Ah, the simple joys in life. Wilburine Ross interviewed by Lou Dobbs… Sip slowly.
The general status of angst created by ordinary swamp review has a tendency to wear down a soul. It’s at the times when we feel surrounded we should reflect upon how lucky we are to have the T’Rex’s and Wilburines on our team. We’ve already won, our opponents just haven’t noticed yet.
Having spent over 30 years deep in the weeds on the actuarial side of trade and economics, I can guarantee you there’s a generational need to completely reset all frames of reference when it comes to imports, exports, and U.S. trade principles in general.
It is no longer worthwhile even beginning a conversation around the arcane concept of “free trade”, especially when discussing commodities and agricultural trade. The “free market” was structurally disassembled years ago when multinational corporations began using the business end of agriculture to create investment and global profit via Wall Street.
The BIG AGRICULTURE legislative lobbying groups are funded -much like the U.S. CoC- with multinational corporations and multinational investment banks. Agricultural prices, formerly referenced on basic supply and demand principles have been bastardized through global purchases, and contracts therein, of U.S. farm products.
Simple question to understand the dynamic: “If there is such a U.S. glut of raw milk, then why has the 10-year price of milk skyrocketed”? Within the answer to that question you realize the product is not domestic. It is controlled by multinationals, exported under controlled contract, and the domestic price (you pay) driven by global trade not domestic production/consumption (supply and demand).
The inverse (import pricing) is also true. We’ve been getting screwed by the multinational interests of global trade for decades. This is NOT ‘free trade’. The BIG CLUB owns the process (inputs and outcomes) and manipulates the market in their interests, not yours. There simply is no “free market”.
[TRANSCRIPT] – 3:14 P.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: Busy day. They had a very busy day — had a good day. We’re doing well, very well. Things are turning around. I know they’re turning around for you folks, so I just want to welcome you very much to the White House — special place — America’s farmers and ranchers.
I especially want to congratulate Secretary — now I can say, Secretary Sonny Perdue, who was just sworn in as the Secretary of Agriculture — (applause) — sworn in by Justice Thomas. And it was a beautiful ceremony, and we’re going to celebrate a little bit later, and that’s great. We’re very happy. And you had a good vote too.
SECRETARY PERDUE: Yes, sir.
How do you get congress to accept the NAFTA notification of intent letter? Why, you backstop the Canadian decision to undermine U.S. dairy farm exports by applying equity import tariffs and offsetting losses to U.S. manufacturers.
First stop, lumber mills. ie U.S. regional impacts, not coincidentally, represented by key Democrat constituents.
The congressional delegations from Washington State and Oregon happen to be mostly elected Democrats; and they happen to applaud the efforts; which means they are not able to criticize the approach. Hmm, it’s almost as if Wilburine and POTUS had a strategy or something. Nah, couldn’t be.
(Via CNN) These are the first tariffs imposed by President Trump, who during his election campaign threatened to use them on imports from both China and Mexico. The decision on Monday is bound to lead to a standoff and could stoke fears of a trade war between the US and Canada, two of the world’s largest trade powers.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the tariffs, or taxes, announced Monday evening were being imposed after trade talks on dairy products fell through.
Sometimes geo-politics can be funny and deserve a little snark in discussion. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank, are holding a conference in DC. this weekend. Deplorable Secretary Mnuchin represents U.S. and Trump interests.
Amid the earlier G20 Summit the Trump effect ended up with changed language from the finance leadership. Titan Trump’s election changed the way the IMF and World Bank globalists talk about international trade. Bi-lateral and nationalism are no longer dirty words.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – International Monetary Fund members on Saturday dropped a pledge to fight protectionism amid a split over trade policy and turned their attention to another looming threat to global economic integration: the first round of France’s presidential election. (more)
However, funnier still is the resurfacing of a familiar face. You might well remember former Mexican Finance Minister Augustin Carstens resigned as Mexico’s central bank chief just after the election of Donald Trump. Well, apparently, the job of saving face for the changed approach of the IMF/World Bank is now squarely on Carsten’s shoulders.
Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney appears on Bloomberg News to discuss the seismic, epic, thundershock confrontational clash that is about to take place between the Trump administration and the DC UniParty.
There are no adjectives capable of describing the scope and immeasurable scale of the battle that is about to transpire between the White House and the Democrat/Republican UniParty.
MONEY is where every entity within the full-swamp goes nuclear against President Trump and the administration. Despite all prior discussions toward this end, it is doubtful that more than one-in-a-million people can fully grasp the dynamic at play.
Because the procedural wonk is so inherently riddled with ten thousand tentacles of political schematics, I will defray the wonk-speak until after the video.
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If you are interested in deep political weeds, keep reading. However, if you have blood pressure issues or are concerned about your physical or mental health, STOP HERE and go enjoy life. Believe me.
Noting President Trump’s Asian Strategy. [High Profile, but Under-reported] •A firm open hand •leveraging new policy •structured around personal trust •building modern alliances:
♦February 10th – President Trump hosted Japanese Prime Minister Abe at the White House and at Mar-a-Lago, w/both spouses, to discuss regional issues (including N-Korea).
♦February 27th – President Trump and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi meet in the White House Oval Office to discuss regional issues (including N-Korea).
♦March 15th – Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visits Japan, South Korea and China to follow up on February’s conversations and discuss the forward path (including N-Korea).
♦April 6th and 7th – President Trump hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping in Mar-a-Lago where they discussed all of the critical bilateral and regional issues (including N-Korea).
♦April 15th – Vice President Pence arrives in Asia for a ten day visit; positioned as the steady, stable and reliable administration policy closer (including N-Korea).
