Trump In Asia, U.S. Military In Caribbean, Shutdown Week 4

0:02President Trump stops in Tokyo on his way to a meeting with the president of China. The two countries announced a framework for resolving their trade disputes. What more will it take to reach an actual deal? I'm Michelle Martin. That's Steve Inskeep. And this is Up First from NPR News.

0:19Venezuelan troops ran drills on their beaches this weekend as U.S. warships crowd the Caribbean. What is the U.S. plan there? Also, the federal workers' missing paychecks include air traffic controllers who are still on the job. Here's what happens as some begin to miss work. I can't guarantee you that your flight's going to be on time. I can't guarantee you that your flight's not going to be canceled. Which is why some see Thanksgiving as a possible endpoint for the shutdown. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.

0:53This message comes from Grammarly. They have features that are tailor-made for working professionals, so you can get all your writing done from start to finish, all in one place. Grammarly is designed to help professionals with real-time writing support on any project, email, and more. Sign up for free and experience how Grammarly can elevate your professional writing from start to finish. Visit Grammarly.com slash podcast. That's Grammarly.com slash podcast. This message comes from Schwab. Everyone has moments when they could have done better. Same goes for where you invest. Level up and invest smarter with Schwab.

1:31Get market insights, education, and human help when you need it. This message comes from NPR sponsor Comcast. Did you know that more than 90 % of internet traffic on your cell phone travel is over Wi-Fi, not cellular? Comcast is redefining broadband leadership with the nation's largest and most intelligent Wi-Fi network, delivering advancements like their most powerful gateway yet, the XB10, enabling industry-leading multi-gig symmetrical speeds and connecting up to 300 devices simultaneously. Learn more at comcastcorporation.com slash Wi-Fi. President Trump is making the early stops of a tour of Asia.

2:10He went to Malaysia over the weekend. While there, he celebrated a peace deal between other nations that trade with the U.S., Cambodia and Thailand. When we make deals, we see two countries that we do a lot of business with. We do a lot of business with both of them. We have to use that business to make sure they don't get into wars. The two countries had traded fire over the summer, and the president took some credit for making sure they stopped. Trump is now in Tokyo, but the climax of this visit is a summit of Asian leaders in South Korea, where he expects to meet China's president. That's a head-spinning list of countries, but China is the big one because the two nations are trying to avoid a trade war.

2:51NPR's Mara Eliasson is following this. Mara, good morning. Good morning. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson said the U.S. and China had reached a framework for a trade deal with China. But Mara, what does that mean? Well, a framework is not a final deal. A framework is an agenda. And sometimes the final deals don't pan out either. Certainly in his first term, Trump was disappointed that China didn't agree, didn't carry out the trade deal he made with them. But what Scott Besson said yesterday on ABC is he expects the Chinese to delay for a year those export licensing restrictions on rare earth minerals.

3:23And in exchange, Donald Trump would not slap the 100 percent tariffs that he's threatened. But the Chinese readout of that meeting between U.S. and Chinese trade officials did not mention these terms. So we're going to have to wait to see what happens. Now, on the plane to Asia, President Trump told reporters, he said, China will have to make concessions and we will too. So the big question is, which concessions will Trump make? Will he let China buy more advanced semiconductor chips? Some national security experts say that would be dangerous. Would he soften the U.S. stance toward Taiwan and say the U.S.

3:56opposes Taiwanese independence? That's something China would like. Yesterday he was asked about that. He didn't want to discuss Taiwan. He has held up a$400 million arms package for Taiwan. And hawks in the Republican Party are worried that Trump is so eager for a big, splashy deal that he might compromise U.S. national security interests along the way. I'm interested in all the details you give me, Mara, especially about rare earth, saying that China would extend for a year this cutting off of, or rather delay for a year this cutting off of rare earth minerals, which means China would still have leverage as they continue further talks.

