Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joins CNBC ‘Squawk Box’ this morning to discuss his 12-hour meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.  Within the interview Bessent details the ‘U.S.-China AI Dialogue’, the calls for a slowdown in AI development and whether regulation is needed.

Secretary Bessent notes President Trump is not going to deliver liability immunity to AI frontier labs and existing legal frameworks within the U.S. will remain as protective pathways as development moves from AI labs into engineering outcomes.

This is the core of the issue. The investors that poured money into the AI labs, now support immunity from legal liability that doesn’t exist in any other sector other than Big Pharma. AI wants the same protection as Big Pharma, and President Trump is not going to allow the shift in responsibility from AI developers to government. WATCH:

Also below is the full debriefing from Secretary Bessent and USTR Jamieson Greer that followed the Sunday meeting between the U.S. and Chinese counterparts.

As CTH has noted, the pace of these critical economic developments is going to speed up over the next several days and weeks.  It becomes increasingly important to stay tuned-in to the granular issues as they unfold in order to fully appreciate the landscape that surrounds us.   It can be challenging to absorb information as the pace increases, yet it is critical to remain aware so that each building block in the nationalist policy making remains in context.

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There has to be a purpose to this messaging, though I’m not exactly sure what it is.

President Trump again draws attention to the Ukraine-Russia war creating havoc on the global diesel market.  Trump notes that Russia has lost control of its diesel industry:

[source]

The strange thing about this message is that Russia has taken measures exactly the opposite of this framework.

Back in July, when NATO began increased targeting of Russian refinery infrastructure, Russian President Vladimir Putin proactively signed a government order banning the export of Russian diesel fuel.  There have been no exports of Russian diesel since, with exceptions to the shipping industry and some humanitarian farm shipments.

Russia is the world’s second largest producer of diesel fuel and as soon as Putin made this announcement global prices of diesel began to rise. Russia then extended the bans, and the current export ban will run from Aug. 1 until Jan. 31, 2027.

Within the export controls there’s no doubt Russia is sending some diesel fuel to allied nations who are not part of the NATO attack alliance.  In essence, Putin is controlling who gets the Russian output and the “ban” on exports simply puts the Russian government in control of it.  This is what they call “intergovernmental agreements” which are not part of the ban itself.

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President Donald Trump announces a permanent security deal between the USA, Denmark and Greenland establishing U.S. military bases on the arctic region.  The government of Denmark confirms.

(Via Truth Social) – BREAKING NEWS: I am pleased to announce that the United States of America has entered into an Agreement with The Kingdom of Denmark, and Greenland, that gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns. There will be NO COST to the United States!

At my direction, we worked with representatives of Denmark and Greenland to guarantee that the United States will FOREVER have the complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland in order to secure and defend the security of Greenland, and the United States of America. Additionally, from now on, no U.S. adversary can EVER have a base in Greenland, have a military presence in Greenland, or make sensitive investments in Greenland, without our express written approval.

For over 100 years, Presidents have known the strategic importance of Greenland, but NONE of them were able to do anything about it. I am proud to be the President that permanently and conclusively addressed this very important situation. This is an “Infinite Life” Agreement, there is no end!

We are very honored and proud of what has just taken place, and everything agreed to today will be cherished by the American People. We will immediately begin the process of developing a large Military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland, of which there are many. We will work with the people of Greenland in its development and construction.”

“This solution is a great one for the United States of America, Denmark, Greenland, and all of our Allies. We look forward to working with the wonderful people of Denmark and Greenland toward a magnificent future with respect to this large, and highly strategic, parcel of land. We will be very protective of it! This is a dream come true for the United States of America, one that is very important, historic, and special. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” ~ President Donald J Trump

The government of Denmark has confirmed the deal.

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All of the datapoints on this event look sketchy.  I’m not saying there was intentional foul play at work, but the appearance of foul play in combination with the obtuse descriptions therein, cannot be avoided.  It just looks sketchy.

Exxon’s key refinery in Joliet, Illinois, produces gasoline and diesel fuel.  The facility handles 275,000 barrels of crude per day, producing about 11 million gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel every day. {SOURCE}

The refinery operation has been offline for a week following a power disruption “found on ComEd’s primary and secondary power lines feeding into the Joliet refinery.”  The company made the statement on Thursday, adding that power to the refinery was fully restored.  However, with the power turned off floodwater overwhelmed a pumping station leading to flooding around the refinery which has compounded the outage.

