In June 2018 President Trump instructed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to initiate a 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods (Round #1).  After two months of China refusing to negotiate renewed trade deals in good faith President Trump instructed Lighthizer to increase the tariff rate to 25% in August (Round #2).  There is a third tranche of tariffs scheduled for January 1st, 2019.

With a full quarter of trade data to analyze the impacts, the results are now measurable.  A multinational group studying the outcome (full pdf below), identified that approximately 4.5% of the tariff is being carried by American consumers.  The overwhelming cost of the tariff is being paid (20.5% absorbed) by Chinese producers.

(Via Bloomberg) President Donald Trump is succeeding in making China pay most of the cost of his trade war.
That’s the conclusion of a new paper from EconPol Europe, a network of researchers in the European Union. U.S. companies and consumers will only pay 4.5 percent more after the nation imposed 25 percent tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods, and the other 20.5 percent toll will fall on Chinese producers, according to authors Benedikt Zoller-Rydzek and Gabriel Felbermayr.

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The most consequential long-term challenge being confronted by President Trump surrounds the influence of communist China, and their state-controlled economic conquest strategy.
To quantify the scale of the issues, in 2017 President Trump commissioned a Section 301 review by the United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.  In March 2018, Lighthizer delivered his report.  That initial report became the baseline for the tariffs levied against Beijing.  Yesterday, Lighthizer released an update of that ongoing review.  The report is below:
[scribd id=393902698 key=key-kjNtouzB6djFEcPBapQB mode=scroll]
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Remember, the Chinese red dragon has a tendency to say one necessary thing publicly, while manipulating another necessary thing privately. Cunning is part of ‘The Art of War’.
President Trump is the first U.S. President to understand how the red dragon hides behind the panda mask.
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President Donald Trump travels to Coast Guard Station Lake Worth Inlet in Florida, this Thanksgiving to thank members for all they have done to assist victims during recent hurricanes.  Video Below:

An article published originally in the U.K. Telegraph, and republished via Yahoo News outlines growing fear within the U.K. government and British intelligence officers surrounding President Trump discovering how far they were involved within “Spygate”.
The facts are not uncommon to anyone who has done research into the events of 2015 and 2016; however, the interesting aspect surrounds the current level of anxiety which indicates something is soon to become very public.
The central concern of the British officials surrounds President Trump declassifying evidence that will outline a coordinated effort by a weaponized U.S. intelligence apparatus to use their foreign counterparts for two aspects:  (1) to spy on the Trump campaign in 2016; and (2) to help carryout an entrapment scheme that would become the baseline for the FBI’s counterintelligence operation which evolved into Mueller’s Russian election interference investigation (aka. the “insurance policy”).
According to the Telegraph outline the current U.K. Prime Minister is intentionally being kept out of the communication loop because British intelligence are fearful President Trump might ask about her knowledge.  Keeping Theresa May blind to the U.K operations against Trump provides plausible deniability if questioned.  Additionally, all British embassy staff in the U.S. have been told to say absolutely nothing if questioned.
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On Tuesday President Trump was questioned about Federal Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco issuing a temporary restraining order against the administration.  The Tigar decision allows those who cross the border illegally to request asylum. The president responded: “this was an Obama judge, and I’ll tell you what, it’s not going to happen like this anymore.”

The activist asylum ruling comes as more than six thousand Central Americans, are currently located in Tijuana Mexico, with an equal or higher number to follow, all trying to force their way into the U.S.  However, apparently the frustrated response by President Trump triggered Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts:

(NY Post)  Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday rebuked President Trump’s scathing criticism of the federal judiciary — praising the longstanding American tradition of judicial independence.

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Former short-term Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos has been increasingly vocal about his belief he was a target of an elaborate sting operation by the DOJ and FBI in 2016 and 2017.
In general terms, Papadopoulos suspicions are very well founded.
After pleading guilty to lying to federal investigators (FBI) about the date of his contacts with a sketchy Maltese Professor named Joseph Misfud, Mr. Papadopoulos came to the conclusion Misfud was actually an FBI asset working with an agenda to to entrap him within the “spygate” conspiracy.   Working with new lawyers an assertive Papadopoulos requested a delay in his 14-day jail sentence.
Today, in response to the legal filing for delay, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team fired a legal warning shot:  “The defendant received what he bargained for, and holding him to it is not a hardship,” the prosecutors wrote in the filing.
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Interesting report from The Hill today quoting an interview with Representative Mark Meadows.  According to the report U.S. Attorney John Huber is expected to testify to the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Reform about an investigation into the Clinton Foundation.

(Via The Hill) Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said Tuesday that House Republicans plan to hear testimony on Dec. 5 from the prosecutor appointed by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to probe alleged wrongdoing by the Clinton Foundation.
Meadows, who is chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations, told Hill.TV’s “Rising” that it’s time to “circle back” to U.S. Attorney General John Huber’s investigation with the Justice Department into whether the Clinton Foundation engaged any improper activities.

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President Trump delivered remarks to the media pool and answered questions as he and First Lady Melania departed the White House for Thanksgiving in Mar-a-Lago, FL.

CTH has pointed, repeatedly, toward a very specific economic and financial dynamic  because President Trump is uniquely focused on Main Street’s “real economy“.
Everything happening in/around the financial markets is very predictable when you focus on understanding the principles of Main Street MAGAnomics and how those basic principles diverge from Wall Street’s “paper economy” (currently weighted by tech stocks).

Everything is happening in a very predictable sequence. Few understand the MAGAnomic reset and what was predicted to happen in the space between disconnecting a Wall Street economic engine (globalism and multinationals) and restarting a Main Street economic engine (nationalism/America-First).  In 2016 CTH explained where we would be today. With current Wall Street events, perhaps it is worthwhile remembering the CTH forecast.

Originally outlined far more than a year ago. Reposted by request on Oct 11th.

President Trump’s MAGAnomic trade and foreign policy agenda is jaw-dropping in scale, scope and consequence. There are multiple simultaneous aspects to each policy objective; however, many have been visible for a long time – some even before the election victory in November ’16.  What is happening within the financial markets should not be a surprise.
If we get too far in the weeds the larger picture is lost. Our CTH objective is to continue pointing focus toward the larger horizon, and then at specific inflection points to dive into the topic and explain how each moment is connected to the larger strategy.
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President Trump’s statement on Saudi Arabia is one of the most forthright explanations of foreign policy by a US President, ever. No obfuscation; no convoluted parseltongue; just plainly spoken brutal honesty.  The Saudis may do bad things but they are better than their enemies, and our alliance with them is in our national interest.  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers a similar statement in his media press briefing today.
Secretary Pompeo remarks about Saudi Arabia begin at 04:05 of video below: