President Trump and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer held an open-press Oval Office event to announce trade action, tariffs, against China (solar) and S-Korea (washing machines) for product dumping. [Details Here]
The backdrop of this executive action happens on the first day of NAFTA round six talks beginning in Canada.  Ambassador Lighthizer will be traveling to Canada shortly.  It is increasingly likely that President Trump will exit NAFTA as part of the larger initiative to draw manufacturing jobs back into the U.S.   In this round, we are hearing from those close to the work that Mexico and Canada are panicked and ready to concede in an effort to keep access to the U.S. market they are dependent on.
President Trump and Ambassador Lighthizer are now in the process of leveraging the U.S. business tax policy changes to hammer bilateral trade deals.  This is where the teeth of Team wolverine become visible.  All future action builds on all preceding action.

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The economic shift in 2018 will be a very visible Ambassador Lighthizer. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross built the larger foundation for U.S. trade policy and USTR action in 2017. Now that a smooth policy foundation is established, Robert Lightizer shifts into gear and becomes the trade-deal closer in 2018.
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Well, that didn’t take long.  About a decade ago we needed a phrase to describe a very specific set of republican senators, thus originated the term “Decepticons”.
Decepticons are different from traditional ‘establishment’ types in that they are a cloistered club, a sub-set of the upper-tier within the GOPe, and they protect their exclusive position because of the payments and benefits they receive from an individual lobbyist, Tom Donohue.

Tom Donohue is the President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest single lobbying group in all of Washington DC.   Donohue represents the interests of massive financial institutions and multinational corporations.  Donohue receives hundreds of millions from his corporate conglomerates; and he controls the distribution of tens-of-millions toward individual senators on capitol hill who agree to uphold those interests.
A ‘Decepticon’ will NEVER break ranks with the Chamber. EVER.  Regardless of the Chamber position.  That character trait is what makes them uniquely “Decepticons.”

WASHINGTON DC – Senate Republicans are growing frustrated with what they see as a lack of clear direction in President Trump’s trade agenda, which they warn is hurting U.S. exporters.
Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee vented their concerns in a recent meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

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Oh, we have no idea yet how big and consequential the synergy between all of President Trump’s economic policies are toward an almost unfathomable MAGAnomic result; but we’ll find out really soon, BIGLY.
The international community is just now beginning to recognize how intensely sequential the domestic MAGAnomic tax policy is when combined with the international America-First trade policy therein.

2018 will be the year when every international trade partner reassess their best financial interests; and with the tax outline codified into law, POTUS Trump, Secretary Ross, Secretary Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer are about to initiate the biggest multinational trade shift in the history of international economics.
Yes folks, I’m actually talking about that phase when we discover we are living within the orbit of: “almost too much winning”.   This is where we begin to recognize that 5%, 6% and even 7% GDP growth is easily attainable. Here’s how it works.
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Not too long ago, 2010 through 2015 to be precise, CTH and Senator Orrin Hatch were on oppositional sides of almost every ‘conservative‘ argument.  The issues -amid the most widely discussed conflicts- stemmed around the future of the Republican party; and were born of frustration with the elitist nature of the Corinthian clan, the DeceptiCons.
As a matter of advocacy and political network, Senator Orrin Hatch was aligned with the DeceptiCon caucus, the entrenched GOPe.
The ‘battered conservative’ scars remain visible and serve our CTH community as a continual reminder that the larger ideological battle within our republic is multidimensional.  We oppose a UniParty, an ideology that permeates within and connects together both Democrats and Republicans.
However, that said, it would appear that Senator Hatch is perhaps the first example of how President Trump has personally leveraged common sense MAGA policy, which is entirely conservative, to coax members of the Corinthian clan toward a new and empowered future. Breaking one representative at a time away from the comforts of the UniParty.

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Former Navy SEAL and current Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke delivers brief remarks at the Capitol Building in Utah.
Prior to President Trump signing a national monument proclamation, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told a packed-house crowd the Antiquities Act, an obscure law that Barack Obama used to broaden federal monuments in Utah, ‘was never meant to prevent. It was meant to protect.’ “Our public land is for the public to use,” Zinke said.