The timing of this; the type of problem, together with the location (40 miles southwest of Chicago, Ill, near the intersection of Interstate 55 and the DesPlaines River) are aligned datapoints in a review of the consequence.  Given the nature of geopolitics right now and the intention to politically weaponize the price of gasoline and diesel, everything just looks too coincidental.

NEW YORK, Sept 17 (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil said floodwater overwhelmed a pump at its 275,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Joliet, Illinois, according to a filing on Thursday.  A containment boom had been deployed as part of the cleanup effort, the filing shows.

Exxon took the Joliet refinery offline on Sunday after a power outage triggered the facility’s safety flare.

The source of the outage was found on ComEd’s primary and secondary power lines feeding into the Joliet refinery, the company said in a statement on Thursday, adding that power to the refinery was fully restored.

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In this outline Promethean Action’s Susan Kokinda summarizes how energy prices are being weaponized to influence the 2026 midterm election.  The multinationals, Canada, Europe, NATO and those opposed to America-First sovereignty are waging an economic war against President Trump’s geopolitical and economic reset.

This midweek update argues that the midterm elections are being shaped less by campaign ads than by coordinated economic and political pressure: rising diesel prices tied to Ukrainian strikes on Russian diesel infrastructure, energy pricing set by European exchange traders in London rather than producers, and continued Iran conflict framed as being prolonged to affect the vote.

Kokinda also cites Canada’s trade war and targeted tariffs as politically timed, alongside attacks on U.S. bonds and pressure to raise interest rates, describing “full spectrum economic warfare” against Trump’s agenda. A second front is an accelerated AI panic, beginning with viral warnings from an ex-Anthropic researcher and followed by Anthropic CEO calls for regulation, which Trump and allies call a control-driven “hoax.” The script traces AI-ban lobbying to London-based Control AI, highlights foreign funding networks, and links the push to international oversight and reduced national sovereignty.

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Pouring effusive and slobbering praise over the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the anointed “middle power” leader of a shrinking -and increasingly irrelevant- new world order, with grand pontifications EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen announced today that Canada is the first “Associate Member” of the European Union.

It’s a major award!  As noted by Reuters, “There is currently no such status as “associate member” set out in the European Union’s treaties — though various versions of an associate-type of membership have been floated in the bloc over the years. Germany suggested Ukraine be an associate member as an interim stage to full ​accession, though the proposal failed to gain traction as some EU capitals pushed back.”

von der Leyen gushed: “Dear Mark, I said we must urgently reimagine our partnerships. So, I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU. We share one ocean, one set of values, one way of seeing the world. And we will now build our shared future as well – thank you for being here.”  Mark Carney sat with a big smile, giddy with excitement and barely able to control his visible glee.  WATCH:

DAILY MAIL – […] But the attempt to flatter the former Governor of the Bank of England backfired, with diplomats saying they were never briefed about the proposal and that, in effect, ‘associate membership’ doesn’t even exist.

EU diplomats accused Brussels of ‘over-reach’, an accusation often levelled against Eurocrats by UK Brexiteers before Britain left the bloc. 

One EU diplomat told the Mail: ‘This bombastic announcement is just not right.

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The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen reportedly hit Saudi Arabia’s east/west pipeline with drones. President Trump did not strike the Houthi’s.  Despite knowing oil prices would jump, President Trump told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmon to approach the issue carefully.

Reuters, citing an Axios report based on two US officials, said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump twice on Thursday and pressed for military action. Trump rejected the request, according to the report.

Why would President Trump ‘not’ strike back against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, knowing the drone attack on the Saudi pipeline would only worsen the oil issue?  Well, you won’t read this anywhere else…. However, if Saudi Arabia shut down the east/west pipeline for a while (they just did), then the oil flowing to the Red Sea that ends up in Europe would be halted (it just was).

Think about it.  All of a sudden Europe cannot get oil from Mohammed bin Salmon. So, how does that change the dynamic of President Trump’s desired leverage toward Europe in his approach to bringing Russian oil back into the market.

I hope everyone can see the dynamic.  All of a sudden that Russian oil Europe hates so much, turns into dependency leverage against EU antagonisms against solving the Ukraine-Russia conflict.   This is not happening accidentally.

Oil Price News – Saudi Aramco has canceled or delayed crude deliveries to European refiners after the shutdown of the kingdom’s East-West pipeline cut into one of its remaining routes around the Strait of Hormuz.

At least three European refiners have had late-September cargoes canceled or pushed as far out as November, according to market sources cited by Argus. Two more expect notices covering September supplies.

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Western financial experts have a self-interest to never explain this issue. Instead, they frame the issue as BRICS seeking an alternate currency in the energy markets. However, the currency or petrodollar is not the issue. At least it’s not the core issue.

