Within the dynamic of the U.S -vs- China trade confrontation, CTH has long noted the Wall Street (globalist) multinationals would always go bananas.  There are trillions at stake and President Trump is confronting three decades of financial influence from Wall Street’s multinational corporate lobbyists.
To the angst of Wall Street, POTUS Trump tweets the dynamic.
President Trump will not back down from his position; the U.S. holds all of the leverage and the issue must be addressed.  President Trump has waited three decades for this moment.  Main Street U.S.A has waited for this moment.  This President and his team are entirely prepared for this battle…. Now we fight!

We are finally confronting the geopolitical Red Dragon, China!
President Trump has been brutally consistent for more than three decades on his intent and purpose with the Chinese.  President Trump is the first U.S. President to understand how the red dragon hides nefarious motives behind the panda mask.
Additionally, while carrying out the objectives of the confrontation, Secretary Mnuchin, Secretary Ross, Ambassador Lighthizer and adviser Peter Navarro are well aware of Beijing’s duplicitous panda mask; POTUS Trump will never let them forget about it.
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National Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow appeared on Fox Business today to discuss the current state of the economy.  Mr. Kudlow was questioned about several media reports surrounding discussions of new tax cuts, tax rate modifications and tax policy.
Additionally, Kudkow updates the latest position on the U.S-China trade discussion.

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During an oval office press conference today, President Trump took several questions about China and the U.S. trade confrontation.  After receiving the third question, on the same subject, President Trump paused and then went deep into the heart of the issue.
The question was: ” Mr. President, you keep insisting that your trade war with China — the trade war with China is not affecting the U.S. economy. But a lot of economists disagree with that. And they worry that if China goes into a recession, they’ll pull us down with it.”
Here is President Trump’s response:

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[Transcript] … PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well — well, okay. Let me — let me tell you something. Number one, we’re doing very well as an economy. But somebody had to take China on. You know, I read and I see so much and I read so much, and I’ll see these economists saying, “Oh, give up. Give up on China. Give up.”
China has been ripping this country off for 25 years — for longer than that. And it’s about time, whether it’s good for our country or bad for our country short term. Long term, it’s imperative that somebody does this because our country cannot continue to pay China $500 billion a year because stupid people are running it.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sits down for a wide-ranging interview with Martha MacCallum to discuss ongoing multi-layered issues between the U.S. and China.

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Hong Kong movement spokesperson Sunny Cheung explains what the protests are about, and what the movement hopes to achieve.   Mr. Cheung explains the protesters do not believe in the communist idea, and/or the larger communist ideology; hence their efforts to reach out to the U.S. for support.
More protests and rallies are scheduled for this weekend.

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An interesting article in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) highlights how China is shifting their procurement priority from minerals used in manufacturing (cobalt, copper) to the acquisition of food and agriculture products.
The impact is being felt throughout Africa, where mining companies are shutting down operations because Chinese demand no longer exists.
Articles like this highlight the ancillary impacts of a weakened Chinese economy.
Despite the proclamations by Beijing about their ability to withstand the withdrawal of the U.S. as a primary customer for manufactured goods, reality shows they cannot.
There is a confluence of events all leading to radical changes just below the surface.  China has been burning cash to subsidize industries impacted by U.S. tariffs.  Simultaneously Beijing has lowered the value of their currency in an effort to eliminate the tariff impact in the cost of their finished goods. However, as the ideological economic conflict between the U.S. and China continues, Beijing cannot hold their position indefinitely.
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President Trump is having dinner tonight with Tim Cook, aka “Tim Apple.”  This dinner comes on the heels of USTR Lighthizer announcing a postponement of “next step” 10 percent tariffs against Chinese manufactured products…  Interestingly, the one of the product groups within the delay is personal computers…. Interestingly, Tim Apple was going to launch production assembly of the Macintosh personal computer in China.

To say that Tim Cook has been attempting to define and quantify the strength of President Trump’s tariff position against China would be an understatement.  Even before president-elect Trump took office, Tim Cook was engaged on this specific aspect.
As a responsible steward for the brand, the engagement by “Tim Apple” makes lots of sense. The engaged approach by CEO Cook is what all multinationals should do.  Advocate for their interests; keep an open mind to aspects that are larger than self-interest; keep a respectful seat at the table; and be a responsible steward for his American shareholders.
Ultimately Tim Cook is recognizing President Trump will advance those policies that benefit Main Street and he will avoid policies that do not benefit Main Street. Trump’s Main Street economic patriotism is likely a paradigm shift for Cook; amid a career experience of politicians advancing Wall Street interests.  Hence, the constant evaluation.
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Finally an economic analyst gets prime-time media pundits to listen as he describes the fundamental difference between the U.S. “Economy” (Main Street) and the U.S. “Markets” (Wall Street).  Charles Payne understands most of this, but El-Erian has it nailed.
Allianz Group chief economic advisor, Mohamed El-Erian, accurately describes what is happening in an era where deglobalization is taking place. The U.S. economy is strong; however, the multinationals on Wall Street -invested overseas- are exposed.  Thus there’s a disconnect and accompanying market volatility.
This is well worth watching because this is the first well-regarded financial pundit that is speaking truth to Wall Street in terms the panel pundits will understand/accept.

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There is nothing that China and the EU can do to stop the de-globalization process; and efforts to stimulate their economy, more quantitative easing (pumping money) while the global supply chains are being shifted, are futile.
The more a nations’ economy is dependent on exports, the more exposure they have to the inherent downsides of de-globalization.   U.S. companies that are invested in these nations will lose their investment over time; some rapidly.  This will keep the stock market volatile, yet the Main Street USA economy is thriving.
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Chopper pressers are the best pressers.  A confident, cool and assertively diplomatic President Donald Trump holds an impromptu press conference with media as he departs New Jersey for a campaign rally in New Hampshire. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: So, tremendous retail numbers were announced today, which really is a great indicator of how well our country is doing, how well our economy is doing. Those are real numbers. Walmart announced; others announced. We had some tremendous numbers come out today, which I’m sure you saw. So we’re very happy about that. We’re doing very well.
The economy is incredible. The consumer — probably above all else, the consumer is doing incredibly.
So, go ahead. Any questions?
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Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appears (in studio) on CNBC to discuss the current state of the U.S. economy, the ongoing issues with communist China, the ‘next step’ trade tariffs and the situation in Hong Kong.

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