There are Trillions At Stake. There is no upper limit to what congress is willing to do to stop President Trump from turning off the lobbyist funding. Without influence in DC there can be no affluence in DC. That’s why McConnell cancelled the recess.
If the president continues to remain focused exclusively on what is in the U.S. best interests, he must be stopped. Politicians in DC cannot just sit-by and allow the U.S. economy to be based on the interests of Americans; it would mean the destruction of years of central planning by DC Lobbyists, multinational banks, Wall Street and multinational corporations.
WASHINGTON DC – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that he will not bring up a freestanding bill to push back on President Trump’s trade agenda, but that GOP senators might be able to add it as an amendment to other legislation.
Support among Republicans has grown for legislation backed by Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) that would give Congress power to authorize or reject any new tariffs imposed because of national security concerns.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland begin a U.S. media grievance tour to frame a narrative around the recent Steel and Aluminum tariffs.
The Canadian duo intentionally conflate a U.S. objective to secure the Steel and Aluminum industrial base into a narrative that the U.S. is targeting Canada as a security threat. Despite this shamefully obtuse argument the majority of Canadians and the vast majority of Americans can see right through this nonsense. Trudeau and Freeland should be ashamed (but they won’t be), watch:
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Canada and Mexico have both structured their international trade deals around their ability to provide access to the coveted $20 trillion U.S. market. Rather than fix the fatal flaw in NAFTA, which would cost them billions, both nations have doubled down with demands that their dependency model be allowed to continue. They are both about to discover the catastrophic consequences to that decision. Their economic losses will now be exponentially larger as an outcome of their entrenched ideology.
“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’?
Generally speaking the corporate media have yet to have an honest outline about the fatal flaw within NAFTA that allows China, ASEAN nations and the EU to exploit previous investments in Canada and Mexico as a back-door to the U.S. market.
In a generalized aspect, the recent visit of top U.S. trade and economic policymakers to China was part of Trump’s exploration into the larger dynamic of bi-lateral trade between the U.S. and China knowing full well the NAFTA flaw remains unaddressed. Without addressing the loop-hole (aka ‘fatal flaw’) any modernized NAFTA deal is moot; and by extension the foundation for any future trade deal between the U.S. and China is too byzantine to manage.
It is in China and the EU’s interests to continue exploiting the NAFTA access. It is in Canada and Mexico’s interests to retain the subsequent investment influx.
It is in multinational corporate and Wall Street interests to continue the scheme. However, it is also entirely against U.S. Main Street interests. Hence, NAFTA loggerheads reigns supreme; and in my opinion, we are soon to see President Trump cut the Gordian knot.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senior Canadian, U.S. and Mexican officials trying to rescue slow-moving talks to update the NAFTA trade pact met on Monday in a new bid to resolve key issues before regional elections complicate the process.
With time fast running out to strike some kind of deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement, the three member nations are still far apart on major points.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross discusses the ongoing trade initiatives with China ahead of the U.S. delegation departing later tonight. Secretary Ross, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, U.S. Trade Representative/Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow and White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro are all heading to Beijing to meet with their Chinese counterparts.
Secretary Ross is like the Babe Ruth of trade-baseball. Wilburine has a way of taking complex issues pitched to him, and knocking them out of the ballpark with an extremely fast common sense bat. He makes it look effortless. Watch:
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Two quick thoughts. First, I think this is the first time every member of Team America (Ross, Mnuchin, Lighthizer, Kudlow, Navarro) has unified into one specific set of trade negotiations. That helps understand the scale of importance of the China trade relationship.
Second, there’s no traveling parallel contingent consisting of outside government members/advisers from of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This is a significant change from the past 30 years of Wall Street policy manipulation by the CoC. Many people may not be aware but until President Trump the U.S. government didn’t actually write the trade agreements.
For all prior administrations the actual negotiations and agreements were willingly sub-contracted out to U.S. Chamber of Commerce delegations. This is how the multinationals took control of trade policy and eventually the U.S. economy. CoC President Tom Donohue must be apoplectic now that he is facing an administration actually writing the trade agreements.
On June 29th, 2017, CTH drew attention to the advanced U.S. energy policy as it was being announced, and the media avoided coverage. At the time our headline was: “Stratospheric in Consequence – Trump Policy: Unleashing American Energy Independence”.
The bottom-line was simple. It was clearly visible that POTUS Trump had a plan to unleash the U.S. energy sector as part a much larger larger economic and national security strategy. The concept was so radical, and the potential ramifications so consequential, it was stunning how no financial media were putting the dots together.
Trump’s geopolitical energy strategy actually underpinned the national security interests with Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. Additionally, the same energy policy was one of the four corners of the MAGAnomic trade policy; currently becoming more visible.
Check out today’s headline from Reuters, and think about how outside-the-box thinking has brought about these results:
From the article: MOSCOW/LONDON (Reuters) – As OPEC’s efforts to balance the oil market bear fruit, U.S. producers are reaping the benefits – and flooding Europe with a record amount of crude.
Russia paired with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries last year in cutting oil output jointly by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), a deal they say has largely rebalanced the market and one that has helped elevate benchmark Brent prices close to four-year highs.
As you are probably aware President Trump cancelled his visit to the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru this week; preferring to send Vice President Mike Pence in his stead. U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donahue is in Peru and delivered the Wall Street positions on trade to the gathering. (More on that later).
It is critical to remember, at the epicenter of all political position is money. All support and opposition to POTUS Trump surrounds the money. Under the foundation of ideology are financial benefits and/or lack thereof. [Ex. Chuck Grassley’s presentation of a bill to support SC Robert Mueller is directly tied to his purchased Big AG lobby position on trade via UniLever, ConAgra, Monsanto, ADM etc.] The Wall Street coalition needs leverage against POTUS Trump to defend their financial positions. There are trillions at stake.
Directly related, today in the White House, President Trump -together with U.S.T.R Robert Lighthizer- met with an assembly of governors and congressional representatives to discuss trade and agriculture. Each of these state and federal officials is part of the Big AG corporate purchase of policy.
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When POTUS keeps the cameras rolling, it’s beneficial to pay attention. Notice how President Trump is leveraging an agricultural benefit of ethanol against the financial influence of Big AG lobbyists who control the assembled politicians.
It’s a modern fact, albeit sickening in the big picture, that President Trump has to fight for the best outcome of America’s economic policy against special interests of U.S. politicians – who are purchased by lobbyist money to act against America’s best interests.
[Transcript] 11:07 A.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: So this is a group I like very much. We’re here to discuss agriculture — very important. And these are great people, great Americans, great patriots. And they’ve been treated very badly for a long time. And if you look at the farmer, it’s been, unfortunately, over a 12-year period, trending downward. Very much trending downward. So we’re changing things with respect to trade and trade with other countries.
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.
