National Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow conducts a press conference to discuss the upcoming G7 summit in Canada; the pending North Korea Summit; and the current U.S. trade initiatives.
The essential argument made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during this interview was already addressed in the preview segment prior to broadcast – SEE HERE – However, here is the full interview as broadcast on NBC Meet The Press with Chuck Todd.
The interview is a typical narrative engineering attempt by Chuck Toad; however, beyond the narrative, for those who pay close attention to the economic issues, there are some key elements which deserve attention:
- @04:05 Trudeau admits the problem with corporate transshipment of Chinese Steel into the U.S. market – through Canada via the NAFTA loophole. While Justin from Canada frames the issue from their own national efforts to stop the practice, you’ll note how he avoids taking ownership…. it’s called ‘willful blindness‘.
- More importantly at @08:17 the topic of NAFTA surfaces. Pay close attention. Not only does Trudeau speak in past tense (reinforcing the reality that all parties have accepted that NAFTA is essentially dead), but moments later @09:00 he admits the Canadian trade and manufacturing economy is set up as a brokerage (ie. multinational corporate investment) dependent, exclusively dependent, on access to the U.S. market.
WATCH:
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Once you see the strings on the marionettes, you can never go back to a time when you didn’t notice them.
National Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow appears on Fox News with swamp guardian Chris Wallace to discuss North Korea, trade, tariffs and stunningly good economic and jobs results.
“No more stupid trade deals” ~ U.S. President Donald Trump
From the G7 Mission Statement outlining the objectives of their meeting: “From May 31 – June 2, 2018, G7 Ministers responsible for development cooperation met in Whistler, Canada, to discuss their shared priorities on some of the most pressing global development and humanitarian challenges, including advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.”
However, as the G7 finance ministerial sessions wrapped up today, all the talk centered around their collective, and stunningly hypocritical, angst at new United States trade policy; specifically the imposition of Steel and Aluminum tariffs on imported goods.
France, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Italy all have trade tariffs and trade barriers far higher than the U.S. Each of the G7 nations has exploited the overwhelmingly one-sided access to the U.S. market for decades. As President Trump demands “reciprocal and fair” trade agreements – those same nations now balk at the same rules and duties they impose on the U.S. now being imposed against them.
The European Union is a non-enumerated member of the G7, and does not chair nor hosts Summits; however, the EU head joins with the G7 in collective angst against a U.S. trade reset. It’s hilarious to watch them going bananas.
WHISTLER, British Columbia (Reuters) – Finance leaders of the closest U.S. allies vented anger over the Trump administration’s metal import tariffs but ended a three-day meeting in Canada on Saturday with no solutions, setting the stage for a heated fight at a G7 summit next week in Quebec.
NBC is promoting an upcoming interview with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau surrounding the recently imposed steel and aluminum tariffs and the Canadian response.
Justin from Canada continues pushing the ridiculously obtuse narrative that tariffs to protect the U.S. steel and aluminum industry represent President Trump saying Canadians are a national security threat to the U.S.
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It’s too bad NBC’s Chuck Todd didn’t interrupt Justin from Canada after the “aluminum smelter” comment and ask: ‘well, now that you mention it, what ever happened to that smelter near the airbase you mention’?
Grab your winnamins and hide the Ju-Ju bones. I thought this was going to be an issue when Prime Minister Trudeau publicly told reporters the content of a private conversation between Vice-President Mike Pence and himself. With incredibly bad diplomatic form, Justin from Canada has not only cemented the Steel and Aluminum tariffs as permanent – but Trudeau has likely destroyed any hope of the U.S. remaining in NAFTA.
