White House Manufacturing Policy Advisor, Peter Navarro, appears on Fox Business with Charles Payne to discuss the ramification of China ‘phase-one’ and the USMCA for the middle-class blue-collar economy. Excellent interview, WATCH:
In advance of the Senate beginning the impeachment trial of President Trump, the upper chamber ratified the USMCA trade agreement with an 89-10 vote. The agreement now moves to the White House where President Trump will sign it.
The final ratification is the result of two-years worth of renegotiated trade reform, and the outcome gained bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. The only republican senator who voted against the deal was Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania who is concerned the USMCA will weaken the position of Wall Street multinationals.
Nine democrat senators did not support the agreement because there wasn’t enough verbiage to support their climate change priorities, and the USMCA does not align with the Paris Climate Accord. [Vote Tally Here]
USMCA gives American producers better access to Canadian dairy markets, and creates a cornerstone for a revitalized U.S. manufacturing base. The deal has much more strict rules of origination for the auto-sector with 75% of parts and materials must be made in north America. Combined with the requirement that 40% of those industrial parts must come from plants where workers make a minimum of $16/hr, the U.S. auto-industry will gain significant benefits.
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Sickening. Earlier today Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a media event signing ceremony complete with commemorative pens for dozens of her Democrat colleagues, and initiated the parade ceremony for the march across the Capitol with the articles. Upon arrival at the upper chamber of congress, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell accepted delivery and began the process of organizing the procedure through a series of rules by unanimous consent.
[McConnell] “A few minutes ago, the Senate was notified the House of Representatives is finally ready to proceed with their articles of impeachment. So, by unanimous consent, we’ve just laid some of the groundwork that will structure the next several days.”
- We have officially invited the House managers to come to the Senate tomorrow at noon to exhibit their articles of impeachment.
- Then, later tomorrow afternoon at 2:00pm, the Chief Justice of the United States will arrive here in the Senate. He will be sworn in by the President Pro Tem, Senator Grassley.
- Then the Chief Justice will swear in all of us senators. We will pledge to rise above petty factionalism and do justice for our institutions, for our states, and for the nation.
- And then we will formally notify the White House of our pending trial and summon the President to answer the articles and send his counsel.
‘So the trial will commence in earnest on Tuesday.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin appears on FOX Business to discuss the U.S-China ‘phase-one’ trade agreement, the benefits, enforcement mechanisms and retention of tariffs and particular sanctions until compliance can be reviewed.
Phase-1 establishes the baselines; resets the ability of U.S. companies to enter China; establishes rules for market entry; and sets the parameters for enforcement. Any future phase is contingent upon evaluation of phase-one enforcement mechanisms.
The BLS released the December jobs report earlier today showing a stable 145,000 new job gains last month, and the unemployment rate remaining a very low 3.5%.
During an interview discussing the health of the U.S. economy in 2020 with National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow, the DOW Jones industrial average crossed 29,000 for the first time in history.
One of the key sectors gaining benefit from the USMCA trade agreement is the auto sector. Rules on steel and aluminum smelting/origination, and rules on part origination from North America are key aspects to the trade agreement that shifts focus from the import of Asian manufactured parts for assembly to manufacturing in North America.
Essentially, seventy-five percent of the component parts for the auto industry must be manufactured in North America. This shift directly puts U.S. auto-workers at the forefront for job gains & stops the process of using manufactured parts from China, Asia or the EU.
The goal of the agreement was/is to make manufacturing investment in North America the main consideration for auto-manufacturers who want access to the U.S. market. Today, as a direct result of future investment considerations, General Motors and Ford unexpectedly surprise 1,500 auto-workers with the announcement their jobs have gone from part-time to full-time status. Great news for these families:
DETROIT – General Motors’ worker Adarrey “Ace” Humphrey was blindsided Sunday. That’s when his life changed.
