Against the backdrop of NAFTA renegotiation that appears headed for certain doom, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appears contrast against the overly familiar Canadian Foreign Minister Mrs. Twinkles and Rainbows Chrystia Freeland. I doubt you could find two individual personalities more divergent (watch you’ll see “Rex”?):
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[Transcript] FOREIGN MINISTER FREELAND: Okay. Hi, everybody. Great to see everyone here. Before I begin, I’d like to extend Canada’s thoughts and condolences to our American guests in light of the terrible train derailment in Washington state. We extend our sympathies to those who lost loved ones and wish a full and swift recovery to the injured. (more…)
No-where is Trump Derangement Syndrome more evident than in the position of activist Democrats now swearing allegiance to multinational trade deals.
It was only a short time ago when Democrat activists and liberal politicians demanded U.S. withdrawal from TPP and openly discussed how NAFTA was disastrous for the U.S. worker. Both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton ran on pulling out of TPP etc.
Trump gets elected, actually fulfills a campaign promise and promptly pulls-out of TPP subsequently beginning to renegotiate NAFTA (with leveraged threats to withdraw); and suddenly, Democrats are joining arm-in-arm with corporate Republicans expressing their profound love for multinational trade deals. Go figure.
Round #5 of NAFTA renegotiation begins today in Mexico, absent any diplomatic trade ministers, and Canada announces their intent to use their access to congress as leverage over the executive branch in an attempt to work around President Trump:
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada will redouble its lobbying efforts in Congress to block any Trump administration move to pull the United States out of NAFTA, sources familiar with government strategy said, as talks to modernize the treaty run into trouble.
[…] Canadian officials say there is some considerable doubt as to whether Trump could pull out of NAFTA without approval from Congress, which makes lobbying its members so important.
[Read with Looming British Voice] Crikey… deep within the Vietnamese rain forest we discover a large assembly of ferocious creatures… each followed closely by their tribal hierarchy. Carefully, silently, we capture their stealthy movements amid the banana trees and deeply rich native vegetation… After four minutes and thirty seconds of breathless anticipation we finally got the footage we were looking for…
The largest of the beasts emerge from the brush… The predators. A giant panda, seemingly unaware of the cameras… Just then, there it is, the moment we never thought we would see, the apex predators – a bear and lion together just as the regional colluding myths have described through the ages; seemingly oblivious to our presence – fearless in their approach… we dare not move:
Apologies in advance to our conservative Canadian friends; but the explainer here is regarding America-First trade and economics against the backdrop of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, Canada and Mexico’s alignment therein, the APEC Summit and rainbow socks.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Justin from Canada
Here’s why Canada and Mexico signing up to TPP is great news for the U.S., and couldn’t come at a better time for NAFTA round #5 on November 17th. We don’t want TPP to collapse, because TPP ties the hands of Canada and Mexico to elements of trade that are based on collective interests. Their joining TPP provides the U.S. leverage in NAFTA.
Remember, Vietnam is exactly 12 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time zone. At 7:450pm last evening in Vietnam (local time), at the last minute, Rainbow Socks backed out of the signing the TPP framework (explained here). Twelve hours later, at 7:20am (local), the AP reported the agreement was “back on” with “a compromise”:
DANANG, Vietnam (AP) — The Latest on the summit of 21 Pacific Rim economies in Vietnam (all times local): 7:20 a.m. – Trade ministers say they have reached a basic agreement on a Pacific Rim trade pact without the United States.
This has to be,.. scratch that,… ‘THIS IS’ one of the biggest multinational trade embarrassments in the past decade.
President Trump and team U.S.A. have already said the United States is not engaging in the multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal (TPP). We’re out, and have been out since the 2016 election. [The U.S. is focusing on direct, one-one-one, bilateral trade agreements.]
However, for the backdrop of this latest TPP development, you might also remember USTR Robert Lighthizer and Commerce Secretary Ross expressed the NAFTA plans were at loggerheads, and cancelled the October round of NAFA discussion, because of the ridiculous positions of the Canadians led by Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s far-left Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Well, for several months the eleven nations within the TPP have been negotiating among themselves for the details of the agreement without the United States. The member nations in the TPP-11 group are: Australia, Japan, Brunei, Mexico, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and Canada.