The White House (Trump) approach and results so far have been stunningly effective.
There have been more consequential Asia-Pacific/U.S. results (trade, economics and security) in the past two months than in the prior ten years. The stunningly successful and deliberate strategy continues today with Vice President Mike Pence in Japan.
Perhaps it’s because the complexity is difficult to distill; maybe it’s because some just can’t give President Trump any credit; or perhaps it’s because the scope is too challenging to comprehend against the constant belittlement meme du jour. Regardless of reason, President Trump is fundamentally realigning international geo-political alliances and almost no-one is connecting the dots.
President Trump obviously held a long-ball strategy with the Chinese; he’s described the approach in his books and lived the approach in his business life:
At the outset, position yourself at the furthest oppositional point when it costs you nothing; then leverage inward toward your opponent as they expend their resources to meet your stance.
Almost no-one is noting the scope of what President Trump has accomplished simply by positioning himself at the furthest extreme from the best interests of China, and then working his leverage back toward dual-interests as the Chinese expend capital to meet the point of mutual benefit.
President Trump has expended nothing other than his sheer will, and yet he has leveraged gains that are jaw-droppingly consequential.
♦ What’s the goal of identifying China as a currency manipulator? To stop China from manipulating currency, right? Well, arm-chair opposition says President Trump has reversed his position simply by ‘not doing something’. However, that opposition doesn’t seem to acknowledge the end-goal of the labeling has been achieved without expending an effort. The doing is unnecessary when merely the threat of the doing changes the behavior of the doer.
In two days, April 6th and April 7th, President Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. What actions has President Trump taken, other than ‘not’ doing something, and what actions has President Xi Jinping taken? (more…)
President Trump has expressed support for the continuation of the Import/Export bank. This has seemingly shocked a few people from conservative circles because the modern conservative doctrine has been to oppose the I/E bank.
However, Trump’s position hopefully does not come as a surprise to CTH readers because we identified a year ago how President Trump’s economic policies would seek to refocus the original intent of the Import Export Bank.
The key aspect is to return the IE to its “original intent“; not the bastardized Wall Street construct that exists today as a result of corrupt DC economic policies driven by the Wall Street’s legislative priorities purchased by multinational banks and corporations.
For more than three decades Wall Street has corrupted the economic policies emanating from DC. The corrupted economic policy created the two economies previously discussed and the disconnected the engine of Main Street from Wall Street. Yes, we originally shared this discussion in April of 2016, a year ago:
In 2009 the popular conservative opinion was to declare the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision a win for “our side“. Of course, the decision ultimately opened the floodgates for unlimited corporate spending in elections via the new Super-PAC approach.
In 2016 90% of all American’s polled believe there is too much special interest money in politics, and both political parties no longer need the financial support of the electorate. Corporate lobbyists were always problematic, but now in a post CU world they control almost every aspect of electoral politics – including who wins elections. Citizens United wasn’t a win, its consequence was a major fail.
Within that reality you find one of the synergies between candidate Donald Trump and former candidate Bernie Sanders. The popular insurgencies supporting each candidate rail against the corrupting corporate financial influence. Party leadership? Meh, not-so-much.
A background briefing transcript from yesterday might aid in larger understanding of White House policy and strategic objectives toward Syria, Russia, North Korea and China.
[Transcript] – SENIOR ADMINISTRATON OFFICIAL: (In progress) — on the relationship between the leaders of the United States, our President and Premier Xi, and then applying that newly formed relationship to complex problem sets from the Middle East to Northeast Asia, and then a result in the United Nations, it helps advance our mutual interests and the interests of all civilized people.
So I think it’s difficult to portray this as anything but a really great week for our citizens and the United States.
♦ Q Thanks so much. Japanese media is reporting that the USS Carl Vinson is in operations with the Japanese naval forces. As you know, they have a (inaudible.) What happens if there is a confrontation this week between North Korean forces and Japanese and U.S. forces? And how will you prevent this from spiraling into a broader military conflict?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATON OFFICIAL: Well, as you heard from the President many times, we’re not in the business of trying to predict with a high degree of certainty precisely what our response is going to be.
I think what we demonstrated last week was the ability of the President’s national security team to come together, convened by the National Security Council, to look at events such as those that might occur on the Korean Peninsula, quickly analyze those events, place them in context with U.S. vital interests, establish objectives that protect American citizens and advance our interests, and then develop and present the President with options.
So we have a team that is, I think, particularly adept at doing that. And if there were to be continued destabilizing and aggressive behavior by the North Korean regime, that’s how the national security team would respond. (more…)
Earlier today President Trump lead a discussion forum at the State Department library with cabinet members and corporate CEO’s to discuss ongoing economic policy and hear about the challenges.
One of the main challenges communicated by the business group was… wait for it.., yep, ObamaCare. This concern is directly connected to any tax reform plans, and cuts to the heart of President Trump’s earlier economic strategy.
ObamaCare is, at the core, a massive tax program; and it becomes more difficult to navigate tax reform, with the anchor of ObamaCare dragging down opportunity for economic growth and the revenue growth that accompanies expansion.
[Transcript] 10:55 A.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for being here. Very much appreciate it. I want to thank Steve Schwarzman for putting together this very incredible group of world-class business leaders. That’s what you are.
Also, joining us are Secretary Betsy DeVos, Secretary Wilbur Ross, Secretary Elaine Chao, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, and my budget director, Mick Mulvaney. That’s an easy job. Where’s Mick? (Laughter.) Such an easy job. It’s the easiest job of anybody in the government — right, Mick?