Humphrey, 27, has been a part-time temporary worker at GM’s Flint Assembly in Michigan for the last three years. On Sunday morning, he and about 250 of his co-workers crowded into UAW Local 598’s union hall. Most thought they were there for a routine meeting.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has released Q4 (November) import/export data showing a considerable drop in the U.S. trade deficit. [Release Here] Exports increased approximately .7 percent ($208.6 billion) while imports dropped one percent ($251.7 billion. Lowering the overall trade deficit to $43.1 billion.
While the pundits are surprised at the strong result, it should not come as a surprise to many CTH readers. During Q2 (June) and Q3 (July, Aug, Sept) the rate of GDP growth was impacted -in part- by inflated U.S. purchases as companies bought holiday merchandise earlier than normal. This was an effort to avoid looming tariffs, and as a result companies increased their overall inventory. We predicted Q4 purchases (Oct, Nov, Dec) would be lower specifically because of this backlog of retail inventory.
With the massively successful holiday season now over, those inventories have sold. Specifically because the value of imports are deducted from the GDP calculations, there will likely be a much stronger Q4 GDP growth resulting from less import activity.
The Wall Street financial pundits are too focused on the multinational side of the ledger; and they simultaneously don’t review data from a Main Street perspective; therefore they don’t see -or pretend not to see- the common sense equation staring them in the face.
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Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley held a mark-up hearing today to review the USMCA and vote the agreement out of committee. After debate the agreement passed with a 25-3 vote. Pat Toomey (R-PA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) voted against the agreement (full hearing video below)
The USMCA is now sent to the full Senate for a vote this month; however, it is interesting to hear the reasons why Toomey, Cassidy and Whitehouse oppose it.
Senator Whitehouse (D) opposes USMCA because it doesn’t address climate change and have the provisions within it to support the Paris Climate Treaty. Senators Toomey (R) and Cassidy oppose USMCA because it is not friendly to the Wall Street multinationals.
Senator Toomey doesn’t like that the Senate cannot change the USMCA to make it more favorable to the Wall Street multinationals who are invested heavily in China. Toomey, speaking on behalf of several, noted the Trans-Pacific-Partnership (TPP) is a better trade construct. Quite a remarkable mask-dropping was visible during the hearing.
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White House economic and manufacturing advisor Peter Navarro appeared on Fox News today to discuss the procedural process anticipated for the USMCA passage as early as the end of next week. Additionally, Navarro highlights the upcoming signing for the U.S-China ‘phase-one’ agreement on January 15th.
(Reuters) – A Chinese trade delegation is planning to travel to Washington on Jan. 13 for the signing of the U.S.-China Phase 1 trade deal, the South China Morning Post reported on Sunday citing a source briefed on the matter.
The Chinese delegation will return on Jan. 16, SCMP said here
The trade delegation, led by Vice Premier Liu He, had originally planned to set off earlier in the month but had to change plans after U.S. President Donald Trump sent a tweet here claiming that he would sign the Phase 1 trade deal with China on Jan. 15. (read more)
The 2020 Davos economic conference will be a little more important to watch this year (as it was in 2017) due to the completed U.S. Trade Agreements (S Korea, Japan, Mexico, Canada, and China) and the predicted focus for the Trump administration to pivot from Asia to the EU and U.K. for the next critical phase of the ‘America-First’ global trade reset.
As a result of the recent U.K. election, pending Brexit, a favorable $7.5 billion WTO ruling and USTR Lighthizer’s new $2.4 billion EU targeted tariff program, the administration has significant advantages going into a trade discussion with the EU in 2020.
Team USA has the world’s strongest economy, the largest market, legally bolstered tariff authority and a quiver full of powerful economic arrows.
Meanwhile Team EU has: (1) the UK leaving; (2) severe drops in German industrial manufacturing; (3) a shrinking French economy; (4) yellow-vests in the streets; and (5) demands for greater economic autonomy from many key member states.
Overlay Germany, France and Italy large economy challenges such as: their promise to meet NATO obligations – and their attachment to the strangling Paris Climate Treaty, and the EU’s collective economic position is precarious at best.
WHITE HOUSE – Today, President Donald J. Trump announced the Presidential Delegation that will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, from January 20 to January 24, 2020.
The Honorable Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury, will lead the delegation.
Members of the Presidential Delegation: