The U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the value of all goods and services generated within the U.S. economy over a designated period of time. In the second quarter (April, May, June) the GDP grew at a rate of 2.6%. That’s more than double the first quarters 1.2% growth rate.

President Trump set a goal of 3% GDP growth for the first year of his administration. Reaching 2.6% in the second quarter is significant progress toward the attainment of a goal all economists said was unattainable. Those same nay-sayers are also focused on wage rate growth which they claim is not moving with the economy. They are disconnected.
Again, CTH draws attention to the new modern era in economics. Most analysts and punditry have no historic reference points for a new dimension in U.S. economics; where 30 years of fiscal policy to the benefit of Wall Street has how shifted to the benefit of Main Street. We are now in the space between these two economic engines. Traditional economic review no longer applies.
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Interestingly at the same time as a massive natural gas investment by Petronas collapses in Canada due to energy policy and economic conditions surrounding weak LNG prices, the U.S. Energy Information Administration highlights that U.S. coal exports are roaring back.  Yes, elections have real economic consequences.
U.S. EIA data shows a gain of 60.3% so far this year in exports of both steam coal (used to generate electricity) and coking coal (metallurgical coal used for steel manufacturing) as a direct consequence of President Trump’s common sense energy policy.

Interestingly, the largest destinations for the growth in American coal export are the U.K. (+175%) and a doubling of tonnage to both France (+100%), and Asia (+100%).  High transport costs to ship coal to the EU are being offset by U.S. coal manufacturing efficiencies and improvements in mining productivity.
Additionally, while the actual end user for coal shipments to the EU are difficult to track, it is reasonably anticipated that some European countries are preparing to offset their reliance on Russian energy with storage of steam coal for next winters high demand season.
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Finally today we see a significant loss for the “Big Club”. Speaker Paul Ryan, the GOPe professional business class, Wall Street and the U.S. CoC accept the Border Adjustment Tax is not going to be a part of any larger tax reform agenda under the Trump administration.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and President Trump win the policy argument with the removal of the B.A.T.
In a joint statement outlining the forward plans for tax reform the “Big Six” tax negotiators (Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady), announce the consumer punishing BAT will not be included.

[…] “While we have debated the pro-growth benefits of border adjustability, we appreciate that there are many unknowns associated with it and have decided to set this policy aside in order to advance tax reform.” (more)

The B.A.T was to revenue collection on imported products and impact on consumers – what the Obamacare mandate was to revenue collection on healthcare and impact on consumers.
The B.A.T  was simply a scheme to embed the cost of renegotiated trade import tariffs, directly onto the consumer, isolated away from any responsibility on the corporation to reduce their own internal efficiencies as a method to keep the price down. It was a dubious and manipulative effort.
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The White House is unveiling a renewed focus on products ‘Made in America‘.  Understandably those who oppose the overall America-First agenda immediately react to the effort by pointing out many of the Trump branded products are made overseas.   However, many of those detractors miss the larger issue, while simultaneously their antagonistic efforts actually help the messaging campaign.
The larger America-First economic platform, and the ancillary ‘Made-in-America’ message, are targeted toward economic policy; the bigger picture.  The goal is to make national policy reflect a “better option” for companies and manufacturers to produce products in the United States.

As long as the best business model for any company is to outsource manufacturing, that will be the outcome.   The America-First policy objective is to change the underlying policy which in turn changes the business model for companies; making American product manufacturing the more cost effective approach.
The key economic message is always within the “why”?  Why do companies make U.S. market products overseas?  Focus policy on the why, and natural fair market economics will self-correct.
Often those discussing jobs and manufacturing argue the driver of production is “cheap labor”.  However, those making that argument also cite increased “automation” in manufacturing.  These two arguments are mutually exclusive. If modern manufacturing is now heavily automated the ‘cheap labor’ argument holds far less merit.
Today, President Donald J. Trump will host companies from across the country at the White House for the Made in America Product Showcase.
The White House is highlighting and celebrating each state’s effort and commitment to American made products by bringing in and showing off products from all 50 states that are made and produced in the United States.
Attendees include: (more…)

White House Press Briefing – “We’ve received several inquiries on what the President — on his agenda for the past couple of days, so I’d like to read some of that out before I take your questions.”

“He’s had multiple meetings with key economic advisors, particularly on issues of trade, such as Ambassador Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Ross, NEC Director Gary Cohn, and Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, Peter Navarro.”

