So much for the “pivot to Asia.”
President Barack Obama is off to Northern Ireland’s Lough Erne resort for a summit with the leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations. Three agenda items stand out. None involve Asia.
There’s always one pressing issue overshadowing the heavily pre-orchestrated summits. This time it’s Syria, and whether there is any way the G-8 nations can help end bloodshed there. The summit comes just days after Mr. Obama reluctantly decided to send arms to the rebels whom, at the moment, seem to be losing their battle with Syrian President Bashar Assad. That may ease Mr. Obama’s discussions about Syria with European allies, but the most important conversation he’ll have about Syria will be with Assad-backer Vladimir Putin. Mr. Obama’s goal: To persuade Mr. Putin that it is in Russia’s interest to find a way to ease Mr. Assad from power.
The head of the host nation, in this case Britain’s David Cameron, always has some say over G-8 talks. Near the top of his list is corporate taxes, namely, making it harder for companies to dodge taxes by hiding profits in tax havens.
Mr. Obama welcomes that conversation. “Tax avoidance is as much about countries and country rules as it is about companies, because the loopholes that the companies use are the results of the rules that countries set,” White House international-economic-policy coordinator Carolyn Atkinson, told reporters before leaving for Europe.
This G-8 topic has domestic political implications: Congress and the administration are talking about changes to the way the U.S. taxes profits of multinational corporations. Mr. Obama is likely to use any international consensus to bolster the case for his approach over those favored by some big companies.
For critical perspectives on politics and the economy from Jerry Seib & David Wessel, visit Seib & Wessel.
President Barack Obama is off to Northern Ireland’s Lough Erne resort for a summit with the leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations. Three agenda items stand out. None involve Asia.
There’s always one pressing issue overshadowing the heavily pre-orchestrated summits. This time it’s Syria, and whether there is any way the G-8 nations can help end bloodshed there. The summit comes just days after Mr. Obama reluctantly decided to send arms to the rebels whom, at the moment, seem to be losing their battle with Syrian President Bashar Assad. That may ease Mr. Obama’s discussions about Syria with European allies, but the most important conversation he’ll have about Syria will be with Assad-backer Vladimir Putin. Mr. Obama’s goal: To persuade Mr. Putin that it is in Russia’s interest to find a way to ease Mr. Assad from power.
The head of the host nation, in this case Britain’s David Cameron, always has some say over G-8 talks. Near the top of his list is corporate taxes, namely, making it harder for companies to dodge taxes by hiding profits in tax havens.
Mr. Obama welcomes that conversation. “Tax avoidance is as much about countries and country rules as it is about companies, because the loopholes that the companies use are the results of the rules that countries set,” White House international-economic-policy coordinator Carolyn Atkinson, told reporters before leaving for Europe.
This G-8 topic has domestic political implications: Congress and the administration are talking about changes to the way the U.S. taxes profits of multinational corporations. Mr. Obama is likely to use any international consensus to bolster the case for his approach over those favored by some big companies.
For critical perspectives on politics and the economy from Jerry Seib & David Wessel, visit Seib & Wessel.