As expected the government of Mexico put up token resistance at their southern border (video laughable) and allows thousands of economic migrants passage to the U.S. Mexico border.
Rebuking the strongly worded demands of President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo the insufferable Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray tells media his country will now call on the United Nations to intervene.   Yes, it’s up to the U.N. now….

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This is a transparently constructed political operation; with the migrant arrival timed to arrive at the U.S-Mexico border at the same time as the 2018 midterm election.
CTH has followed this for several years and below you will find a comprehensive time-line of the issue along with full historic citations and documents, and all the evidence of the financial motives behind much of the activity.
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Looks like Guatemala has taken action to ensure it loses any funding from the U.S. Stopping the horde is now up to Mexico; this should be interesting….

(Source)

The latest update on the migrating horde (between 3,000 and 8,000 people) shows they have now torn down the gates between Guatemala and Mexico to continue their advancement to the United States.

Associated Press (12:10 p.m.) Migrants in a caravan traveling through Central America have broken down gates at a border crossing and are streaming toward a bridge to Mexico.

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President Trump walks up to the White House press pool and gives over a twelve minute impromptu press conference prior to departing for a MAGA rally in Kentucky.
The level of unfiltered access President Trump provides the media is quite remarkable. Multiple topics are covered:

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U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue discusses the U.S. Mexico-Canada trade agreement and the positive impacts for U.S. farmers with increased open markets.
About two-thirds of the way through the interview the national FEMA alert message was tested.  Secretary Perdue cracks me up: “I get those presidential alerts in a different way”…

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Biggest U.S. Trade Win in the History of all U.S. Trade Constructs !

I’m still going through the USMCA text (even speed reading, it will likely take a while); here’s the link to the AGREEMENT DETAILS.  However, many people have asked about how the NAFTA loophole was being closed.
Well, the answer is exactly what it had to be – there was really no option.  The U.S. now has veto authority over any trade deal made by Canada and/or Mexico with third parties.  This is what Ambassador Lighthizer described as the “Third pillar”.
Last year, despite the inevitability of it, we didn’t think Canada and Mexico would agree to it.  The NAFTA loophole was/is a zero-sum issue: Either Can/Mex agree to give veto authority to the U.S. –OR– President Trump had no option to exit NAFTA completely.
Well, Canada and Mexico have agreed to the former, so there’s no need for the latter.

(LINK to Article 32 pdf)

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Earlier today President Trump delivered remarks in the Rose Garden of the White House announcing the USMCA (U.S-Mexico-Canada-Agreement) trade construct. The agreement covers $1.2 trillion in annual trade.
Joining President Trump is: U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, National Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow, Ambassador Kelly Craft, White House Advisor Jared Kushner, Trade Council Peter Navarro and Chris Liddell, with Deputy U.S. Trade Representative CJ Mahoney.
Make sure to hear the remarks from Ambassador Lighthizer @25:41

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FACT SHEETS from USTR Offices:

• Overview Fact Sheet – SEE HERE
• Agriculture Fact Sheet (Dairy Sector) SEE HERE
• Agriculture Fact Sheet (Overall) SEE HERE
• Manufacturing Fact Sheet SEE HERE

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National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow discusses administration’s new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico. Chairman Kudlow also discussed the trade negotiations between the U.S. and China.

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U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross gives an interview to Fox Business Maria Bartiromo and discusses the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).  Secretary Ross notes the gains in e-commerce and the dairy industry.   Also worth noting, the Steel and Aluminum tariffs remain in place.

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CTH will have much more when USTR releases the details.  An initial review of framework suggests the important economic aspects will be in SIDE LETTERS.

“Today, Canada and the United States reached an agreement, alongside Mexico, on a new, modernized trade agreement for the 21^st Century: the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). USMCA will give our workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses a high-standard trade agreement that will result in freer markets, fairer trade and robust economic growth in our region.  It will strengthen the middle class, and create good, well-paying jobs and new opportunities for the nearly half billion people who call North America home.
“We look forward to further deepening our close economic ties when this new agreement enters into force.  (LINK)

10:30pm EST – The U.S. and Canada have agreed on a trade deal that would save the North American Free Trade Agreement as a trilateral bloc, according to three people familiar with the matter.
President Donald Trump has approved the developments and the expectation is that an agreement will be announced on Sunday night, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Canadian officials are working on the final touches.  (more)

All day various media have been reporting on desperate, intense, and generally fast-moving last minute negotiations as a midnight deadline looms for Canada to join the U.S-Mexico trade agreement.   Expect the critical details to be framed around “Side Letters”.  Carve-outs within an agreement which remove the contentious aspects.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland abandoned a U.N. speech to rush back to Canada on Friday night.  Tonight Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went to Ottawa to join the Canadian negotiating team in a series of back-and-forth conference calls between the U.S. and Canadian government.  USTR Robert Lighthizer and trade envoy Jared Kushner have been briefing President Trump throughout the day.

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a late-night Cabinet meeting for Sunday amid signs that Canada and the United States were on the verge of sealing a deal to update NAFTA after frantic talks.
Negotiators from both sides spent two days talking by phone as they tried to settle a range of difficult issues such as access to Canada’s dairy market and U.S. tariffs.

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