1. American University, School of International Service, Washington DC, USA   http://www.american.edu/sis/programs
2. Boston University, Department of International Relations Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, Boston, USA, http://www.bu.edu/ir
3. Carleton University, The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs , Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, http://www1.carleton.ca/npsia

On the UK side

• Oliver Letwin: Head of Brexit Unit and Chief Negotiator with the EU
• Senior civil servants from the Cabinet Office, Treasury, Foreign Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
• Olly Robbins, Whitehall Brexit Unit. The unit will seek out the expertise it needs in legal affairs and trade negotiations. Over 300 people to be recruited.

On the EU side

Council

Britain has one of the biggest national delegations and its members are represented in a range of political groupings in Parliament.

The UK will retain full EU membership rights for two years while the terms of its departure are negotiated. As long as the UK is a member of the EU it will be entitled to 73 seats in the European Parliament of 751. Currently, six British MEPs serve as Chairs or Vice-Chairs on European parliament committees (Development; Internal Market and Consumer Protection; and Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

1. Austria: Donations from foreign natural or legal persons must not exceed € 2,500
2. Belgium: Donations from foreign persons or bodies are not prohibited and are not subject to any specific regulations

The ban on political contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals was first enacted in 1966 as part of the amendments to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), an "internal security" statute. The goal of the FARA was to minimize foreign intervention in U.S.

The term "special interest" is one of those terms that makes politics what it is: no one can say exactly what the "special interest" label means, but everyone knows that it doesn't apply to them. "Special interest groups" are made responsible for rising taxes, delays in decision-making, the corruption of politicians, and the antagonistic tone of politics.

Source: Institutional and Constitutional Aspects of Special Interest Representation- Study for the AFCO Committee (2015). European Parliament Directorate-General for Internal Policies- Policy Department C (Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs)

Job creation is the number one issue facing U.S. in regard to economic growth, sustainment and prosperity.  Jobs do not create jobs, businesses do, especially small businesses. Unfortunately, America is focused on big business and government employment solutions that have not been very effective growing the U.S. labor force. In fact, the U.S. labor force is in a state of decline as evidenced by the eroding middle-class and the transformation from full-time to contingency workers.

State-Owned Enterprises (SOE): China owns and subsidizes many companies, as in the steel industry. Through the subsidized companies, China can target a market with low-cost products, capture market share and drive competitors out of business.