National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow holds an impromptu press gaggle at the White House to field questions about trade and related MAGAnomic matters.
So much good news: WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The trade deal between the United States and Mexico will stand even if Canada does not come to an agreement with the Trump administration in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Mexico’s foreign minister said on Monday.
“If for any reason the government of Canada and the United States do not reach an agreement, we already know that there will still be a deal between Mexico and the United States.”
~ Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray (link)
Remember those “private meetings” between Jesus Seade and Robert Lighthizer?
It is said: a picture is worth a thousand words. Cue the audio visual:
The incoming Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador,(AMLO)’s representative is Jesus Seade. The outgoing Mexican President Pena Nieto’s representative is Mexican Secretary of Economy Idelfonso Guajardo.
Why the joy in Seade and the defeated Guajardo? The answer is in the details:
One of President Trump’s principal objectives in the renegotiation is to ensure the agreement benefits American workers. The United States and Mexico have agreed to a Labor chapter that brings labor obligations into the core of the agreement, makes them fully enforceable, and represents the strongest provisions of any trade agreement.
Key Achievement: Worker Representation in Collective Bargaining
The Labor chapter includes an Annex on Worker Representation in Collective Bargaining in Mexico, under which Mexico commits to specific legislative actions to provide for the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.
The overwhelming majority of Sunday political talk-show discussion focuses around the death of UniParty Senator John McCain, etc. There is little value there, and grandma’s rule always applies.
However, Representative Darrell Issa appeared on Sunday Morning with Maria Bartiromo for a discussion on multiple subjects including the DOJ, Robert Mueller, North Korea and ongoing trade reset initiatives with China.
It was ABSOLUTELY NOT coincidental that China sent a low level trade delegation to the U.S. at exactly the same time U.S.T.R. Lighthizer is conducting open hearings on Section 301 national security trade issues; which are specifically targeted toward China.
For the second time POTUS is using strategic deployment of sunlight on the relationship between Beijing and North Korea. President Trump is highlighting what has been hidden for decades. China has structured the use of North Korean nuclear ambitions as the sword of Damocles over their economic adversaries in the West. China’s Chairman Xi Jinping controls the government officials that surround North Korea’s Chairman Kim Jong-un:
These tweets, along with the earlier tweet. are serious business. They are being fired directly into the heart of Beijing. They are the mother of all truth bombs, and they take away the ability of Chairman Xi to deploy the hidden threat and DPRK control.
“Subtle” like a brick through a window. [More backstory available here.] President Trump is removing the Panda mask to reveal the authentic nature of Chairman Xi Jinping. Simultaneously Trump is trying to rescue Kim Jong-un from the clutches of the Red dragon behind the panda mask.
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It is not coincidental that three events are occurring simultaneously: (1) U.S.T.R. Lighthizer is conducting public hearings on Section 301 impacts; (2) a Chinese trade delegation is in the U.S. to re-initiate talks; and (3) U.S. President Trump conducts a roundtable meeting with congressional leadership over the Foreign Investment Risk Review and Modernization Act.
When discussing or reviewing trade deals, particularly NAFTA, it is important to remember two baselines: (1) The trade reset is President Trump’s personal legacy initiative; it’s personal – ignore media banter – it’s personal; like, the most important thing he ever thinks about. Always. 24/7. (2) President Trump has no multinational corporations or financial interests with leverage/influence over his decision-making.
We begin:
“We are already looking at all the issues. We might close this, not in a matter of hours, but these days. We still have next week,” Jesus Seade, designated chief negotiator of Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, told reporters.
Here’s where it becomes important to note that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has twice asked Jesus Seade to remain AFTER hours when all other trade officials have concluded discussions. Closed-door conversations between Lighthizer and Seade; and no-one else. [Refer back to the two Trump baselines again]
Next, before reviewing the comments and presentations of the media regarding the U.S. Mexico NAFTA status; again reference the team approach, and the division of responsibility. Today, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross is meeting with the twitchy Chinese delegation – again, their arrival is not a matter of scheduling happenstance; it is directly related to the ongoing 301 hearings that began two-days-ago, Monday.
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Sad Panda increasingly frustrated as disruptor Trump heaps vociferous praise on Chairman Xi, while simultaneously out maneuvering Beijing’s geopolitical economic strategy.
China expert Michael Pillsbury discusses the current environment around the Beijing leadership with Fox host Tucker Carlson. This is really important. WATCH:
When we elected a successful businessman as President of the United States and leader of the executive branch, we elected a person who fundamentally changed the framework of accountability and transparency in government. President Donald J Trump holds an average of two to three full cabinet meetings each month where the cabinet members give direct updates on execution of policy priorities.
No President in modern history has put that much accountability into the position of each cabinet member. No President has ever coordinated strategic objectives with such a high level of expectation and scrutiny. No President has folded transparency into the cabinet with full media access over White House cabinet meetings. This is a new executive branch standard.
NEC Director Larry Kudlow break-out discussion on the economy at 03:45. WATCH:
OK, admission… Today is the day CTH recognizes NEC Director Kudlow has joined the official ranks of team Wolverine. An impassioned Larry Kudlow is determined to see the financial media report on the jaw-dropping success of President Trump’s Main Street economic policies.
Key message on trade with China at 03:10. WATCH:
President Trump’s MAGAnomic trade and foreign policy agenda is jaw-dropping in scale, scope and consequence. There are multiple simultaneous aspects to each policy objective; however, many have been visible for a long time – some even before the election victory in November ’16.
If we get too far in the weeds the larger picture is lost. CTH objective is to continue pointing focus toward the larger horizon, and then at specific inflection points to dive into the topic and explain how each moment is connected to the larger strategy.
Today we repost an earlier dive into how MAGAnomic policy interacts with multinational Wall Street, the stock market, the U.S. financial system and perhaps your personal financial value. Again, reference and source material is included at the end of the outline.
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