WORLD ROUNDUPTrump Is Shattering the Illusion of the West | The Swiss Would Be Foolish to Cap Their Population at 10m | Techno-Libertarians Are Flocking to the Caribbean, and more

Trump’s Trade Delusion: Why Dismissing Canada and Mexico Echoes a Dynasty’s Downfall  (James Bacchus, CATO)
In yet another of his unending twists on trade, President Donald Trump has suggested he may not renew the current United States trade agreement with Canada and Mexico. Especially interesting was one of his explanations of why. “We don’t need anything that Canada has; we don’t need anything that Mexico has, but they need everything that we have, and they have to treat us better,” said Trump. “We don’t need their cars; we don’t need their lumber; we don’t need their energy; we don’t need anything that they have.” 
According to the numbers from April of this year, Canada is the leading trading partner of the US in imports and exports of goods, totaling $86 billion. Mexico ranks second, totaling $64.8 billion in two-way goods trade with the US. Overall, the regional economic integration of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (formerly the North American Free Trade Agreement before Trump made a few changes in it and relabeled it as the USMCA in his first presidential term) has made all three parties to the agreement more competitive domestically and internationally. 
It is not remotely credible to suggest that the United States needs nothing from its two top trading partners any more than it would be credible to suggest that they need nothing from us.

Trump Is Shattering the Illusion of the West  (Amitav Acharya, Foreign Policy)
The president’s turn to imperial civilizationalism is destroying what it claims to defend.

Israel Is Building Army Base in Jenin, Flouting 1990s Pact with Palestinians  (David M. Halbfinger and Adam Rasgon, New York Times)
Critics say the move would help the Israeli military protect increased settlement activity near Palestinian population centers in the West Bank.

AIPAC Wants Democrats to Back Israel. Instead, They’re Turning on AIPAC.  (Jonathan Mahler, New York Times)
Once the guardian of the bipartisan pro-Israel consensus, it is now a polarizing force in the party.

Qatar Pursued Secret Talks with Iran to Shield Gas Complex from Strikes, Security Officials Say  (Greg Miller, Washington Post)
Qatar’s back-channel effort offers a glimpse into the hidden ways Gulf states have sought to spare themselves damage from the region’s worst war in a generation.

Iran War Is the Worst Hit to the Global Economy Since Covid, World Bank Says  (David J. Lynch, Washington Post)
The World Bank says that the war is slashing global growth prospects and that a prolonged conflict could tip dozens of developing nations into years of stagnation.

The Swiss Would Be Foolish to Cap Their Population at 10m  (Economist)
Immigration sometimes needs brakes, but the proposal would be like driving into a wall.

Techno-Libertarians Are Flocking to the Caribbean  (Economist)
Angry locals are trying to shut them down.

Missile Defense Worked Against Iran. It Might Not Work Against China.  (Decker Eveleth, Foreign Policy)
The ongoing war has revealed vulnerabilities that could prove far more dangerous in a conflict over Taiwan.