Knowing the severe ramifications likely and taking a proactive approach toward root-cause analysis, CTH attended the ASEAN summit to gauge how Asia was likely to respond to Trump term-2 and the looming possibility of a severe nationalist approach toward a renewal of USA manufacturing. The untangling of the Beijing Belt & Road initiative was a key topic of interest noted.  [Watch Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.]

Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Panama this weekend to express the position of President Donald Trump as it pertains to Chinese influence over the maritime transit gateway known as the Panama Canal. Following the meeting with President José Raúl Mulino, the government of Panama has announced they will no longer support China’s Belt & Road initiative.

Photographic message received; or the one-time Rubio needed to be shorter, you decide.

STATE DEPT – Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino and Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha today in Panama City to address critical regional and global challenges. Secretary Rubio informed President Mulino and Minister Martínez-Acha that President Trump has made a preliminary determination that the current position of influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party over the Panama Canal area is a threat to the canal and represents a violation of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal. Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty.

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In December of 2016 when we discussed the possibility of President Trump’s then new and unique tariff approach, we predicted negligible impact – if any at all.  It was a theory at the time, but predicated on the looming possibility that impacted nations would inevitably devalue their currency. It was the currency devaluation, in combination with directed subsidies, that would offset any tariff impact to U.S. consumers.

By the time we got to December 2019, we were no longer discussing theory.  Deflation due to currency devaluation, subsidy and a rising dollar actually became reality.  The lookback data (2017 through 2019) proved the tariffs did not raise prices. In fact, the opposite happened, we were importing broad-based deflation.

Now it’s 2025 and again China is hit with tariffs, along with Canada and Mexico.  With history as a reference, watch the Canadian Dollar and the Mexican Peso.  Initial impact shows the same thing repeating again. The U.S. dollar is rising in value, and the Canadian dollar is dropping quickly.

If this trend holds, the 25% tariffs against Canada (and Mexico) will have minimal impact, if any at all.  The lowered value Canadian dollar and Mexican peso will work as an offset and imports will be paid with higher value dollars.  Depending on the scale of what happens in the next few weeks, there is a strong possibility Canada might have just walked into a trap set by Trump.

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President Trump’s Border Czar, Tom Homan, appears on Fox News Sunday to talk about the massive drop (-93%) in attempted border crossers and the success of the current deportation operation.  Homan also outlines the intended use of Guantanamo Bay for the “worst of the worst” detainees as a matter of efficiency and expediency.

Then at the 4:48 point of the interview, a bombshell.  Tom Homan responding to a question about the cartels setting up positions inside the USA for drug and sex trafficking offices, says “I’ve gotta be careful.. {pause} ..let me just say, we’re involved”….  WATCH:

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Remember when President Trump established the “External Revenue Service?” … It’s all connected and sequential.

Almost everyone will miss, in part because outcomes appear in a sequence that few care to follow, but buried in the Trump tariff Executive Order {SEE HERE} you will discover something.  As the unofficial Deep State strategist, and the self-appointed misfit explainer of stuff, lol, we will explain:

[Sec 2, SubSection (h)]: Sec. 2. (a) All articles that are products of Canada as defined by the Federal Register notice described in subsection (e) of this section (Federal Register notice), and except for those products described in subsection (b) of this section, shall be, consistent with law, subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty. Such rate of duty shall apply with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time on February 4, 2025, except that goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, after such time that were loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading or in transit on the final mode of transport prior to entry into the United States before 12:01 a.m. eastern time on February 1, 2025, shall not be subject to such additional duty, only if the importer certifies to CBP as specified in the Federal Register notice.

[…] (h) For avoidance of doubt, duty-free de minimis treatment under 19 U.S.C. 1321 shall not be available for the articles described in subsection (a) and subsection (b) of this section. {link}

So, Canada and Mexico get 25% tariffs, but China only 10%.  Why?  The secret is in that subsection “(h)” when it talks about de minimis treatment. Essentially, what President Trump is doing is levying a much more massive import tax, and possible confiscation impact on the core source of fentanyl (and other illegal) substances.

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President Trump has triggered punitive tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China for their role in the manufacture and delivery of fentanyl into the United States while disregarding their responsibility to secure the U.S. border.

In response, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced responsive tariffs against American goods.  However, the responsive tariffs are primarily the products that Canada has exploited through the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) loophole.

[SOURCE]

It is obvious Canada’s response is in consultation with the U.S. democrats, as is the customary norm for the Trudeau administration.

