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Juncker warns May there is ‘no room whatsoever’ to change Brexit deal

YAHOO – Theresa May has set-off on a diplomatic blitz of Europe in a last ditch bid to improve the Brexit deal – but EU leaders have warned the prime minister she will not come away with any concessions.

After postponing the ‘meaningful vote’ to avoid a humiliating defeat, embattled May is embarking on a whistle stop tour of European capitals to ask for help in getting the deal past MPs.

After visits to the Hague and Berlin, her final stop on Tuesday will be Brussels where she will meet European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

But Juncker has already crushed any hopes May had of making substantial changes to the deal – especially over the backstop.

“There is no room whatsoever for renegotiating,” Juncker said during a speech to the European parliament just hours ahead of his meeting with May.

Iran says it recently tested a ballistic missile

GENEVA (Reuters) – A senior Revolutionary Guards commander said on Tuesday that Iran had recently carried out a ballistic missile test but he did not specify what kind of missile had been tested, according to Fars News.

The comment appeared to confirm a report by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who said early this month that Iran had test-fired “a medium range ballistic missile that is capable of carrying multiple warheads.” The missile could hit all of the Middle East and parts of Europe, Pompeo said.

U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of an international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program in May and reimposed sanctions on Tehran. He said the deal was flawed because it did not include curbs on Iran’s development of ballistic missiles or its support for proxies in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq.

China, U.S. discuss next stage of trade talks

BEIJING (Reuters) – China and the United States discussed the road map for the next stage of their trade talks on Tuesday, during a telephone call between Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

This month in Argentina, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a truce that delayed the planned Jan. 1 U.S. increase of tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Lighthizer said on Sunday that unless U.S.-China trade talks wrap up successfully by March 1, new tariffs will be imposed, clarifying there is a “hard deadline” after a week of seeming confusion among Trump and his advisers.

China’s commerce ministry, in a brief statement, said Liu had spoken to Mnuchin and Lighthizer on Tuesday morning, Beijing time, on a pre-arranged telephone call.

“Both sides exchanged views on putting into effect the consensus reached by the two countries’ leaders at their meeting, and pushing forward the timetable and roadmap for the next stage of economic and trade consultations work,” the ministry said.

UK’s May pulls vote on her divorce deal, thrusting Brexit into the unknown

LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday abruptly pulled a parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal, throwing Britain’s plan to leave the European Union into chaos after admitting that she faced a rout.

May’s move on the eve of a crucial parliamentary vote opens up an array of options for the United Kingdom, including a disorderly Brexit with no deal, another referendum on EU membership, or a last minute renegotiation of May’s deal.

May to Delay Key Vote on Brexit Deal to Avoid Huge Defeat, Source Says

Bloomberg – U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is calling off a crucial vote in Parliament on whether to approve her Brexit deal, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The vote in the House of Commons to endorse the terms of the U.K.’s split from the European Union was due to be held on Tuesday evening but is now set to be rescheduled, according to the person who declined to be named.

It’s still possible that May’s Cabinet will take a different view and push the prime minister to carry on and call the vote as planned for Tuesday evening. She is now holding talks with her top ministers to finalize the government’s position.

May’s plan to delay the vote throws the Brexit process into further turmoil. She is due back in Brussels at a summit of EU on Thursday and is expected to ask for fresh concessions in an attempt to revive the chances of getting her deal through Parliament.

May spent the weekend talking to fellow EU leaders to update them on her struggle and to explore possible changes to make the agreement more palatable. But the EU has said it won’t reopen negotiations.

U.K. Can Unilaterally Revoke Brexit, Top EU Court Says

Bloomberg – The U.K. can unilaterally reverse the Brexit process, the European Union’s top court said in a landmark ruling that will fuel the campaign to thwart the divorce on the eve of a possible make or break vote in the British Parliament.

The EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg said on Tuesday that Britain is free to revoke its so-called Article 50 notice any time before it’s due to leave the bloc on March 29. The ruling comes as U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May must decide whether to put her Brexit deal to a vote and risk a humiliating defeat that could plunge the U.K. into unprecedented political chaos.

Huawei CFO bail hearing to resume in Canada as Beijing piles pressure

TORONTO (Reuters) – The CFO of Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd is set to be back in a Canadian courtroom on Monday, fighting for her freedom with the help of pressure from Beijing, while prosecutors argue she cannot be trusted.

Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested by Canadian authorities Dec. 1 at the request of the United States.

Meng, 46, faces U.S. accusations that she misled multinational banks about Huawei’s control of a company operating in Iran. This deception put the banks at risk of violating U.S. sanctions and incurring severe penalties, court documents said. U.S. officials allege that Huawei was trying to use the banks to move money out of Iran.

Canadian prosecutors argued against giving her bail while she awaits extradition to the United States.

OPEC Agrees on Larger-Than-Expected Oil Cut After Marathon Talks

Bloomberg – OPEC finally broke an impasse over production curbs, agreeing on a larger-than-expected cut with allies after two days of fractious negotiations in Vienna.

The cartel and its partners agreed to remove 1.2 million barrels a day from the market, with OPEC itself shouldering 800,000 barrels of the burden. Iran emerged as a winner from the contentious talks, saying it’s secured an exemption from cuts as it suffers the effects of U.S. sanctions.

OPEC talks stall as Saudis refuse to exempt Iran from oil cut

VIENNA (Reuters) – OPEC talks on oil production cuts reached deadlock on Friday as the group’s leader Saudi Arabia refused to grant sanctions-hit Iran exemptions from planned reductions, OPEC sources said.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, asked on Friday whether he was confident the day’s meetings would produce a deal, said: “No.”

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was meeting in Vienna for a second day running, before discussions later in the day with non-member oil producers led by Russia.

On Thursday, OPEC tentatively agreed an output cut but could not decide concrete parameters as it was waiting for a commitment from Russia, sources from the group said.