Steve Bannon is at his best when he explains how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) use their power in economics -against the capitalist view of profit- to erode the values of western companies and corporations. Good points made in this interview.
Here is the video and transcript from the Oval Office press announcement by President Trump and Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He. USTR Lighthizer and Secretary Mnuchin also provided some insight into “Phase-One” of the U.S-China trade agreement.
President Trump, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin gathered with their Chinese counterparts in the Oval Office for a lengthy announcement of “phase-one” of a U.S-China trade agreement. Vice-Premier Liu He leads the Chinese delegation. [No point sheet on USTR website yet] According to the presser:
Phase One has reached ‘agreement in principle‘, and includes: Intellectual Property issues; Banking and Financial Services to include currency devaluation; and major agricultural purchases ($50 billion +). There will be several phases, and each phase will have an individually tailored enforcement mechanism. [Note: this approach sounds similar to the ‘six sectors and stages’ USTR Lighthizer discussed in March 2019.]
The Phase One agreement details still have to be put on paper over the next five to six weeks. The U.S. and China are hopeful to have ‘phase one‘ complete by December. In exchange for current AG purchase commitments, and as an act of good faith while phase-one is finalized, the U.S. will suspend the tariff rate increases scheduled to take effect on October 15th. The tariff increase from 25% to 30% has been ‘suspended‘.
The scheduled U.S. tariff increases for December are still planned; however, they will be assessed as part of the ongoing negotiations. Meanwhile, touchy issues like tech company Hauwei, 5G, telecom and the Chinese firms on the U.S. blocked “entity list” (ie. trade ‘blacklist’) are not part of the discussions. Those issues fall under U.S. National Security and will not be part of any ongoing trade negotiations.
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Earlier today Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held a press conference at the White House to announce a new executive order constructed by the Trump administration that would deliver economic sanctions due to Turkish activity in Northern Syria.
“These are very powerful sanctions. We hope we don’t have to use them. But we can shut down the Turkish economy if we need to,” Treasury Secretary Mnuchin tells reporters.
Earlier today President Trump held a White House event to sign an executive order on Transparency in Federal Guidance and Enforcement. [Details Here and Here]
In addition, President Trump took numerous questions from the media during a lengthy press conference [Video and Transcript below].
Despite Wall Street headline writers trying to frame an opposite reality, President Trump has no disposition toward making a trade deal with China. Conversely, China has no intention of changing the closed and state-controlled structure of their economy. That’s the reality amid a trade dance that is going absolutely no-where.
This quote is priceless: “We can add the Diplomatic war to the Financial war, Currency war and Technology war, that we already have,” John Browning, managing director at brokerage BANDS Financial in Shanghai, said in a note to investors.
The Chinese position is thus:
REUTERS […] The U.S. demand that the Chinese Communist Party fundamentally change how it directs China’s massive economy to shift to a more Western model of free-market capitalism is irrational and misguided, a Chinese diplomat in the United States said.
“What we achieved during the past few decades shows that our system is good for development in China,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy appeared on Fox Business with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the severely political nature of Speaker Pelosi’s impeachment agenda.
Within the interview McCarthy highlights that House rules and processes have been usurped to construct a one-party political impeachment operation. Additionally, McCarthy notes the larger objective of House democrats to stall the USMCA trade ratification in order to undermine President Trump and support China.
As customary President Trump reminds everyone about the big picture.
The reason the DC system -writ large- is going bananas is because selling the influence of political office for financial gain is the custom and currency of DC affluence.
In the larger picture the severe reaction from DC is not about Joe Biden, but rather the accepted familiarity of what Joe Biden selling office represents….
Representative Jim Jordan was present during a closed-door interview with U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Kurt Volker. Jordan appears on ABC to debate George Stephanopoulos over the carefully selected excerpts, and subsequent spun narrative, by House democrats and media.
Notice ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and Fox’s Chris Wallace repeat the same defensive talking points in a united effort to protect the customary behavior of DC politicians who sell their political influence for personal financial gain.
At the heart of the matter, the selling of influence is the process that must be protected. The process of gaining wealth by selling influence is how/why most DC Senators and corrupt politicians run for the office. President Trump is spotlighting this; hence the fury of the backlash from those the DC industry.
Someone is coming to the United States next week. Can you read this tweet and predict who it is?…
Seriously, given that we have watched this dynamic play out, over-and-over, for more than two years, it seems almost silly that China continues to play this tactical negotiation card.
Alas, :::heavy sigh::: this stupid dance continues…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Thursday a delegation from China would come to the United States next week for more trade talks.