4:33How does this make things different than perhaps they've been in the past between the U.S. and China? Well, China, as Trump might say, has a lot of cards. And they've been playing them. They haven't bought soybeans from U.S. farmers. As you said, they've held up these rare earth exports. And China is a big, powerful country. In many ways, it's as strong as the U.S. It's soon to be the biggest economy in the world. And this is a very different power dynamic. Trump can't just unilaterally lay down the terms of a trade deal the way he has done with smaller, less powerful countries. This is very interesting because it brings to mind Trump's dance, if that's the right word, over time with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

5:11That's true. In many ways, his talks with Xi have been similar to these on-again, off-again talks with Putin. Lots of whiplash. He was going to meet with Putin. Now he's not. He threatened tariffs against China. Now he's not. He threatened to cancel this meeting with Xi, but he clearly backed off of that. So I think there are a lot of theatrics to this. I think the bottom line is that both of these leaders, the two most powerful people in the world, would at the very least like to come out of their meeting and be able to say that they have dialed down the tension, backed off from the trade war, at least for now.

5:41NPR's Mara Liason, people will hear you've got a cold, everybody loves you, so go get some tea, and thanks for your insights. Thanks.

5:55The massive military buildup in the Caribbean waters of Venezuela is causing some concern from Caracas to the U.S. Congress. Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans are questioning the Trump administration's military campaign there. In the past month, military strikes on suspected drug boats have killed at least 43 people. Meanwhile, Venezuela's military spent the weekend preparing for land strikes. Let's pick up the conversation right there with NPR South America correspondent Kerry Kahn. Kerry, good morning. Good morning, Steve. What does that mean for Venezuela to prepare for land strikes?

6:30They held military exercises along the country's Caribbean coast, and these were on heavy repeat on state TV. To call them military exercises, it was a very minimal show of force, not a lot of hardware, mostly a few dozen troops running on the beach. Minister of Defense, Diosdado Cabello, said what Venezuela lacked in firepower. However, it made up in determination.

6:58He says the military is also there to protect Venezuela from drug traffickers. He's just denying U.S. charges that it leads a narco drug organization. The U.S., as he said, isn't backing down. It has rerouted the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the region. And they have about 5 ,000 personnel on board. That's to add to the nearly 10 ,000 fighters and sailors that are already there in the region. Now, given that legal experts have questioned the U.S. authority for blowing up boats in the Caribbean, much less invading another country, how is the administration addressing the legality of all this?

7:32The administration says it has the authority. And Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, speaking on CBS yesterday, reiterated that position. He says Trump has the power to launch the strikes. He has all the authority in the world. This is not murder. This is protecting America from being poisoned by narco terrorists coming from Venezuela and Colombia. Graham also says there's a real possibility. That's what he said. The military campaign will expand to land strikes soon. Drug interdiction in the Caribbean has long been done by the U.S. Coast Guard. Many in Congress and beyond are saying using missiles and destroyers to blow up speedboats is excessive, not to mention overly expensive.

8:12Graham clearly said yesterday the U.S. intention is to oust Venezuela's authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, from power. The U.S. has also talked tough about Colombia, Venezuela's neighbor. What's going on there? Sure. Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday spoke to reporters en route to Doha, and he repeated tough rhetoric toward Colombia's president, Gustavo Petro. As well, the U.S. just sanctioned Petro and his family. Rubio has called Petro a lunatic and accuses him of also aiding drug trafficking. That's all the while the U.S. has cut counter-narcotic aid there. Got to ask about one other thing.

8:47Brazil's president has gone back and forth with the U.S. president, and then apparently they met yesterday in Asia? Yes. Trump and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva did finally talk trade yesterday in Asia. Trump slapped 50 % tariffs on Brazilian goods, complaining that Brazil unfairly prosecuted its former far-right leader, convicting him of attempting a coup. Lula is the leading leftist in the region, and now he's floating the idea of mediating talks between the U.S. and Venezuela. Back to our original story. Carrie, thanks so much. You're welcome. NPR's Carrie Kahn is in Rio de Janeiro.

