The Trump Doctrine is easiest to describe as: deploying economic leverage to achieve national security interests.  The Trump Doctrine is unique and stunningly effective.

Many of the geopolitical decisions have multiple facets which connect like small gears on a much larger machine.  One of those small dual-purpose gears is the Doctrine as it is applied to Pakistan.  The downstream moves impact China, our #1 geopolitical and economic adversary, then Russia, and also support new alliances with India and the broader Middle-east.

Toward China = ♦Squeeze #3. In 2017 Trump and Secretary Tillerson, now Secretary Pompeo, put Pakistan on notice they need to get involved in bringing their enabled tribal “extremists” (Taliban) to the table in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s primary investor and economic partner is China. The U.S. removed $900 million in financial support to pressure Pakistan toward a political solution in Afghanistan, China has to fill void.  [NOTE: Last month the World Bank began discussions about a financial bailout for Pakistan.]  Again, more one-way bleed for China. {Go Deep}

When President Trump removed the $900 million in aid to Pakistan, he empowered the Pentagon via Defense Secretary James Mattis, with an option to give $300 million to Pakistan if Mattis felt positive steps were being taken to change behavior.  Today the Pentagon announces no change in behavior is noted:
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If there was a five-click dial available as a severity meter between the U.S. and China, something happened internally in Beijing, over the last 72 hours, because that dial just triggered movement from 3 to 4… Keep watching everything in the world of geopolitics with a mental 360° radar sweep looking for Chinese influence/interests.

Nuance and subtlety is everything in China. Culturally harsh tones are seen as a sign of weakness and considered intensely impolite in public displays between officials; especially within approved and released statements by officials representing the government.
Therefore, when we see China publicly use strong language – it indicates a level of internal disposition beyond the defined western angst. Big Panda becomes Red Dragon; there is no mid-status or evolutionary phase.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s state media on Monday lashed out at the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump in an usually direct attack, accusing him of “starring in his own carefully orchestrated street fighter-style deceitful drama”.
Trump’s wish for others to play along with his drama is “wishful thinking,” the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper said in an editorial.

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Within the German economy the auto-sector holds the largest political influence.  Because of this dynamic all German politicians kneel at the knee of the big industrial auto manufacturers.  It has been said that losing support from within the auto-sector is much worse on a German politician than losing support from party or parliament.
Because of this dynamic; and specifically because the German auto-sector is dependent on the United States as their biggest customer, President Trump holds leverage over German Chancellor Angela Merkel.  This makes Fraulein Merkel unhappy.

President Trump wants three EU issues resolved: 1) Germany to contribute the minimum 2% of GDP for their own NATO defense.  2) Germany/EU to support enhanced sanctions against Iran; and  3) President Trump wants all German/EU protectionist trade barriers and tariffs lowered or eliminated – and new trade deals negotiated.
To gain momentum on these initiatives, President Trump is using the economics of trade as leverage.  Trump has suggested a 20% tariff on all EU automobiles shipped into the U.S. [The same standard now likely proposed toward Canada]  The German auto-sector, and as a consequence the German economy, simply cannot survive without low cost access to the U.S. market, their biggest customer.
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President Trump often holds local media Q&A’s when discussing specific local aspects to larger trade and economic initiatives.  In this quick interview with Charles Benson President Trump discusses the Foxconn deal (more on that will follow), and the larger issue surrounding a global trade reset objective (important video below).
As steps are taken within the America-First economic initiatives, many people are overlooking President Trump’s ultimate goal of a complete global reset in trade.  The Trump administration wants all trade tariffs and trade barriers removed so that all nations can compete on an even field.
In order to achieve that goal, POTUS Trump is applying the process of reciprocity; assigning an identical U.S. trade standard as the country being confronted.
The international community cannot negotiate (in good faith), from an adversarial position, against an identical trade policy they apply toward the U.S.
However, until today no President has ever called out the global trade hypocrisy; let alone challenged it directly.   President Trump will not back down from this approach. The international trade community is just now realizing that fact.
Within the process of negotiation to achieve this reset, President Trump begins to apply the principles of reciprocal trade tariffs.  This is the first phase; this is where we are now.
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One of the greatest gifts President Trump provides through his policy discussion(s) is an awakening to how much U.S. voter perspective has been driven by constructed fallacy.

