Today President Trump is traveling to Richfield, Ohio, to visit a union technical training facility for welding and heavy equipment. While there the President will deliver a speech about rebuilding infrastructure in America. Anticipated start time 2:00pm EST.
UPDATE: Video Added
The final quantification of the Bureau of Economic Analysis fourth quarter GDP growth rate was released today, reflecting an anticipated increase from the prior two estimations. The last revised estimation of GDP growth (February) was +2.5%, the final revised estimate is +2.9% growth.
A massive increase in consumer spending (+4%) around the October through December 31st time-frame (Q4) was offset by those dollars purchasing a large portion of imported products. The GDP growth deduction from import purchases was 1.99%. [See table #2, line 50 pdf here]
In short, American consumers spent significantly more than usual in the holiday season; however, many of those purchases were foreign goods.
From the BEA Report – Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 (table 1), according to the “third” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 3.2 percent.
White House Director of Trade and Manufacturing policy Peter Navarro discusses the revamp of the KORUS trade deal with South Korea. In addition Navarro discusses the ongoing Trump administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum, as well as plans to impose tariffs on Chinese products surrounding violations of intellectual-property rights.
[NOTE: Final USTR 301 Report on China was released last night]
JOINT STATEMENT – Today, Ambassador Lighthizer and Minister Kim are pleased to announce that the United States and the Republic of Korea have reached an agreement in principle on the general terms of amendments and modifications to the United States-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). The nations have also agreed on terms for a country exemption for the Republic of Korea from tariffs imposed on steel imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 9705, as amended. The arrangement with respect to steel imports is expected to take effect on May 1, 2018. (link)
Ever since the original 2012 US-Korea free trade agreement (KORUS) went into effect, the U.S. trade deficit in goods with Korea increased by over 73 percent from $13.2 billion to $22.9 billion (2017), while the overall deficit increased by 70 percent from $6.3 billion to $10.7 billion (2017). President Trump committed his administration to changing this immediately and renegotiating a deal that benefited the United States.
“The improved KORUS agreement reflects the President’s leadership in delivering more reciprocal trade outcomes benefiting U.S. workers, exporters, and businesses. The United States and Korea have strengthened an important economic relationship by agreeing to substantial improvements to KORUS that will help rebalance our trade, reduce our trade deficit, and expand U.S. export opportunities.” ~ U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer
Here’s the historic details:
It was only six months ago when the international media and U.S. left-wing pundits were proclaiming how we were on the cusp of thermonuclear war with North Korea. As outlined HERE there was almost no-one paying attention to the approach taken by President Donald Trump to creating the “Magnanimous Panda” outcome.
Well, today those same media are reporting on North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and committing to a denuclearized Korean peninsular:
SEOUL, March 28 (Yonhap) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping and reaffirmed his commitment to denuclearization during their first summit, the two countries’ media said Wednesday.
The North’s leader made an “unofficial” visit to China from Sunday to Wednesday, accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju and key officials, including de facto No. 2 figure Choe Ryong-hae, according to the North’s state-run radio.
The actual announcement of KORUS (“KOR”+”U.S.”), the renegotiated U.S. and South Korea trade deal, has yet to be made by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. President Donald Trump. However, more details are surfacing inside KORUS media leaks. Fantastic job by Lighthizer!
TOP LINES:
(Via AP) The new deal doubles — to 50,000 — the cars each U.S. automaker can export annually to South Korea, reduces bureaucratic barriers to American products and extends a 25 percent U.S. tariff on South Korean pickup trucks by 20 years, through 2041.
South Korea escapes America’s new 25 percent tariff on imported steel — but must accept quotas on steel exports equal to 70 percent of its average annual shipments to the United States between 2015 and 2017.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the policy ahead of an official announcement.
A lot of under-the-radar action happening today surrounding the upcoming DOJ Office of Inspector General Michael Horowitz report.
House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte called Inspector General Michael Horowitz earlier today to discuss the content of the subpoena he recently sent to the DOJ demanding investigative records related to the ongoing IG internal review and report.
Simultaneous to this oversight discussion, and related to the content therein, FBI Director Christopher Wray released a public statement announcing additional FBI staff resources committed to fulfillment of Chairman Goodlatte’s request.
FBI – As the Director of the FBI, I am committed to ensuring that the Bureau is being transparent and responsive to legitimate congressional requests.
Up until today, we have dedicated 27 FBI staff to review the records that are potentially responsive to Chairman Goodlatte’s requests. The actual number of documents responsive to this request is likely in the thousands. Regardless, I agree that the current pace of production is too slow.
Accordingly, I am doubling the number of assigned FBI staff, for a total of 54, to cover two shifts per day from 8 a.m. to midnight to expedite completion of this project. (link)
DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz has ‘at least’ 1.2 million documents gathered as part of his fourteen month investigation into the politicization of the FBI and DOJ.
Included within the exhaustive evidence is the total transcript of text messages between FBI Agent Peter Strzok and FBI Attorney Lisa Page extending almost two years. Some of those text messages were previously released to congressional oversight committees and have structured much of the media storyline and investigative pathways for three congressional committees. However, only a small portion of those texts were actually release so far.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appears on Fox Business News for an extensive interview with Maria Bartiromo. The interview covers a wide spectrum of important topics attached to the U.S. economy and ongoing trade deals. Two great video segments for the interview will get you up to speed on ongoing initiatives:
♦Segment #1 outlines the upcoming announcement of KORUS, the South Korea and U.S. trade deal. Additionally, Secretary Ross discusses the steel and aluminum tariffs and how they enmesh in the larger objective of the ongoing trade negotiations with China:
.
♦Segment #2 outlines more on the aluminum and steel tariffs; ongoing trade talks with Europe; efforts to renegotiate NAFTA, and the possibility of a deal being reached; Saudi Arabian investment in the U.S. and the Commerce Department plans to bring back a citizenship question in the 2020 Census.
National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro appeared on CNBC, prior to today’s massive U.S. stock market increase, to discuss ongoing trade initiatives.
U.S.T.R. Robert Lighthizer is currently conducting simultaneous bilateral trade negotiations with South Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, Australia, China (way-points), Japan, Mexico/Canada (NAFTA) and the European Union.
Trade talks going on with numerous countries that, for many years, have not treated the United States fairly. In the end, all will be happy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 27, 2018
The passage of the defense spending portion of the Omnibus bill ultimately means there will be increased demand for U.S. steel and aluminum within new defense equipment. The contracts within the procurement process will predictably require the use of U.S. parts.
Add the increase in defense spending with the pending global tariffs on steel imports, and the environment is created for foreign investment in domestic steel and metal manufacturing…. Then add into the mix the geopolitical economic relationship developed between India’s Prime Minister Modi and President Trump… And you discover the backdrop for this announcement from India owned JSW Steel:
(Reuters) – India’s JSW Steel Ltd said on Monday it would spend $500 million to build out its U.S. operations in Texas, amid heightened global trade tensions following U.S President Donald Trump’s decision to pursue steep import tariffs.
The company has signed an agreement with the Texas governor’s office, under which the governor has approved a grant worth $3.4 million to the company’s unit, the steelmaker said in a statement here.