[Via Daily Mail] … The Bears Ears and the Grand-Staircase Escalante national monuments span millions of acres in Utah and are among 27 national monuments that Trump ordered his Interior Secretary to review earlier this year.
The result, he said, is that ‘public lands will once again be for public use.’
As Trump signed a proclamation rolling back the Obama- and Clinton-era national monument designations, his audience briefly broke into a chant of ‘Four more years!’ (read more)

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President Trump’s MAGAnomic Main Street policy initiatives surround a very basic set of principles.  To add wealth to the middle class you: A.) increase wages, and B.) lower the cost of living.
Increasing wages is the long-term economic outcome from America-First business and corporate manufacturing policies (Secretary Wilbur Ross), in combination with fiscal policies (Secretary Mnuchin).   Subsequently, within his economic agenda, President Trump visibly engages an extraordinary amount of effort on both Commerce and Treasury.
However, there’s a part of the plan for reestablishing middle-class wealth that also comes from lowering the cost of living (high consumables).  That’s where EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt intersects with Ross and Mnuchin as Pruitt works to lower energy costs.

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Lowering energy costs has an exponential benefit to the overall economy.  Not only does it drive down the cost of domestic highly consumable products, but it also binds the building blocks of the manufacturing and production sector.  Lower energy costs offset higher wages on products manufactured for export and helps keep the U.S. competitive.
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Beijing (China) is attempting to “trigger” President Trump’s internal neo-con and militaristic opposition. Stay frosty, avoid emotional reports demanding military engagement, and remain steady with a high altitude perspective.
Multiple reports now confirming that North Korea has conducted a missile test. The flight path escalates the issues by crossing over part of Northern Japan. In essence, Beijing China just threw an elbow at President Trump. [The likely “Why” follows breaking report]

TOKYO (Reuters) – North Korea fired a missile that passed over northern Japan early on Tuesday, the Japanese government said. The government’s J-Alert warning system advised people in the area to take precautions, but public broadcaster NHK said there was no sign of damage.
The Japanese military did not attempt to shoot down the missile, which passed over Japanese territory around 6:06 a.m. local time (2106 GMT). (Reuters)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking to reporters in Tokyo after the launch, said the missile appeared to have passed over airspace and that the government was urgently collecting intelligence on the incident and doing everything to ensure the safety of its citizens, according to remarks broadcast on NHK, Bloomberg News reports.
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An interesting press release from Ford Motor Co. operations in the U.K. as they announce financial incentives (additional $2,500) to trade in old vehicles for newer “cleaner” emission vehicles in the U.K.

(Via Fox Business) Ford (F) is offering car buyers in Britain a 2,000-pound ($2,570) incentive to trade in older vehicles for newer, less polluting models.
The offer announced Tuesday is available to new car buyers who trade in vehicles registered before Dec. 31, 2009. The cars will then be taken off the road and scrapped. (read more)

Pay attention to these types of stories within the auto sector.  Watch for these types of “incentives” to cross the Atlantic.  The incentives described here are wrapped around a point of cleaner emissions, ie. “climate friendly” etc.  However, as we have shared the financial branch of the auto sector is in trouble; these incentives appear to be a marketing ploy.
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Angela Merkel is essentially the de-facto global head of modern political liberalism.  The central tenet, almost religious-based in its importance, is the lunacy within “climate change”.  However, as most reasonable people have concluded, the ‘climate discussions’ are more about controlled global economics than any actual concerns about planetary climatology.   Bottom line, it’s the economics that really matter beyond all else.
Backdrop – The day after President Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Treaty, the German auto-sector immediately responded with a statement.  We see the immediate admission that ‘climate’ is simply a tool to shape global economics within that reactionary auto industry statement (emphasis mine):

(Via Reuters) […] “The regrettable announcement by the USA makes it inevitable that Europe must facilitate a cost efficient and economically feasible climate policy to remain internationally competitive,” Matthias Wissmann, president of the German auto industry lobby group VDA, said in a statement on Friday.

“The preservation of our competitive position is the precondition for successful climate protection. This correlation is often underestimated,” Wissmann said, adding that the decision by the Unites States was disappointing. (link)

As clearly stated, when push comes to shove German sensibilities are connected more to their economics than to any do-gooder need to save the planet.  This reality, in combination with upcoming German elections, sets the stage for Angela Merkel’s statement today, three months later: (more…)

President Trump is anticipated to deliver remarks from Trump Tower in New York City today following meetings with national business leaders and developers. The focus is on removing regulatory hurdles for massive infrastructure development. Anticipated start time 3:45pm to 4:00pm
UPDATE: FULL VIDEO ADDED

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