United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was interviewed by Fox News host Laura Ingraham ahead of his important participation in the Asia trip.
Within the interview Ambassador Lighthizer shows his wolverine attitude toward the ongoing trade deals and his role within the larger geopolitical strategy of the Trump Doctrine.  There’s solid, affirming and unwavering economic insight within this interview.
Interestingly Lighthizer mentions the national security aspects inherent within the administration’s economic trade strategy. He details how his role, within the larger policy, is to focus intensely on achieving the best ‘America-First‘ trade deal possible. “Killers”.
Secretary Wilbur Ross (commerce), Secretary Steven Mnuchin (treasury), Secretary Rex Tillerson (state) and Secretary James Mattis (defense) then collate the outcome and ultimately President Trump makes the final decision.  Working in concert, together they map how to use the leverage within the Lighthizer’s deals to achieve national security objectives.

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Earlier today President Donald Trump held a meeting with Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and all participants in the tax reform proposal.
Interestingly, and in a typically Trump power play dynamic, POTUS Trump invited U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue to the meeting and after finishing his prepared remarks put Donohue directly in the spotlight (Video 04:00).  The U.S. CoC is the biggest lobbyist for globalist economics. Donohue is essentially MAGA enemy #1.
You might remember Tom Donohue specifically targeting President Trump for personal criticism in the last round of NAFTA negotiations.  POTUS Trump positioned Donohue physically directly across from him at the table and it was obvious President Trump was planning to put Donohue on the spot.  The look on Gary Cohn’s face is priceless.

[Transcript] 11:41 A.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much for being here, for the incredible work you’re doing to help us pass the really historic tax cuts. There’s never been anything like this in the history of our country. It’s cuts and it’s relief and it’s also reform. And frankly, it’s also simplification. So we’re covering everything.
There has never been anything like it, and it’s so important. The economy is doing very well but it can do much better. A lot of jobs are going to come from this and a lot of companies are going to start pouring back into the United States. In fact, we’re going to be announcing one big one sometime very shortly — a very big one coming back into the United States.
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced today that construction for prototypes of the Border Wall has concluded in San Diego.

The prototype construction phase is complete. CBP will now test and evaluate the finished products, provided by industry, to determine which wall design elements meets our needs. This testing and evaluation period will last 30 to 60 days.
“Border security contributes to our overall national security and relies on a combination of border infrastructure, technology, personnel, and partnerships,” said acting Deputy Commissioner Ron Vitiello.
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Well, well, well. In what can only be described as perfectly representative of the perspectives of Canada, Mexico and the U.S., the principals within NAFTA [Robert Lighthizer (U.S.), Chrystina Freeland (Can), Ildefonso Guajardo (Mex)] showcase their unique positions during a press conference at the conclusion of round #4.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer begins with the elements of a statement that all parties agree upon. Not much. (Transcript added)
Next comes the smug, self-righteous, and virtue signaling Canadian economic parasite Chrystina Freeland; with an over-the-top emotional plea about how military cemeteries should form the basis of multinational trade deals because trade sectors should be based on her feelings, or something. Mexican economic parasite Ildefonso Guarjardo joins the CanMex position decrying the insufferable demands of the economic host: “we must understand that we all have limits.”
Then comes the hammer. Lighthizer announces to both parasites their positions are fraught with hypocrisy and self-preservation; and the time to reset the imbalance is now. Pointing out how Canada and Mexico agreed to TPP text they are now rejecting in NAFTA, and specifically identifying how their companies have become reliant on special preferences, Lighthizer lets Canada and Mexico know that the time for their feasting on the host is OVER. Watch (transcript added below):