What Vladimir Putin, and by extension BRICS, do not want is corporatism -corporate financial control over govt systems- determining prices.

To give you an example of Vladimir Putin’s argument, consider orange juice.

Why should orange juice in California or Florida cost $7/gal, when the oranges are in CA or FL?

Shouldn’t the orange juice in FL or CA be cheaper than in, say, Minnesota? Logic would say, yes.

However, that would mean the corporations who have purchased the OJ production couldn’t maximize predatory profiting, through nonmarket forces, ie. “Commodity trading.”

The same organic supply/demand rule applies to strawberries, or [fill in the blank].

What is setting the price, what the west calls the “market price,” is actually the commodity trading issue. That means Minnesota, Florida and California consumers all pay the same price.  Within the energy sector Putin views this as unfair and unworkable.

To his credit, under normal supply/demand Putin would be selling oil/gas to Europe at much lower prices than “market prices” because the pipelines are in place, the proximity is near and the delivery is cheap.

However, for Europe that means the financial markets would not control energy prices. Europe wants financial control, not cheap energy.

The need for control is a reaction to fear. The financial system, the bankers and the multinational corporations, fears their loss of control.

So, war!

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Sometimes Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin just nails the issue in a way that is difficult for western voices to deconstruct. This is one of those examples.

Using the reference of the EU recently raising interest rates in an effort to lower energy costs, a seemingly disconnected approach that attaches energy policy to monetary policy, Vladimir Putin outlines exactly why the EU Central Bank approach is used.  This is a really important dynamic to understand.

For a long time, Russia battled with the EU over the pricing process for oil and gas.  Russia, specifically Putin, wanted to sell oil/gas to the EU based on production prices and fair profits.

Europe wanted to buy Russian oil/gas based on “market prices” which are manipulated by speculation and traders.

Putin doesn’t like this pricing approach because it artificially inflates the price based on speculation, trading and inorganic influences.

Instead, Putin always said the “market approach” makes your energy prices go up, even when production capacitary prices go down (productivity).

Producers can provide increases in energy volume at lower per unit levels just by turning a dial on gas volume.  Why would Europe want to pay more, when the cost to deliver a higher volume lowers the per unit price.  The EU never had a good answer, other than that’s just the way the ‘western market’ works.

Concluding the first day of his working visit to India for the BRICS meeting, Vladimir Putin answered a media question about the EU and used this reference to outline why the financial system of the EU is actually the underlying reason for their need to have conflict with Russia.  This is really interesting.

Question: You have spoken at length today about the BRICS countries. I would like to raise a question concerning a nation which, though geographically more distant from here, is perhaps closer to you personally – Germany. As is known, elections have recently taken place in Saxony, where the Alternative for Germany secured a decisive victory. It appears a similar trend is emerging in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as well. How do you view these developments?

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: I do not wish to, nor will I, comment on matters of the internal political developments currently unfolding in the Federal Republic.

However, there are points which merit attention in this context – and I will explain why. In my view, all that is now happening across Europe as a whole is the consequence of systemic errors committed by the so‑called West, or, to be more precise, by the globalist circles of the West, in the political, security and economic spheres.

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Here’s the fact bomb that silences Canadians almost immediately when delivered.

In December 2024 then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, told President-elect Donald Trump that Canada could not comply with a renewed trade agreement based on reciprocity because: (1) Canada had deindustrialized; their manufacturing was now “light” manufacturing and assembling of component goods made by others. (2) Canada had legislated energy policy based on climate change, and high carbon emitting industrial production was no longer an option [coking coal burning etc.]. (3) The NATO military spending goal was too high for Canada to reach [they were 19th and it wasn’t a priority because the USA was the crutch]. (4) Internal provincial rules, restrictions and cross-border trade regulations did not align with a Canadian federal trade policy effort, and (5) the political power of the ‘dairy cartel’ inside Canada tied the hands of Canadian trade representatives.

That was the gist of it. That’s why Canada cannot now or ever find a path to a U.S. reciprocal or balanced trade agreement.  #1 and #2 is specifically why Canadian govt officials repeatedly use the word “intertwined.”  They say intertwined because they can no longer function separately. Canada is economically dependent on proximal and economic subsidies from the United States.

That outline by Trudeau led Trump to say that Canada should then become a 51st state….. And, well, you know the rest. Someone in Canada should ask Trudeau about it. The former Prime Minister has no reason to deny it, and too many people were witness. Then, perhaps, Canadians will understand.

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