This afternoon, Vice President JD Vance held the White House press briefing from the Brady Room.  WATCH:

.

(more…)

A rather remarkable statement from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick puts the Canadian government on notice.  If Lutnick is accurately outlining what took place, there’s no way Trump is going to give them a trade deal.

When he is questioned about the U.S-Canada trade agreement collapse, Secretary Lutnick quotes the Canadian govt officials.  “I said to him, are you trying to blow this up? and he said, and I quote, “I’m not allowed to say that.“” Lutnick then encapsulates what that response meant.

“They decided for political reasons, domestically, domestic Canada, they’d rather fight with Donald Trump; even if it’s bad for the economy of Canada, for their political ambition to get a certain election,” Lutnick noted.  He continued, “now remember, Quebec has the sovereign party was in the lead, so that’s why they came up with this French nonsense. You think the American side talked about how people speak in Quebec? We have a deal with France, we have a deal with Italy, we have a deal with Germany, we don’t care about their language; none of that was true.”   WATCH (prompted):

.

(more…)

Canada is drowning in the Sea of China. The USA is the rescue swimmer.  When we reach the victim they thrash, try to climb on our back and pull us under. Survival for both now requires us to punch them in the face, back away and ask them if they prefer to drown. If not, listen to instructions.

The USMCA or CUSMA needs to be terminated!  That’s the punch in the nose.

Then a bilateral trade agreement can be negotiated.  That’s the swimmer giving the victim instructions.

If Canada chooses to drown in the Sea of China, so be it.

Then we build a regulatory wall against all Canadian products, banning the entry of Chinese component parts in EVERYTHING!

(more…)

Within 12 hours of the Friday announcement that Canada had walked away from trade discussions with the U.S, we were able to piece together what the four points were.  Several people disagreed and claimed something else was involved.  Today, Prime Minister Mark Carney affirmed specifically the accuracy of those four points.

While Prime Minister Carney used his verbose gaslighting to describe them, you can listen for yourself.  It boiled down to four issues: [1] U.S. streaming services writing code for “search engines” in the French language (cultural issue). [2] The U.S. having a right to reject a trade deal made by Canada with a non-market economy, ie. CHINA. [3] Removal of tariffs on Canadian assembled heavy trucks, semi-trucks and industrial trucks (not in the auto sector). [4] Canada demanding 5% of gross revenues from U.S. tech platforms, with an attitude that U.S. controls North American trade.

You can listen to his own words describing these issues.  WATCH:

The United States must, as a matter of U.S. national security and survival, immediately cut all trade ties with Canada completely.  I’ll explain why this is so critical and important.

The most appropriate metaphor is the drowning victim (Canada) with an intentionally placed anchor on its foot (China), now becoming a threat to the rescue swimmer (USA).   If we don’t cut ties, we risk our own livelihood.

Here’s the four counterpoints:

(more…)

On the sidelines of the Asheville, North Carolina, G20 meeting of global finance ministers, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent holds a fireside chat to discuss current geopolitical events and economic conditions.

.

(more…)

For about a year CTH has predicted Chinese auto manufacturers BYD and GEELY would take over shuttered auto plants in Canada.  Specifically, six months ago, against the backdrop warning of Stellantis, Toyota and Honda telling the Canadian government that without the USMCA they would shift auto production to the USA, CTH predicted BYD and GEELY would make moves on those closed facilities.

The move by China is easy to predict.  Prime Minister Mark Carney has opened the door to Chinese EVs.  It would be in Beijing’s best interest to retool and take control of closed plants to begin mass production in North America.

Chinese EV manufacturing in Canada serves two purposes.

First, they would not be limited in production to the cars that remain in Canada as part of the agreement.  Factually, China would use their Canadian footprint as an export hub into Europe and save money on current distribution.   Remember, Europe is losing their auto manufacturing base to China and Germany is laying off 100,000+ auto workers.

Second, the appearance of Chinese auto manufacturing in North America would put pressure on the United States to permit their cheap EVs to enter the market.

Today Bloomberg is reporting exactly what we predicted.  Chinese automaker BYD (Build Your Dream) is asking local officials about the currently idled Stellantis auto plant.  Things are following a very predictable timeline.

BLOOMBERG – Chinese carmaker BYD Co. inquired about taking over an idled Stellantis NV plant in the Toronto suburbs, according to a local politician, signaling possible global interest in Canadian auto hubs in the midst of a trade battle with the US.

(more…)

What Barbara Boyd describes in this video about the ideological differences in the G20 reminds me of the long battles around MAGAnomics.

