” AP Photo/Noah Berger, File In this December 2017 file photo, a motorist on Highway 101 watches flames from the Thomas fire leap above the roadway north of Ventura, Calif. The largest wildfire recorded in California is officially out nearly six months after it began. Los Padres National Forest officials declared the Thomas fire extinguished Friday after no hotspots were detected within the perimeter for more than two months. California’s largest-ever wildfire declared out GOLETA, Calif. (AP) — Officials declared the largest wildfire in recorded California history officially extinguished Friday, nearly six months after it ignited and later burned hillsides that washed away in deadly mudslides northwest of Los Angeles. Los Padres National Forest officials made the designation after detecting no hotspots within the perimeter of the Thomas fire for more than two months. The flames broke out on Dec. 4, 2017, near Thomas Aquinas College and burned more than 440 square miles (1,140 square kilometers) in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Two people were killed, including a state firefighter. The flames destroyed more than 1,000 buildings before they were fully contained on Jan. 12. A massive downpour on fire-denuded mountains Jan. 9 unleashed massive debris flows that ravaged hundreds of homes in the community of Montecito, killing 21 people and leaving two missing. The blaze erupted as powerful Santa Ana winds swept the region, causing power outages. The gusts swept the fire out of a semirural area and into neighborhoods. A spate of lawsuits by victims claim losses from the blaze and the resulting flooding were due to negligence by Southern California Edison. In response, the utility has said the cause of the fire remains under investigation and the claims don’t stem from official findings. More than half the burned territory was in Los Padres National Forest, where officials said crews were repairing roads, trails and fences damaged by the blaze and fire suppression actions. Officials are developing a strategic approach for repairing trails damaged by the fire and rainstorms.
