Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sits down for an interview with the Deep State toll booth operator Chris Wallace. Customary cost of admission, five shillings.
Secretary Pompeo briefly discussed the ISIS terror attack in France yesterday and expands upon the upcoming summit with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un. Secretary Pompeo appears to have a more thorough understanding on the Trump Doctrine of using economics to achieve national security objectives than former Secretary Rex Tillerson.
The duplicitous toll booth operator won’t raise the barricade until Pompeo discusses the view of former CIA Director John Brennan. Pompeo exits the narrative and beats Wallace over the head with MAGA common sense: “Brennan’s remarks are silly“, moving on…
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.
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.
NAFTA is at a critical stage. Mexico has committed themselves to a full-court press this week in an effort to retain the investment influx from multinational corporations. To retain their advantage, Mexico needs to keep the NAFTA loophole allowing Asia and EU to use Mexico and Canada as back-doors to the U.S. market.
Additionally, AM-LO, a self-described soft-Marxist (similar to Hugo Chavez) is likely to win the July 1st Mexican election. Yesterday, Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray travels down the street to the State Department for a meeting with Secretary Pompeo. From the U.S. perspective, anything from Secretary Videgaray is essentially moot at this point; the Mexican government is moving toward a more socialistic economic model.
[Transcript] SECRETARY POMPEO: Good afternoon. Today it is my pleasure and a great honor to welcome the Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray to the State Department. Welcome.
We had a great discussion and we had so because Mexico is one of the United States’ closest partners. Together we are working to build a more secure, prosperous, and democratic hemisphere. We are neighbors, allies, and friends.
President Trump is scheduled to make an announcement about his final determination on the future of the Iran Deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Due to EU allies desire to remain in the sketchy deal with Iran, the most likely announcement is a staged U.S. exit over 90-days prior to the re-imposition of sanctions.
The announcement will be delivered during public remarks in the diplomatic room of the White House. Scheduled Time 2:00pm EST.
Generally speaking the corporate media have yet to have an honest outline about the fatal flaw within NAFTA that allows China, ASEAN nations and the EU to exploit previous investments in Canada and Mexico as a back-door to the U.S. market.
In a generalized aspect, the recent visit of top U.S. trade and economic policymakers to China was part of Trump’s exploration into the larger dynamic of bi-lateral trade between the U.S. and China knowing full well the NAFTA flaw remains unaddressed. Without addressing the loop-hole (aka ‘fatal flaw’) any modernized NAFTA deal is moot; and by extension the foundation for any future trade deal between the U.S. and China is too byzantine to manage.
It is in China and the EU’s interests to continue exploiting the NAFTA access. It is in Canada and Mexico’s interests to retain the subsequent investment influx.
It is in multinational corporate and Wall Street interests to continue the scheme. However, it is also entirely against U.S. Main Street interests. Hence, NAFTA loggerheads reigns supreme; and in my opinion, we are soon to see President Trump cut the Gordian knot.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senior Canadian, U.S. and Mexican officials trying to rescue slow-moving talks to update the NAFTA trade pact met on Monday in a new bid to resolve key issues before regional elections complicate the process.
With time fast running out to strike some kind of deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement, the three member nations are still far apart on major points.
Reuters weekly polling reflected an upswing in support for President Donald Trump. Which immediately caused them to issue an apology along with the release.
Washington, DC – The Reuters/Ipsos Core Political poll has a significant realignment this week across a number of metrics. Most pronounced is President Trump’s approval rating which currently sits at 48% with all Americans. His number with registered voters is essentially the same at 49%. Corresponding with Trump’s stronger approval rating, evaluations of his job performance across the board are stronger this week from 57% approving of his handling of the economy (read more)
Earlier today President Trump traveled to Cleveland, Ohio to deliver remarks at a business and community tax reform roundtable event. President Trump begins his remarks by noting the importance of shifting focus within the trade discussion to bring a greater balance to the U.S. economy via America-First principles.
Three decades of economic policies benefiting Wall Street are now shifted to begin a new era where economic policies benefit Main Street. That’s MAGAnomics in shorthand.
Ambassador Lighthizer comments on NAFTA prior to departing for China. In the auto sector, Mexico and Canada are still arguing for more Asian/Chinese parts for U.S. automobiles. The U.S. position is for higher North American content. Loggerheads.
I still find it stunning how many people cannot see the ridiculous side of the Mexican and Canadian position; and how that showcases the insanity of NAFTA. Can/Mex are not arguing for more Canada and Mexico content, they are holding out for more Asian content. Their economic models are nothing more than brokering the assembly of cheap Asian goods through their NAFTA access to the U.S. market. Ridiculous.
WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Tuesday that if a deal to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement cannot be reached with Canada and Mexico in about three weeks, its approval by the U.S. Congress could be in jeopardy.
Lighthizer said at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event that a deal to update NAFTA was needed quickly because of the lengthy notification process for congressional approval of trade deals.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross discusses the ongoing trade initiatives with China ahead of the U.S. delegation departing later tonight. Secretary Ross, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, U.S. Trade Representative/Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow and White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro are all heading to Beijing to meet with their Chinese counterparts.
Secretary Ross is like the Babe Ruth of trade-baseball. Wilburine has a way of taking complex issues pitched to him, and knocking them out of the ballpark with an extremely fast common sense bat. He makes it look effortless. Watch:
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Two quick thoughts. First, I think this is the first time every member of Team America (Ross, Mnuchin, Lighthizer, Kudlow, Navarro) has unified into one specific set of trade negotiations. That helps understand the scale of importance of the China trade relationship.
Second, there’s no traveling parallel contingent consisting of outside government members/advisers from of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This is a significant change from the past 30 years of Wall Street policy manipulation by the CoC. Many people may not be aware but until President Trump the U.S. government didn’t actually write the trade agreements.
For all prior administrations the actual negotiations and agreements were willingly sub-contracted out to U.S. Chamber of Commerce delegations. This is how the multinationals took control of trade policy and eventually the U.S. economy. CoC President Tom Donohue must be apoplectic now that he is facing an administration actually writing the trade agreements.