One mindset is based on despair, the scarcity mentality, and says there is a limited amount of economic pie, and it must be divided by government to ensure equitable distribution (Europe/Obama).  The other mindset is based on faith, an abundance mentality, and says we should create, innovate, build and expand economic activity to create more pies (MAGA/Trump).

In this Wednesday update, Barbara Boyd previews the G20 meeting in Asheville, framing it as a clash between an agenda centered on physical economic growth—advanced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent—and what she calls the G20/EU’s long-running Malthusian, “green” framework that followed the 2008 financial collapse, bank bailouts, and a shift toward climate policies.

The episode contrasts Trump-era priorities—domestic manufacturing, supply-chain self-sufficiency, critical minerals, energy expansion, workforce upskilling, and new nuclear plans for shipping outlined by Energy Secretary Chris Wright—with European leaders’ efforts to build a “middle powers” bloc and “redirect” citizens’ savings into EU-directed investment. Boyd argues EU priorities include Ukraine war funding, the green transition, and open borders/free trade, and says the outcome of this fight will shape the future ahead of the midterms.

.

(more…)

CTH continues to get considerable questioning about how the U.S-Canada fracture will take place, what it means for the Canadian dollar (CAD) and when the issues can be expected to apex.  It appears that part of the reasoned disconnect people are struggling with is directly related to the messaging from the Canadian government in combination with the financial media.

In short, despite the increased trade friction, a decoupling of the U.S. economy from the Canadian economy just seems unfathomable to most observers. The main question we receive is ‘when will things happen‘?  Meaning when will financial markets react?  The most obvious answer to that question is, when the USA announces the termination of the USMCA (CUSMA) trilateral.

If you hold the opinion that all of these trade friction points will be resolved within the margins of the USMCA, then it is correct to predict that no significant material impact will be felt north of the border.  If, however, you hold the opinion that the USMCA will be terminated because the core of the issues between the two countries are irreconcilable, then the material impact will come as soon as that announcement is made.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, the only Canadian government official to attend President Trump’s inauguration, appears on Fox Business. Like all other Canadian officials, she cannot contemplate the elimination of CUSMA/NAFTA.  Such an outcome is simply beyond her comprehension. WATCH:

In previous interviews and broadcasts, Mrs Smith claimed if Canada was to introduce an export tax the USA would respond accordingly.  This is not accurate.  The U.S. has no mechanism to place a tax on exports.

Additionally, inside Canada the structure is provincial.  That means each province taxes each other province for goods and services.  In the USA we have state sales taxes, but those taxes are applied across all goods sold to/inside an individual state.  Ex. Florida does not tax Texas.  Florida has one sales tax for all goods regardless of their origin.

(more…)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has quietly been the lead on this initiative.  The discussions with Venezuela were working along slowly in the background as the negotiations with Canada on trade were proceeding.  Today, Canadian oil is replaced.

BREAKING NEWS: The United States of America has just entered into an Agreement with the Country of Venezuela on, THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY! At my direction, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, working closely with Highly Respected Interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, and, through a partnership with private business, have secured majority U.S. control of more than 65 BILLION BARRELS of proven Oil Reserves in Venezuela, at no cost to the American Taxpayer.

This Historic Transaction MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves, greatly increases our Oil Supply, and will substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans, long into the future, while helping to continue to set Venezuela on a course toward Tremendous Success and Great Prosperity. This Transaction will greatly strengthen the already growing relationship between Venezuela and the United States! Thank you for your attention to this groundbreaking matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

~President DONALD J. TRUMP

(more…)

The Canadian state media outlet, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), responds to the tensions of the Canada-USA relationship by telling all state funded journalists: “Do not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks.”

According to the internal communication: “The memo instead described the 9-11 events as hijackings that led to passenger jet crashes in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Manhattan. It also said the World Trade Center was destroyed. {citation}

CANADA – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on Thursday defended an internal memo directing its reporters and editors to refrain from describing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as “terrorist attacks,” telling Fox News Digital the guidance reflected its longstanding practice of attributing terms it considers politically and emotionally loaded.

“It is the practice of the CBC to exercise extreme caution before using the words ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism,'” CBC Public Affairs Director Kerry Kelly said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The memo was a reminder of the longstanding practice that favours the use of these terms with attribution in our reporting.”

The memo was authored by Basem Boshra, CBC News’ senior director of journalistic standards and public trust, and surfaced ahead of the attacks’ 25th anniversary. The directive was first reported by Toronto Sun columnist Warren Kinsella, who said it was addressed to CBC News staff. “Do not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks,” the memo said.

The memo instead described the events as hijackings that led to passenger jet crashes in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Manhattan. It also said the World Trade Center was destroyed. (read more)

(more…)