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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When the broad outlines of the U.S-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement first appeared, we said it seemed clear presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador (AMLO) was aligned with the economic nationalism preferred by U.S. President Trump.

Yesterday that alignment was on full display as AMLO delivered a very strong endorsement for the respectful agreement between the two nations.  Unfortunately, the U.S. media will never report on these words of praise by President Lopez Obrador.

Transcript […] I also wanted to be here to thank people of the United States, its government, and thank you, President Trump for being increasingly respectful with our Mexican fellow men.

And to you, President Trump, I want to thank you for your understanding and the help you’ve given us in issues related to trade, commerce, oil, as well as your personal support for the acquisition of medical equipment that we needed urgently to treat our patients of COVID-19.

But what I mainly appreciate is that you have never sought to impose anything on us violating our sovereignty. Instead of the Monroe Doctrine, you have followed, in our case, the wise advice of the lustrous and prudent President George Washington who said, quote, “Nations should not take advantage of the unfortunate condition of other peoples.” End of quote.

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President Trump and the U.S. economic team have held a policy perspective that the World Trade Organization (WTO) is no longer a useful functioning body to mediate global trade issues.  At the center of that view are two issues:

First that WTO rules and regulations do not support American economic interests; and secondly, that WTO processes still provide China with favorable benefits as an “emerging nation” despite their scale. As a result the Trump administration has been positioning for a withdrawal from a dysfuctional WTO.

In an effort to keep the WTO intact, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has nominated a pro-Brexit/pro-America trade minister, Liam Fox, to become the next Director General.

(Via Fox News) – The British government on Wednesday announced that it was nominating former International Trade Secretary Liam Fox to head the World Trade Organization – selecting a strongly pro-Washington candidate at a time when the U.S. is debating quitting the trade body.

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U.S. President Donald Trump and visiting Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador are expected to deliver a joint statement at 6:30pm ET and take questions.

VIDEO and Transcript ADDED

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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. (Applause.) Please. Thank you very much. Thank you. This evening, we are honored to welcome President López Obrador, the entire Mexican delegation, and many distinguished guests to a White House working dinner. We’ve been working all day, and we’ll be working for a little while longer. But it’s an honor to have you in the White House. Tonight’s gathering follows a productive day of meetings and concludes an exceptional visit, in which we made tremendous strides on behalf of our countries.

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First, for those who have fought for decades against the baseline flaws within the NAFTA trade agreement, today is a very memorable day. Today the USMCA officially goes into effect and the trade brokerage system exploited by Mexico and Canada is officially ended.

NAFTA is DEAD! …This has been one hell of a decades-long battle.

Effective today the manufacturing of North American products must originate in North America. No longer will Canada and Mexico be allowed to “assemble” component goods from Asia and transport them as finished North American goods into the U.S. market.

The immediate impacts from this trade-loophole closure will be felt over the next several months and years.  Yes, things are rapidly about to change… and when you understand the details you also understand why the Democrats need to exploit a fictitious COVID fear to stop the explosion of U.S. economic growth that will follow.

Statement from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer:

“Today marks the beginning of a new and better chapter for trade between the United States, Mexico and Canada – just as President Trump promised he would deliver for the American people.

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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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Lou Dobbs had an interview with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai tonight discussing why the FCC designated Huawei and ZTE as national security threats.

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~ Why We Must Re-Elect President Trump ~

Today the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) formally designated Chinese’s Huawei Technologies Co and ZTE Corp as posing as posing national security threats to the United States. This designation and declaration blocks U.S. firms from tapping an $8.3 billion government fund to purchase equipment from either company.

(Source pdf)

This is an important step toward eliminating Huawei 5G data risks within U.S. telecommunication networks.  Additionally, the designation will have the forward impact of restricting U.S. allies from linking networks if they use Huawei/ZTE components.

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In a statement earlier today, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has announced the U.S. is revoking the special trade status of Hong Kong in response to escalating encroachment by China in violation of the prior agreement for autonomy.

It is a challenging status to modify because the administration does not want to reduce the ability of Hong Kong to operate as an autonomous economic region.  However, at the same time Beijing is taking control of all systems within Hong Kong and as such policies must be adjusted.  It would be an exercise in futility to expect China to retreat.