The distance between the parties is too significant and a diplomatic “cooling off” period of one month is agreed upon; prior to entry into round #5 which will take place in Mexico, mid-November. The goal of an agreement, if any agreement is possible, concluding by the end of the year is gone.
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NAFTA Round #4 negotiations have been ongoing and resulting in little progress on the serious issues surrounding the three nation trade pact.
Word from behind the scenes, and off-the-record, finds several insiders with the opinion that the decision by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobbying group to conflict with President Trump and the U.S. trade team has backfired.
U.S. CoC President Tom Donohue made the decision to align in common cause with Canada and Mexico, against the interests of the U.S., and go public with his attacks against the U.S. negotiating team, the administration and President Trump personally.
Following the confrontational approach by the largest DC lobbying group, the U.S. team asked Canada to take their protectionist trade restrictions off the Dairy and Poultry sectors.  Canada was adamant they will never leave their agriculture unprotected, and rejected any consideration of open trade discussion toward those sectors.
The U.S. is standing firm on three elements that Mexico and Canada are dead-set against:
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Just because western media doesn’t understand how President Trump executes a geopolitical strategy based on economic leverage, that doesn’t mean adversaries are not fully aware of the effectiveness of the approach.
The Trump Doctrine has two avenues toward dealing with national security adversaries.
The first route is direct assignment of responsibility toward the enablers: see China for North Korea; The Gulf States for Qatar (Sunni extremism); Russia for Syrian terrorism (Assad); and Pakistan for Afghanistan (Taliban); as recent examples.

However, when the geopolitical threat stems directly from the enabler, and not the enabled, the Trump Doctrine has a distinctly different and far more encompassing, approach.  Route two goes through leveraging regional allies and partners: See ASEAN and India for ¹China; and France, Poland, Baltic States for ²Russia.  And now President Trump is beginning to shift toward ³Iran.
In each case: China, Russia and Iran, unlike Western media, these powers assemble volumes of research to assist them in understanding the most likely sequence of events President Trump will take.
When we say volumes of research, we indeed mean hundreds of people researching and drafting position documents based upon every scintilla of every deal Donald J Trump has engaged in.  No expenses are spared as these state actors assemble information toward their own strategy to counter the most unpredictable adversary they have faced.
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President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcome Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Gregoire Trudeau back to the White House.
By all media accounts, especially those from Canada, the primary purpose of Trudeau’s visit is to firm up support for NAFTA.  Prior to the bilateral meeting between the two leaders, Trudeau was lobbying the congressional GOPe Ways and Means Committee to rebuke the America-First economic policies of President Trump.

[Transcript Here]

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Isn’t it interesting how heads of foreign governments feel so comfortable coming to the U.S., engaging with Washington DC politicians and openly attempting to eliminate the national economic policy interests of a sitting U.S. President (and American workers)?
No, really… think about that.  If you ever needed to remind your family, friends and neighbors of how thoroughly our national economic sovereignty has been destroyed, simply put the reality of foreign leaders lobbying Washington DC to retain their global interests into the context of any conversation…. then ask them to think about it.
Name another country that would even fathom allowing such activity.
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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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Here we go… buckle up, and grab the popcorn.  This is the part where the “trillions at stake” comes into play…

U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue is now engaged in a direct fight with U.S. President Donald Trump. As would be expected, and as we specifically predicted, Tom Donohue is now specifically aligning himself with Canada and Mexico against the interests of the United States economy.

Tom Donohue gives hundreds of millions to Mitch McConnell and the crony UniParty capitalist ilk that infect Washington DC. Donohue owns the vast majority of U.S. politicians. This battle is the epicenter of lobbying usurpation, and how multinational corporations own U.S. politicians. This battle will be epic.

MEXICO CITY/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The most powerful U.S. business lobby accused the Trump administration on Tuesday of making “poison pill proposals” to sabotage talks aimed at modernizing NAFTA, as negotiators began gathering in Washington for fresh trade talks.
[…] Speaking in Mexico City, Thomas Donohue, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s president and chief executive, listed several U.S. proposals that he said would undermine $1 trillion in annual trilateral trade, including a “sunset clause” to force regular negotiations.

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During a White House event earlier today President Donald Trump signed a Presidential proclamation designating October 6th as “National Manufacturing Day”.
One of President Trump’s top economic priorities, enmeshed in the America-First economic agenda, is to bring back U.S. manufacturing excellence as a priority to the foundation of a balanced American economy.

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REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP – AT SIGNING OF NATIONAL MANUFACTURING DAY PROCLAMATION – Oval Office – 2:05 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. It’s an honor to be here with the great men and women of American manufacturing. In a few moments, I will sign a presidential proclamation declaring today National Manufacturing Day.
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