This is especially true in the discussion of domestic economic policy.  There are trillions of dollars at stake; and the stakeholders are growing increasingly angry as President Trump places a spotlight on decades of economic fraud and abuse.

Prior to the 2016 election few people understood that DC politicians don’t actually write legislation, lobbyists do.  Politicians don’t write laws, their role is to sell legislation created by lobbyist groups.  That is the modern legislative model; that’s how it really works.  Unfortunately the same bastardized and manipulated process has happened around trade deals and trade agreements.

In modern trade agreements, before the election of President Donald Trump, corporations would write the actual language within the deal.  Corporate lobby groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have fully functioning staff that do nothing except write the trade agreement language.

If a multinational corporation wanted to increase its value, it simply needed to pay the indulgency fee to the U.S. CoC and the massive lobbying group would create language inside the agreement to assist their interest.   Note the corporation didn’t need to be U.S. centric, currency is multinational.  The U.S. CoC then pays politicians, both democrats and Republicans, via campaign contributions for the trade controls.  People can debate the nuance and intersections of governmental bureaucracy within the process; however, peel all the skin from the onion and this is how it really was working.

Then came President Trump.

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The G7 outcome was politically important to left-wing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.  In the days leading up to the summit, their leftist political ideology took a hit when Doug Ford’s conservative movement won in the Ontario Province.   Trudeau and Chrystia needed a G7 win.

As a consequence, Justin from Canada needed U.S. President Trump to sign-on to the G7 communique, giving the summit the appearance of influence and success.

The win was needed for domestic political consumption; however, there were/are massive trade issues as an outcome of NAFTA and both Canada and Mexico structuring their economies as pass-through manufacturers of Chinese, Asian and European goods to gain access to the coveted U.S. Market.

Team Justin/Chrystia played the “ally card” diplomatically requesting G7 support. Team Trump was willing to give Team Justin/Chrystia the optics of a political win in the G7 communique as a diplomatic showing of ‘good faith‘, and set aside the larger conflict of the trade dispute for another day.  However, moments after they achieved the needed validity, after gaining the U.S. G7 support, Justin/Chrystia dropped the diplomatic approach and went back to public political trade antagonism and confrontation.

That’s the ‘stab-in-the-back’ aspect.

For months Chrystia and Justin have been playing politics with their U.S., Mexico and Canada (NAFTA) trade negotiations.  Chrystia and Justin traveling all over the U.S., meeting with liberal comrades and lobbying Washington DC politicians.

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Delivering remarks in a post G7 press conference, Prime Minister Justin from Canada outlines his perspective on the summit and takes questions from a pre-selected media audience.  Many of the questions centered around U.S. positions on trade/tariffs and the Canadian/EU position that U.S. tariffs are illegal; whereas Canadian and EU tariffs are quantifiable expressions of magnanimous intellectual superiority and Americans should spend more time thanking them, instead of these feeble efforts to gain trade reciprocity.

The underlying Trudeau trade premise is that the U.S. should be thankful for the products brought into the U.S. market by Canadians and Europeans. And Americans should express their appreciation through unilateral indulgence-fees for friendship.  If President Trump does not agree to continue the cycle of abusive trade policies, the Europeans and Canadians might stop saying they are our closest and most valuable ally.

Here’s The Final Charlevoix G7 Agreement CLICK HERE

In the granular details: •On NAFTA Justin from Canada says a sunset clause on any renegotiated trade deal is a non-starter regardless of time-frame.  If the U.S. intends to reevaluate the outcomes of a trade deal, there can be no trade deal – ever.

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Remember all those pre-election conversations about Donald Trump, economic leverage, rebalanced economics and our conversations about what getting the “golden ticket” would look like?   Well,….

The look on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s face is priceless.  “Complicated business folks,… complicated business.”

Earlier today President Trump and members of the administration delivered remarks following the G7 Summit in Charlevoix, Canada.  President Trump is heading to Singapore for a historic meeting with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un.

Prior to departing Canada, President Trump took questions from the media on a wide variety of issues including trade:  “Economic Security is National Security” !

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The best laid plans of mice-like men simply collapsed when the shadow of President Trump entered the G7 in Charlevoix, Canada.

It’s one thing to talk about the boss when he’s out of town; it’s another thing entirely when he’s sitting next to you. POTUS Trump sets the standard for the scale of influence. Really, it’s such a basic truth – it becomes self-evident. Watch, it is remarkable:

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