(Politico) – Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, on Saturday night made a televised address announcing concrete measures including a tit-for-tat 25% tariff phased in across C$155bn ($107bn) worth of American products. Trudeau said Trump had put at risk US consumers’ and industries’ access to much-needed Canadian critical minerals and resources including oil, energy and timber. The prime minister promised to work with Canada’s provinces to review dealings with the United States.

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Within this example the American people not only see the deliberate nature of President Trump’s intent to carry out America-First policy, we are also getting an unmistakable confirmation of how our government could have previously stopped all of the bad activity in the past.

Using economic influence as a national security strategy, President Trump responded to the repatriation denials of the Colombian president with focus and the benefit of very fortuitous timing. With Valentines Day only two-weeks away, and with all floral contracts with Colombian growers previously locked in, any tariff, inspection delay or import embargo would have destroyed their industry.

President Gustavo Petro was facing an immediate 25 percent tariff on all goods imported from Colombia, visa restrictions, a travel ban, enhanced border patrol inspections and financial sanctions. Petro conceded to Trump’s responsive terms within hours, even retweeting the message from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

[SOURCE]

In addition to all other notes evident in this example, all other national leaders are now on notice about what will happen if they refuse repatriation of illegal aliens.  #FAFO

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be well received in his previously scheduled upcoming visits.

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President Trump ordered the U.S. Defense Department to make “homeland security a core mission of the agency.”  In one of the first actions to support an executive order on border security, the Pentagon sends an additional 1,500 active-duty troops to support Customs and Border Patrol.

(Via Reuters) – […] The additional troops include 500 Marines, as well as Army helicopter crews and intelligence analysts. They will join 2,200 active-duty troops and thousands of National Guard that were on the border prior to Trump’s inauguration this week.

A separate official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said there had been informal discussions about sending as many as 10,000 troops over time. But, officials cautioned, a final figure had not been determined, and troop numbers would depend on several factors, including impact on military readiness and what the Department for Homeland Security requests.

[…]  Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said the U.S. military would help provide flights for Department of Homeland Security-led deportations of more than 5,000 immigrants held by U.S. authorities in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California.

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By now everyone knows why Tom Homan was selected to be the Border Czar, and work on specific functions of border security and illegal alien deportation by President Trump. With a Presidential appointment, Homan carries the power of office of the presidency without having to go through the process of Senate confirmation.

Essentially, Tom Homan is an official assignment inside the Dept of Homeland Security, with regard to the border and illegal alien targeting. This construct allows Homan to begin effectively on Day #1 of the Trump administration.

In this interview with Tucker Carlson, Tom Homan talks about what his official role and responsibility will be; in combination with the details of the duty he intends to carry out with extreme urgency. WATCH:

Chapters:
0:00 Tom Homan’s Detailed Plan to Fix the Border
8:24 How to End the Cartel Drug Empire
23:21 Biden Auctioning Off the Border Wall

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We are no longer a serious nation anymore.  With a cognitively impaired President and a completely missing Vice President, our nation is now fully on auto pilot as the rest of the world laughs at us.

Apparently, there are super-secret drones the size of an SUV showing up in the night sky, attempting to go undetected by flying at night with bright LED lights and stuff.

New Jersey Representative Jeff Van Drew then says, “I’ve gotten to know people” and “from very high sources” he informs us “Iran launched a mothership, probably about a month ago“, that is apparently parked somewhere “off the east coast of the USA” and launching SUV sized drones to do something dastardly and nefariously nefarious.  Because, reasons.

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From his Google/Youtube account, Van Drew expresses, “serious concerns over the potential link of the drones flying over New Jersey to Iran and the urgent need to immediately take action to neutralize the threat.”

We are no longer a serious nation.  Van Drew doesn’t seem to realize this is his outside voice, repeating things told to him by high up people he has gotten to know about things and stuff.

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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is very concerned that President Trump will return the illegal migrants to Mexico.  Perhaps Mexico should have thought about this before allowing millions of illegal migrants to travel through their country on the way to the U.S. southern border.

President Sheinbaum is now telling people she wants an agreement with President Trump so that her country does not suffer from millions of illegal aliens swarming Mexico.  The irony is too thick.

ASSOCIATED PRESS – MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president said Thursday she will ask President-elect Donald Trump to deport non-Mexican migrants directly to their home countries, rather than dumping them at the Mexican border.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said she hopes to reach an agreement with Trump so that “they send people who come from other countries to their countries of origin.”

Mexico, like any other country, is not obligated to accept non-Mexican migrants, but it has agreed to do so in the recent past, especially from countries like Cuba and Venezuela, which often refuse deportation flights from the United States, but may accept them from Mexico.

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