Today’s Big Story

Your Passport Is Less Powerful

The global ranking is based on the number of destinations they can access without a prior visa

As international travel gets simpler, there has been a growing trend towards increased mobility and stronger passports. Americans once held the world’s most powerful key to international travel, but in the latest edition of the Henley Passport Index, released last week, U.S. passports dropped to their lowest position yet, outranked by affluent Asian countries that dominated the top of the list, European mainstays and others.

The American passport was ranked at No. 10 (tied with Iceland and Lithuania), in the lowest position in the 20-year history of the Henley Passport Index. “Notably, the U.S. is now on the brink of exiting the Top 10 altogether for the first time in the index’s 20-year history,” the company told CNBC.

The index explores how many countries a passport allows the holder to gain access to without a visa. Singapore currently has the world’s strongest passport—the small nation-state retained the top spot, after it broke a six-way tie for the accolade earlier this year. Its citizens can waltz into 193 countries. Americans, however only have that ability in 182. Last year, Singapore shared the top ranking with Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain and France. This year, Japan and South Korea shared the No. 2 spot, while Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain all tied for the third spot.

India made a jump from 85th to 77th in just six months. “The consolidation we’re seeing at the top underscores that access is earned—and must be maintained—through active and strategic diplomacy,” said Christian H. Kaelin, the inventor of the passport-index concept, told USA Today. “Nations that proactively negotiate visa waivers and nurture reciprocal agreements continue to rise, while the opposite applies to those that are less engaged in such efforts.”

According to the Washington Post, the reshuffling occurs as the U.S. role on the world stage evolves under the second Trump administration, which has doubled down on visa-vetting measures and deportations, putting immigrant communities on edge and plunging international students into uncertainty.

U.S. Reaches Trade Agreement With Europe

After a lot of big talk on trade, the administration needed a big win

President Donald Trump on Sunday announced a trade agreement with the European Union that would set tariffs at 15%, ending what had been months of uncertainty surrounding trade with the United States’ largest trade partner. The tariff rate is a reduction from the 30% that Trump threatened on July 12 and the 20% he said he would impose on April 2, but still substantially higher than the 1.47% average rate earlier this year.

Announcing the agreement, Trump said the E.U. will not impose a tariff on U.S. imports. He added this agreement was “satisfactory to both sides.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday alongside Trump that the pact “will bring stability. It will bring predictability. That’s very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.”

This deal is not only Trump’s biggest trade deal to date, but also, politically, his most badly needed. “Ninety days ago, Donald Trump promised the world that his tariffs would lead to 90 deals in 90 days,” the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, said earlier this month, adding: “By my count, he’s about 88 trade deals short.” Though many details of the agreement were still unclear, the EU agreed to buy more than $750 billion worth of U.S. energy over the next three years, as well as invest $600 billion on top of the bloc's existing commitments in America. But some of the world's largest economies will now have to adjust to far higher tariff rates than initially thought, with huge implications for global economic growth and inflation.

Tadej Pogačar Wins Fourth Tour de France

The 26-year-old Slovenian was already the favorite to win his fifth next year

Tadej Pogačar underlined his status as one of cycling’s greats by winning his fourth Tour de France title on Sunday, leaving him just one shy of tying the overall record. Even before the peloton screamed onto the Champs-Elysées, everyone in the race knew how it would end—and the Slovenian cyclist is already the favorite to win next year’s race.

ESPN says he delivered a near-flawless performance over three weeks, excelling in every department, even coming close to prevailing on a spectacular final stage after an epic duel with Belgian Wout van Aert. “Pogačar had no need to contest the stage win, especially given the danger of crashing on slick roads. Yet as the rain fell heavily, he showed his relentless thirst for victory and attacked anyway, setting a tremendous pace in the Montmartre climbs as fans cheered.”

This title means that only Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Induráin—who have all won the race five times—sit ahead of him on the all-time list. Of course, Lance Armstrong won seven titles but was stripped of them in 2012 after admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs. But next year will likely be even more demanding: Course designers are considering adding more early climbs to encourage more teams to challenge Pogačar, who admitted to feeling some boredom.

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