All eleven trade ministers from the TPP-11 countries had finally agreed on a “substantial conclusion” to the deal. The framework was built over almost two years and it was to be signed off by leaders on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Vietnam today. (more…)
The international leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in Da Nag, Vietnam gathered for their customary group photograph.
Justin from Canada was positioned next to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian PM Turnbull by the host nation (after a big controversy over TPP); U.S. President Trump was positioned next to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was interviewed by Fox News host Laura Ingraham ahead of his important participation in the Asia trip.
Within the interview Ambassador Lighthizer shows his wolverine attitude toward the ongoing trade deals and his role within the larger geopolitical strategy of the Trump Doctrine. There’s solid, affirming and unwavering economic insight within this interview.
Interestingly Lighthizer mentions the national security aspects inherent within the administration’s economic trade strategy. He details how his role, within the larger policy, is to focus intensely on achieving the best ‘America-First‘ trade deal possible. “Killers”.
Secretary Wilbur Ross (commerce), Secretary Steven Mnuchin (treasury), Secretary Rex Tillerson (state) and Secretary James Mattis (defense) then collate the outcome and ultimately President Trump makes the final decision. Working in concert, together they map how to use the leverage within the Lighthizer’s deals to achieve national security objectives.
Well, well, well. In what can only be described as perfectly representative of the perspectives of Canada, Mexico and the U.S., the principals within NAFTA [Robert Lighthizer (U.S.), Chrystina Freeland (Can), Ildefonso Guajardo (Mex)] showcase their unique positions during a press conference at the conclusion of round #4.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer begins with the elements of a statement that all parties agree upon. Not much. (Transcript added)
Next comes the smug, self-righteous, and virtue signaling Canadian economic parasite Chrystina Freeland; with an over-the-top emotional plea about how military cemeteries should form the basis of multinational trade deals because trade sectors should be based on her feelings, or something. Mexican economic parasite Ildefonso Guarjardo joins the CanMex position decrying the insufferable demands of the economic host: “we must understand that we all have limits.” Then comes the hammer. Lighthizer announces to both parasites their positions are fraught with hypocrisy and self-preservation; and the time to reset the imbalance is now. Pointing out how Canada and Mexico agreed to TPP text they are now rejecting in NAFTA, and specifically identifying how their companies have become reliant on special preferences, Lighthizer lets Canada and Mexico know that the time for their feasting on the host is OVER. Watch (transcript added below):
The distance between the parties is too significant and a diplomatic “cooling off” period of one month is agreed upon; prior to entry into round #5 which will take place in Mexico, mid-November. The goal of an agreement, if any agreement is possible, concluding by the end of the year is gone. (more…)
NAFTA Round #4 negotiations have been ongoing and resulting in little progress on the serious issues surrounding the three nation trade pact.
Word from behind the scenes, and off-the-record, finds several insiders with the opinion that the decision by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobbying group to conflict with President Trump and the U.S. trade team has backfired.
U.S. CoC President Tom Donohue made the decision to align in common cause with Canada and Mexico, against the interests of the U.S., and go public with his attacks against the U.S. negotiating team, the administration and President Trump personally.
Following the confrontational approach by the largest DC lobbying group, the U.S. team asked Canada to take their protectionist trade restrictions off the Dairy and Poultry sectors. Canada was adamant they will never leave their agriculture unprotected, and rejected any consideration of open trade discussion toward those sectors.
The U.S. is standing firm on three elements that Mexico and Canada are dead-set against: (more…)
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcome Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Gregoire Trudeau back to the White House.
By all media accounts, especially those from Canada, the primary purpose of Trudeau’s visit is to firm up support for NAFTA. Prior to the bilateral meeting between the two leaders, Trudeau was lobbying the congressional GOPe Ways and Means Committee to rebuke the America-First economic policies of President Trump.
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Isn’t it interesting how heads of foreign governments feel so comfortable coming to the U.S., engaging with Washington DC politicians and openly attempting to eliminate the national economic policy interests of a sitting U.S. President (and American workers)?
No, really… think about that. If you ever needed to remind your family, friends and neighbors of how thoroughly our national economic sovereignty has been destroyed, simply put the reality of foreign leaders lobbying Washington DC to retain their global interests into the context of any conversation…. then ask them to think about it.
Name another country that would even fathom allowing such activity. (more…)
