U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson issues a formal statement in response to the ICBM missile test conducted by North Korea:

The United States strongly condemns North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Testing an ICBM represents a new escalation of the threat to the United States, our allies and partners, the region, and the world.

Global action is required to stop a global threat. Any country that hosts North Korean guest workers, provides any economic or military benefits, or fails to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions is aiding and abetting a dangerous regime.

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U.S. Officials are now confirming the North Korean missile test was an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The ICBM, which is believed to be “two-stage,” officials said, would have a range of at least 3,500 miles, and thus be capable of reaching Alaska. (NBC link)

This launch represents another escalation by Kim Jung-Un in his ongoing quest for long-range intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles.  The ICBM test is another in a series of violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the launches, and is simultaneously a slap in the face to Chinese President Xi Jinping who is presumably trying to get North Korea to back down.

China’s support of North Korea will become even more of an issue with the increased escalations.  Understanding the perspective of President Donald Trump toward these events, we would/should anticipate a series of economic actions by the U.S. administration against China.

The U.S. cannot focus exclusively on North Korea, their enablers must be targeted for corrective leverage. Economic sanctions can increase internal regional pressure.

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Kim Jung-Un has test fired another missile.  President Trump responds:

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USTR Robert Lighthizer delivered testimony to congress today including an outline of dates, objectives and policy initiatives the Trump administration trade team plan to act upon in the next several months.

Important Discussion.

The current U.S. “America First” economic and trade team is entirely deconstructing the globalist efforts formerly pushed by multinational interests, multinational corporations, multinational banks and Wall Street.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and USTR Robert Lighthizer are positioned to shred and reverse decades of trade manipulation that have punished the middle-class and manufacturing base.   The best part of the committee discussion begins at 10:00 of the video with Lighthizer’s opening statement (prompted).

https://youtu.be/98sgAnjJ-CQ?t=10m

Congress is apoplectic about being stuck between their Wall Street corporate benefactors and a Trump trade team that is only looking out for America’s best interests.  The level of lobbyist angst amid the Big Club is palpable.

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Men of consequence – Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis hold a joint statement and press availability to discuss ongoing constructive discussions with China and the current efforts to deal with an increasingly unstable North Korea.

While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 20, 2017

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It was 28 years ago tonight when the Chinese government sent the Mongolian Army into Tiananmen Square to crackdown on the mostly student protestors.

It is against the law in China to recognize today, memorialize the dead, or even speak publicly of this bloody anniversary.   Few people know the short and long-term political ramifications to this event which extended far beyond the borders of China.

Many people are familiar with this image:

However, not as many people are as familiar with the wide shot.

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Showcasing a unique aspect of the President Trump common sense approach toward coalition building, today the United Nations security council voted unanimously, in public, to increase sanctions against North Korea.   Yes, ‘unanimously’.

China and Russia voted in alliance with the permanent security council members the U.S., France and the United Kingdom to support increased sanctions.  They voted in alignment publicly.  Don’t look for the anti-Trump media to make note of this critical point.

(Via Reuters) […] Adding names to the U.N. blacklist – a global travel ban and asset freeze – was the minimum sanctions measures the Security Council could have taken and comes after five weeks of negotiations between Washington and Beijing.

“The Security Council is sending a clear message to North Korea today – stop firing ballistic missiles or face the consequences,” Haley said.

The resolution, adopted unanimously by the 15-member council, sanctions four entities, including the Koryo Bank and Strategic Rocket Force of the Korean People’s Army, and 14 people, including the head of Pyongyang’s overseas spying operations.

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Leaders of the G7, a finance-centric geopolitical group of international leaders, issued their joint summit statement on Saturday.  U.S. President Donald Trump refused to align the United States with the joint declaration pledging commitment to the Paris accord on climate change.

[Page 6 pdf below] …”The United States of America is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris Agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics.  Understanding this process, the Heads of State and of Government of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom and the Presidents of the European Council and of the European Commission reaffirm their strong commitment to swiftly implement the Paris Agreement, as previously stated at the Ise-Shima Summit.”

President Trump tweeted at the conclusion of the G7 Summit:

The full summit agreement is below:

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The pageantry and scale of the royal reception toward President Trump and the U.S. is reflective of much more than a singular presidential visit to a nation and region of geo-strategic importance.

The word “reset” is frequent amid media reporting of the Saudi trip but few people have followed the recent regional history to thoroughly understand what exactly is being reset.

~ President Donald Trump and Saudi King Salman – Joint Statement.

President Trump is being recognized and respected by the regional Arab coalition for his specific approach and outward worldview which is based on eye-to-eye diplomacy.

Through the contacts, discussions, emissary meetings and individual diplomatic engagements over the past six months, the Arab region members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) -and specifically Saudi Arabia- are overjoyed to find a fresh U.S. perspective based on mutual respect. (more…)

To understand the China ‘One-Belt / ‘One-World’ economic trade forum it becomes necessary to understand how structurally weak the Chinese economy was created.

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People often talk about the ‘strength’ of China’s economic model; and indeed within a specific part of their economy -manufacturing- they do have economic strength.  However, the underlying critical architecture of the Chinese economic model is structurally flawed and President Trump with his current economic team understand the weakness better than all international adversaries.

Lets take a stroll and lightly discuss.

China is a central planning economy.  Meaning it never was an outcropping of natural economic conditions.  China was/is controlled as a communist style central-planning government; As such, it is important to reference the basic structural reality that China’s economy was created from the top down.

This construct of government creation is a key big picture distinction that sets the backdrop to understand how weak the economy really is.

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