When Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appears… PAY ATTENTION.  In this interview Secretary Ross outlines an announcement today [LINK HERE] about the U.S. will block Chinese owned WeChat, and additional security measures against TikTok.

COMMERCE – […] While the threats posed by WeChat and TikTok are not identical, they are similar. Each collects vast swaths of data from users, including network activity, location data, and browsing and search histories. Each is an active participant in China’s civil-military fusion and is subject to mandatory cooperation with the intelligence services of the CCP. This combination results in the use of WeChat and TikTok creating unacceptable risks to our national security. (more)

Additionally, Secretary Ross discusses sector-specific relief for the airline industry and U.S. farmers. On the farmer side we should all remember any confrontation with Beijing could lead to China pulling back from purchase agreements. China cannot feed itself and is dependent on imported food products, so the scale of any pull-back is not known.

DETAILS – In response to President Trump’s Executive Orders signed August 6, 2020, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) today announced prohibitions on transactions relating to mobile applications (apps) WeChat and TikTok to safeguard the national security of the United States.

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Those who have followed the Trump administration’s decoupling strategy will note the potential conflict from within this approach is a ‘nothing to lose’ proposition from Donald Trump’s perspective.

The Trump administration announced today the Department of Homeland Security, via U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, are about to start blocking the import of products from five specific entities in western China’s Xinjiang region.  The objective is to block products that come from forced Uighur labor in Xinjiang, China.

The authority comes from U.S. “Withhold Release Orders” (WRO’s) that allows U.S. Customs and Border Protection to detain shipments based on suspicion of forced-labor involvement under long-standing U.S. laws to combat human trafficking, child labor and other human rights abuses.  Ken Cuccinelli explains to Lou Dobbs.

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At first blush this might seem detrimental to the objectives of the U.S-China Phase-One trade deal. However, if you have followed the decoupling process closely; including the warnings given by Trump to U.S. multinationals; you will note there is no specific downside to this confrontation.

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A few days ago Samsung announced they would stop production and manufacturing of Televisions in China by November.  Today they announce they will stop the sales of high-tech chips to Chinese owned Hauwei.

ANDROID HEADLINES – In the latest blow to Huawei, South Korean chip manufacturers Samsung and HK Hynix will reportedly cease all trades with the Chinese company beginning next week. This comes after the US Department of Commerce last month announced an amendment to the trade restrictions it imposed on Huawei back in May.

According to reports from various Korean news outlets, the companies will suspend trade on September 15th. That’s when the new set of rules come into effect. The rules bar any American or non-American company that uses a US-origin software or technology from selling components to Huawei. Any such trade would require the companies to obtain special approval from the American government.

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United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and China’s Vice-Premier Liu He release a joint statement showing renewed emphasis on phase-1 purchases.

Washington, DC – Ambassador Lighthizer and Secretary Mnuchin participated in a regularly scheduled call this evening with China’s Vice Premier Liu He to discuss implementation of the historic Phase One Agreement between the United States and China. The parties addressed steps that China has taken to effectuate structural changes called for by the Agreement that will ensure greater protection for intellectual property rights, remove impediments to American companies in the areas of financial services and agriculture, and eliminate forced technology transfer.

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For those paying close attention, it appears the background geopolitical economic cold-war between President Trump and China has intensified.   As a consequence, all U.S. entities who have cemented their affluence in a partnership with Beijing are now in a position of considerable risk.

The executive order signed yesterday by President Trump supports the liberty of Hong Kong yet accepts an unfortunate reality; a full communist movement to control HK is a foregone conclusion.

[…] I therefore determine that the situation with respect to Hong Kong, including recent actions taken by the PRC to fundamentally undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy, constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. I hereby declare a national emergency with respect to that threat.

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Smart and fierce DOJ spokesperson Kerri Kupek discusses DOJ Operation Legend, an organized and focused effort by the federal government to reduce crime and violence stemming from Antifa and other violent extremists.

Additionally, Ms. Kupek discusses the DOJ taking a stronger approach toward the corrupt influence of China within various U.S. systems (economic, political and social).  Lastly @4:30 Kerri outlines the status of John Durham’s ongoing investigation: “the restoration of that one-tiered system of justice.”  WATCH:

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The more the DOJ, and by extension John Durham, hears about how much we know – the greater likelihood action will be taken based on evidence. Information about corruption without action is antithetical to its purpose.

It is up to ‘We The People’ to inform our representative government about our level of awareness. The architecture that frames the U.S. system of government was established “of, by and for” WE THE PEOPLE.  Use that architecture as your road-map for an action plan; bury them in an unrelenting avalanche of your knowledge.

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President Trump will be holding a press conference on China matters today from the Rose Garden.  The anticipated start time is 5:00pm ET.  [Livestream Links Below]

White House Livestream – Fox News Livestream – RSBN Livestream Link

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National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow has been doing a great job in his role as an economic cheerleader and sounding board for President Trump on COVID mitigation. In this interview Kudlow discusses a ‘potential’ phase-4 stimulus package targeted to offset very specific sectors at risk from continued COVID-19 closures.

Additionally, Kudlow notes there could be financial incentives, offsets to expenses, to help schools re-open this fall in the event COVID mitigation creates higher costs. Lastly, Kudlow again notes that China is in a precarious position from the outlook of the White House.

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It sure seems this COVID economic battle is more psychological than anything else. The media is pushing the fear narrative hard… very hard.

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President Trump holds an interview with Fox Business News’ Blake Burman. The president hits on a variety of current headlines including ongoing COVID-19 mitigation, a potential fourth round of stimulus, the nonsensical Russia conspiracy nonsense and the 2020 election campaign.

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During an interview with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross notes that companies with headquarters in Hong Kong are likely to rethink those offices with China now taking control under Beijing’s sweeping new security law.

This is a significant statement and underpins the U.S. strategy that is dismantling the Chinese influence on global trade and manufacturing.  As Secretary Ross noted: “I believe that there’s a good chance that all companies who have Hong Kong as their headquarters for Asia will begin rethink whether the new rules – the new relationship between Hong Kong and mainland China – whether those rules let Hong Kong be as favorable a place to have headquarters as it used to be.”  WATCH (listen closely):

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There is a deliberate and blunt focus in the statements by Ross that will have a significant impact.  Globally the world needs to accept the future of Hong Kong as a communist state, and disavow the notion of any semblance of an autonomous region.  Secretary Ross just threw a bucket of cold water in the face of those who refuse to accept the reality as it exists.

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