9:30In Washington, Democrats and Republicans have made no progress toward ending the federal government shutdown. They're barely even talking, even as hundreds of thousands of federal workers missed a paycheck on Friday. Over the weekend, a pop-up window on the official USDA site said food stamp benefits will run dry on November 1st. The site, which is funded by the taxpayers, repeated partisan Republican talking points blaming Democrats for the shutdown. NPR congressional reporter Sam Greenglass is covering nothing that's happening to end this shutdown, although there are various efforts. Sam, good morning.

10:04Hey there. OK, so would we expect that federal workers will go unpaid until the shutdown ends, given that the Senate has turned aside a couple of efforts to change that? Well, that is possible. But the Senate could try again this week. But Republicans want a measure to pay only employees working without pay, like TSA agents. Democrats want to get a paycheck to all federal employees and also block the White House from doing more layoffs. That last part is going to be a non-starter for a lot of Republicans, though Republican Senator Ron Johnson did say he's open to something more inclusive. My bill is obviously targeted to the people we're forcing to work, but I'm not necessarily opposed to paying forloaded workers as well.

10:47That's something we can talk about, OK? Democrats say only paying workers who are considered essential basically lets the White House decide who gets paid and who doesn't. And they're already doing that to some extent, like repurposing funds to pay active duty military. Does any of this amount to progress toward actually running the government in a normal way? So these bills allowed both parties to say the other blocked pay for federal employees. I mean, you had Republicans calling their measure the Shutdown Fairness Act and Democrats naming theirs the True Shutdown Fairness Act. And that kind of blame game has really been a refrain throughout this shutdown without much movement, though it was notable that three Democrats voted for the Republican bill to pay some workers, including Senator John Ossoff of Georgia, who's the only incumbent Democrat up for reelection in a state Trump won.

11:40Interesting that some people are thinking about their reelections, perhaps. But is anything here likely to disrupt the impasse? I've heard some Republicans predict Thanksgiving will be a turning point when Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy spoke alongside House Republicans last week. He talked a lot about air traffic controllers working without pay. We are all about safety. But again, I can't guarantee you that your flight's going to be on time. I can't guarantee you that your flight's not going to be canceled. We've also heard many states announce they're going to run out of money next week for food assistance benefits known as SNAP.

12:16I guess we should note, frequently when there's a government shutdown, the parties are reversed. It is the Democrats saying, come on, just open the government and we'll negotiate, and it's Republicans making demands. This time it's Democrats making a demand and Republicans saying no to the whole thing. What makes Democrats think Republicans would change course? So just to remember, Democrats have been holding out on supporting a funding bill until Republicans agree to extend expiring health insurance subsidies. Democrats think that expiration date is going to be harder to brush aside after this week when open enrollment begins for plans through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

12:53And many Americans could see their premiums soar. Still, some Democrats say President Trump needs to get involved to break this stalemate, but he is in Asia this week, so that is not going to happen anytime soon. NPR congressional reporter Sam Greenglass, thanks so much. Thanks, Steve.

13:19We have an update on the investigation into the heist at France's Louvre Museum. Authorities arrested two suspects over the weekend. Police say they tracked them down through surveillance footage and DNA left at the scene. Apparently, leaving behind your circular saw, walkie-talkie glove and reflective vest as clues for the police does not lead to the perfect crime. One suspect was arrested at the airport as he was about to catch a flight. The other was picked up in the Paris suburbs. Two other suspects are still missing, and so are the jewels.

13:55And that's Up First for this Monday, October 27th. I'm Steve Inskeep. And I'm Michelle Martin. The news you hear on Up First is possible because of support from listeners like you. When you give to your local NPR station, you help keep journalists on the ground, here at home and around the world. You can make a donation at donate.npr.org slash upfirst. And for more news and conversations, listen to a radio show, Morning Edition. You can find it on your local NPR station or at npr.org. Today's Up First was edited by Dana Farrington, Tara Neal, Kelsey Snell, Mohamed El-Bardisi, and Alice Wolfley.

14:30It was produced by Ziyad Batch, Ben Abrams, and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hines, and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us tomorrow.

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