The only question is the timing. Now or after NAFTA?  It is better to have NAFTA finished prior to the confrontation? …if so, considering DPRK aspect, what is the better strategy in the space between now and the final conflict?
Remember, this battle is two decades past due and waged on behalf of the forgotten men and women of the middle-class. The purchased legislative body within Washington DC will attack our economic efforts with an intensity never before seen in this century or any century.  There are trillions of dollars at stake; this is the epic battle for middle America.
The administrative state will work earnestly to destroy these efforts on behalf of our enemy.  Along with Wall Street, every multinational corporation and multinational banking institution will be against us.
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Despite the media protestations to the contrary, the importance within the G20 meeting in Hamburg German centered around trade and economics.  The assembled nations are trying to position, navigate and cope with the reality of the worlds largest economic market, the U.S., no longer participating in multinational trade deals (TPP and TTIP) and focusing on direct trade relationships with individual countries.

The new economic approach by President Trump deconstructs decades of advanced collectivism and wealth-spreading globalism.  The European Union preferred approach was constructed by multinational backs  and multinational corporations; and pushed on the collective societies by purchased left-wing politicians using administrative and political policy.

In Hamburg, U.S. President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chairman of Economic Policy Gary Cohn, are advancing bilateral trade deals within one-on-one discussions; including discussions with U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May now that brexit has freed the U.K. from the collective European Union.

President Trump speaking trade with Prime Minister May is making the EU collective furious because, Germany’s Angela Markel is attempting to leverage/blackmail their own protectionist EU trade deal before allowing the United Kingdom to exit the union.

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Everything President Trump is presenting within the America-First economic plan is connected.  As President Trump and his economic and national security team confront N-Korea, via China’s enabling, the economic dynamic underlines the framework.

Always remember, each part of the message is connected to each other part of the policy.

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[Transcript] My fellow Americans, Here at the White House, we are dedicating the month of July to three of our favorite words – MADE IN AMERICA. For more than two centuries, those three beautiful words have been the world standard for quality, craftsmanship and excellence – and they still are today.

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U.S. Jobs Growth exceeded expectations in June by adding 222,000 jobs. Well beyond the anticipated 170,000 original forecast.   The government also revised up its estimate of job growth for April and May by a combined 47,000.

However, the economic dissonance is still evident within the fed analysis:

[The] cycle of limited wage gains and low prices has kept inflation in check, to the consternation of the Fed, which wants to see slightly higher inflation to justify its campaign to raise short-term rates. (link)

As we previously shared there’s a predictable inability of federal economists to understand what happens when executive administrative policy reverses course and establishes the benefit to Main Street, ie. the middle-class, over Wall Street. The feds cognitive dissonance is evidenced because modern economic theory cannot reconcile the space between two economies, Wall Street and Main Street.

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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin outline the past 48 hours of diplomatic discussions within the framework of the G20.

**Remember** as you read this transcript, e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g eventually boils down to economics and the seismic geopolitical shifts currently underway.  (See Bottom for Important Detail)

[Transcript] 7:18 P.M. CET – SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Hi, everybody. I just want to highlight very briefly, and then Secretary Tillerson will go on, and then afterwards we’ll both answer a few questions.

But President Trump has had a very, very significant few days. I think, as you know, we went to Poland on Wednesday. In Poland, he met with 12 different leaders. We had bilats with Croatia and with Poland, as well as 10 other leaders at the Three Seas Conference where we talked about energy — the importance of the energy markets, the importance of supplying independent energy, infrastructure and opportunities there. I think, as you know, the speech which was just incredibly well-received, is part of our “America First But America Not Alone.”

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A “SME” (pronounced ‘smee‘) is a Subject Matter Expert.   President Trump’s entire cabinet is an assembly of specific SME’s for a specific economic purpose.

The entire landscape of modern geopolitics is an assembly of various nations specifically focused on their economic interests.  Fundamentally, the economics of a nation is the cornerstone for their ability to hold, advance, influence and present their ideology.

Without the underlying economic capability to provide sustainability and stability, the nation, any nation, cannot maintain itself regardless of the underlying political outlook.  In short, as the old verse presents: “money makes the world go ’round“.  Everything boiled down to it’s essential core – is about economics.

The shock to the system of modern multinational financial interests was created by an earthquake known as Trump; which created a seismic shift via the 2016 U.S. presidential election outcome.

The tectonic political and economic shift was so unsettling to the global elites -who created a decades-long system of global financial interests- they have been thrashing around desperate to regain footing ever since.

All modern political alliances are based on this economic reality, and every single action taken by every member within each grouping is based on their affiliated and interconnected self-interest in the underlying economic equation.

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