[White House] Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke with President Emmanuel Macron of France. The two leaders discussed how France and the United States are working to combat COVID-19 as well as opportunities to work together to stop the pandemic. President Trump agreed to host a video-conference on the coronavirus with all of the G7 leaders early next week. President Trump and President Macron also discussed issues in the Middle East, including countering the Iranian regime’s dangerous behavior and the situation in northwest Syria. (link)

The G7 Assembly includes: U.S, Japan, Canada, Italy, Germany, U.K. and France; with the EU usually sticking their collective nose into the conversation.

President Trump previously took executive action under sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, to restrict entry from China, Hong Kong, Iran and South Korea.  Today President Trump is extending entry restrictions to the EU “Schengen Area”.
The EU nations impacted include: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
This is a prudent step because these are EU nations, under their collective assembly, who permit unrestricted travel without border enforcement or containment measures.

[The Proclamation ] – On January 31, 2020, I issued Proclamation 9984 (Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Persons Who Pose a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel Coronavirus and Other Appropriate Measures To Address This Risk). I found that the potential for widespread transmission of a novel (new) coronavirus (which has since been renamed “SARS-CoV-2” and causes the disease COVID-19) (“SARS-CoV-2” or “the virus”) by infected individuals seeking to enter the United States threatens the security of our transportation system and infrastructure and the national security.
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Coronavirus As An Economic Contagion

Steve Bannon discusses the Chinese Coronavirus as an economic contagion and how the Trump economic security doctrine applies to the current downstream impacts.  Even before the Coronavirus surfaced in China there was lower manufacturing factory activity within the Chinese economy.  The necessary response within China to control the spread of the Coronavirus was to shut down most commerce.  Factories, schools &  businesses throughout China were impacted as various containment measures took hold.

Economic Nationalism -vs- Economic Globalism

Despite the intense doomsayer predictions surrounding the ‘Coronavirus as an economic contagion’ narrative, the U.S. economy remains strong. When evaluating economic impacts for the USA it is important to remember 80 percent of all activity within the U.S. is internal. We create and consume eighty percent of our own production.
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Economic Nationalism -vs- Economic Globalism

Despite the intense doomsayer predictions surrounding the ‘Coronavirus as an economic contagion’ narrative, the U.S. economy remains strong. When evaluating economic impacts for the USA it is important to remember 80 percent of all activity within the U.S. is internal.  We create and consume eighty percent of our own production.

The U.S. economy is unique in the amount of balance within it as compared to other industrial economies.  We are not dependent on exports to sustain our economy; and we are not dependent on any imports at the macro level.  Unlike China, Asia and Europe, and despite decades of efforts by globalists and multinationals, the U.S. generates and sustains a tremendous amount of our own economic prosperity.  First the January data:
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reveals data today showing January wage growth .5%, personal income increases .6%, consumer spending at .2%; overall U.S. savings at $1.33 trillion, and low inflation at 1.7 percent year-over-year.  Solid and stable.
Both consumer spending (+.2 Jan) and inflation (1.6% Jan) were impacted by lower energy prices (-.7%) & mild weather in January.  Reuters spins the lower rate of spending growth to imply a contracting U.S. consumer; there is no data to support that narrative.
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I think it is fair to say: no individual has worked harder for this day than Britain’s Nigel Farage. Without his relentless work to organize voters to remove the U.K. from the European Union; and then to organize again -three years later-  to break the Brexit stalemate in Parliament; this momentous day would not have arrived.  [Tweet]

(Via Daily Mail) Boris Johnson will deliver a plea for the country to move on from Brexit as the UK finally leaves the EU tonight.
In an address to be broadcast shortly before Britain’s departure at [11pm U.K. / 6pm U.S. ET], the Prime Minister will insist that Brexit marks ‘not an end but a beginning’.

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The Bureau of Economic Analysis released their first estimate of Q4 GDP growth today.  The BEA first estimate is 2.1 percent growth for the fourth quarter and 2.3 percent growth for the year. [Data Here]   The U.S. economy is now approximately $21.7 trillion.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appeared on Fox Business with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the ‘big picture’ outlook for the U.S. economy.  Strong employment, strong wage growth, strong consumer spending, and now the USMCA passage delivering the backdrop for domestic capital investment.   Good interview:

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The headwinds by Boeing and the GM strike had some negative impact.  However, 2019 was dominated by Wall Street multinational investors taking the ‘wait-n-see’ position on the China/Asia -vs- USMCA trade dynamic (manufacturing investment) overall.
The USMCA passage gives certainty to North American manufacturing investment.  The China ‘phase-one’ agreement allows time for re-positioning, and/or time to extract profits from prior investment.  A corporate decision to manufacture in China is now based on an entirely different set of considerations than 24 months ago…. ‘phase-one’ buys time but doesn’t reduce the long-term risk.  North America is now the place for investment stability.
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Earlier today Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin appeared on CNBC for an extensive interview from the Davos, Switzerland, World Economic Forum.
Good grief.  What is so hard to understand about the statement: “economic security is national security”?

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Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, says the USMCA positions the U.S. to begin focusing on a new trade agreement with Europe and others. Secretary Ross notes the administration initiates the EU from a position that talks will be successful. It is only if talks are not successful that Europe has to worry about tariffs. Too funny:

…”Frankly, I’ve seen a little bit of a sense of panic among some of the Europeans, because they know that with us solidifying both the USMCA and China ‘phase-one’ we’re in much stronger negotiating position than we’ve ever been”…

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Ivanka Trump and IBM CEO Ginni Rometty discuss new U.S. jobs, the U.S. workforce, tech-training, innovation, paid family leave, IBM’s growth in cloud computing and global economic outlooks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

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At the conclusion of two days of meetings and discussions, President Trump holds a press conference prior to departing the World Economic Forum.  Surprisingly President Trump invited Roberto Azevedo, Director General of the World Trade Organization, to give remarks.  [Video and Transcript]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Please come on up, Roberto and Larry. Robert, Steve, come on up.
Good afternoon. We’ve had a tremendous two days here. We’ll be heading back right after this conference, and I’ve just concluded some additional meetings. We’ve had a lot of them. I think Davos has treated us really beautifully. It’s been a tremendous success. Everyone is talking about America’s unprecedented economic success. It’s really the talk of the town, so to speak.
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