The White House has delivered a statement to the media, with a request to ensure authorship is directly and personally cited from President Donald J Trump:
The United States has been taken advantage of for many decades on trade. Those days are over. Earlier today, this message was conveyed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada: The United States will agree to a fair deal, or there will be no deal at all. (link)
For those unfamiliar; this is about as close to an ultimatum as President Donald Trump generally delivers to his adversaries. Look back on his history and you’ll note rarely does Donald J Trump deliver ‘either this / or that’ approaches; it’s just not his style…. He doesn’t bluff. However, when Trump has decided to walk away from a deal, any deal, he delivers the “either/or” right before walking to the door. The final terms hang in the air providing the opposition with a few fleeting moments to reflect prior to exit.
Focusing a lot of today’s information on the economic front and the implementation of the U.S. America-First trade discussion because this is the very heart of the Trump MAGA initiatives. Everyone who voted for President Trump should be grinning ear-to-ear today at how steadfast POTUS has been – against all economic adversaries foreign and domestic.
White House Trade Council Director Peter Navarro discusses the implementation of countervailing U.S. duties; the transshipment issues, NAFTA and the intended trade reset therein. “Economic Security is National Security“!
Justin from Canada presents one of the most ridiculous contexts for the U.S. 232 Steel and Aluminum tariff decision. Justin proclaims the imposition of countervailing duties by the U.S. indicates that President Trump considers Canada a national security threat. Seriously, I’m not kidding, that’s what he is stating – watch. Additionally, his feelings are hurt.
Apparently Justin from Canada cannot draw a distinction between an industry being lost, and that loss being a national security risk, and the hurt feelings of the Canadian Prime Minister. Intensely ridiculous… even for Justin. Obviously the irrational liberals in both the U.S. and Canada will likely draw the same ridiculous and illogical conclusions.
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China, the EU, Canada and Mexico have been exploiting weak U.S. trade policy for years. Through the effective utilization of targeted tariffs, with multiple opportunities -and warnings- to avoid the outcome, President Trump and Wilbur Ross cut the Gordian Knot.
The Big Club, driven almost entirely by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Tom Donohue are going bananas….. They can’t believe Trump actually did it. He actually followed through. The Wall Street consortium of multinationals are apoplectic.
Decades of economic gaslighting upon the U.S. electorate; massive manipulative multinational corporate influences; hundreds of millions spent purchasing U.S. politicians; and POTUS has just punched it all square in the face.
Amid ongoing trade stalemates with NAFTA and the EU, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has announced the U.S. Commerce Department will no longer provide exemptions for the European Union, Canada or Mexico.
As anticipated, during a telephone briefing with reporters Secretary Ross announced at midnight tonight the 25% steel, and 10% aluminum, tariffs on imported goods will begin.
Via Reuters: U.S Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told reporters on a telephone briefing that a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports from the EU, Canada and Mexico would go into effect at midnight (0400 GMT on Friday).
The Wall Street Journal is publishing a report the European Union is likely to lose their exemption on Friday June 1st, from the U.S. Steel (25%) and Aluminum (10%) tariffs. Despite their article outline almost everything is still speculation at this point; however, our own review of the trade position indicates the administration is very prepared to begin delivering the metal tariffs on all nations, including NAFTA partners, without reservation.
President Trump positioning the auto-industry 232 review, May 23rd, was one of the key ‘leverage signals‘ something was about to change.
Despite massively one-sided EU imposed tariffs against U.S. products, the EU is demanding to be permanently exempted from any U.S. reciprocal tariff measures or they will block the import of U.S. products. The hypocrisy is typically European.
Adding fuel to the speculation the tariff exemptions will be allowed to expire Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross stated earlier today, at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) summit – a multinational trade conference, that any/all trade discussions are entirely possible regardless of whether the U.S. begins the tariff against steel and aluminum imports.
WSJ – […] Mr. Trump has threatened to punish EU car exports if the bloc retaliates, and Mr. Ross is pursuing a study of car and auto-part imports similar to the one he completed on steel and aluminum.
Officials in some EU member states are already angry at Washington over Mr. Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. Still, others, including some German officials, want to seek a solution that prevents economic damage.

