Critical Update – Critical Update – Critical Update

Those who are watching the NAFTA negotiations must pay close attention to the activity in the past 36 hours.  There is a key video at the bottom.  First the backdrop:

As most are aware the NAFTA fatal flaw, the “loophole”, surrounds Mexico and Canada structuring their economic manufacturing policy -and trade deals- through the exploitation of a back-door into the U.S. Market. Understanding this key issue is paramount to understanding President Trump’s approach therein.

Remove the NAFTA “loophole” and there is no longer an incentive for U.S. manufacturers to locate their operations in Mexico or Canada. However, the removal of this loophole also means China, ASEAN nations and the EU lose the same incentive.

There have been hundreds of billions of previous investment by multinational corporations in Mexico and Canada.  Every dollar spent was intended to continue this exploitation.

Then came Trump.

In terms of investment size and scale of manufacturing, the auto-sector is perhaps the primary industry attempting to position themselves to avoid any reversal of the NAFTA scheme; and it is a self-interested economic scheme. In the short term there are billions at stake; in the longer term there are trillions within the equation.

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A recent CNN poll (full pdf below) of how President Trump is handling North-Korea has the moonbats going bananas. A sea change in the behavior of North Korea led to a historic meeting between South Korea and the DPRK. Quite simply, President Trump’s strategic policy worked.

With advancing optimism for peaceful relationships, and against the backdrop of an upcoming summit between President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un, CNN took a poll to evaluate opinion. WATCH:

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Earlier today President Trump announced via Twitter the date and location for the upcoming denuclearization talks between the U.S. and North Korea.

As announced, the summit between President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un will take place in Singapore on June 12th, 2018.

In the days leading up to the Singapore summit, there is a G7 meeting in Quebec, Canada, on June 8th and 9th.  The timing affords France, Germany, Italy, Britain, Japan and Canada an opportunity to share their perspectives, and simultaneously provides an opportunity for President Trump to solidify international support in advance of the summit.  Importantly the G7 allows time with Shinzo Abe of Japan.

South Korean Prime Minister Moon Jae-in is scheduled to visit the White House May 22nd, to brief President Trump on his prior meeting with Chairman Kim and discuss regional strategy and key issues for the Korean peninsula.

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President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice-President Mike Pence and Karen Pence are all going to be at Joint Base Andrews overnight to welcome home three people released after detainment in North Korea.

UPDATE: Video Added

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Last year during punditry discussions of  North Korea, the traditional crowd were waxing philosophically about military expansionism, and the threat of nuclear war as a likely outcome.

However, all of those Gordian-knot sellers held references from a fundamentally flawed foundation; they viewed the DPRK as a separate nation from China.  There were a few voices who challenged geopolitical orthodoxy and presented a different view; the DPRK as a proxy province of China.

When you think of North Korea as a proxy province of China, everything changes.  Every possible action and consequence changes.  If the DPRK is inherently a proxy province of Beijing, then North Korea already had nuclear weapons; or at least access to nuclear weapons as needed; the argument to stop them was moot.

Additionally, if Beijing was structurally and factually controlling Pyongyang, attaining a peaceful Korean peninsula between Kim Jong-un and his South Korean neighbor Moon Jae-in, was entirely different.

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Winning….

“Peace is the prize.”

Stop.  Just S.T.O.P. for a minute.

Snap, just look at that picture…. Ho.Lee.Cats that’s just about too much winning.

*AHEM*… Okay,… better get serious.

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President Trump delivers remarks at the beginning of a cabinet meeting today. Several topics are covered including the safe return of three American detainees from North Korea; and the upcoming summit.

[Transcript] 11:37 A.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: Okay, thank you very much. We have a lot of things happening, as you know. But last night was a very big night for the Republican Party. Every candidate that we wanted won, and they did very well. There was tremendous enthusiasm.

And with the economy going so strong and so good with all of the things that are happening, including a tremendous foreign affairs picture. If you look at what’s going on with so many different elements, including the fact that, right now, flying back are three, what they were calling “hostages.” We call them “fine people.” Three really fine people. Seemed to be healthy.

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This is very good news.   Earlier today President Trump tweeted about Secretary of State Mike Pompeo having secured return of the American detainees from North Korea.

Excellent.   According to President Trump the date, time and location of the summit between himself and Chairman Kim Jong-un will be announced within the next 72 hours.

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National Security Advisor John Bolton appears on Fox News with Laura Ingraham to discuss President Trump’s decision to exit the failing Iran deal, and the ongoing talks with North Korea.

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This report out of South Korea, while not confirmed, makes sense. Earlier today President Trump announced Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was en route to North Korea to finalize details for upcoming summit. Secretary Pompeo tweeted he was going to DPRK “at the invitation of N-Korean leadership.”

It makes sense, as an advanced gesture of goodwill ahead of the summit, for Kim Jong-un to release the U.S. captives.

SEOUL, May 9 (Yonhap) — North Korea is expected to release three U.S. citizens held in the communist state on Wednesday, an official from Seoul’s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said, in an apparent goodwill gesture ahead of a historic meeting between its leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump.

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