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Speaker Mike Johnson Wants Big Beautiful Bill Through House by Independence Day

♦ Some people just can’t take a win.  For the “I need to be outraged” group I would suggest their best time for complaining would be to join the collective association of the tech crew (Musk/Thiel), the alligator emojis (DeSantis/Cruz Crew) and the CONservative free traders (Massie, Paul, Roy).  That group of always unhappy, whining and never satisfied knuckleheads will welcome the griping, bitching and moaning.

However, that doesn’t work here. We have a big win to celebrate.

♦ The Senate version of the previously passed Big Beautiful Bill cuts more spending than originally delivered from the House.  You might ask why then did spending opposition narratives surface now and not when it passed through the House? Good question, we’ll get to that ‘political answer’ in a moment.

For now, the BBB is on track as it was originally planned (by July 4th); albeit right at the outer limits of the predicted timeframe that was announced in January.

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The Senate BBB passed on a 50-50 vote split, highlighting it was the most conservative bill that could possibly squeak through the Senate.  It is the culmination of MAGA interests -vs- MAGA opposition, with the biggest win being the $70 billion for border security and ongoing deportation operations.

The original plan was always to use rescission bills to cut out the DOGE waste. Per Senate rules, the rescissions/cuts cannot be done until after the initial funding bill is passed (that’s BBB). Timeline: July – BBB, Aug – Rescission bills to cut DOGE waste {examples}, and Sept – FY 2026 Budget bill which begins October 1st.

Additionally, the narrative about the Senate bill including Medicaid spending for illegal aliens is false.

♦ The ban on Medicaid for illegal aliens is actually stronger than initially thought [See page 602. Section 77109].  As noted by Senator Schmidt, “the bill actually goes much further than the house version – beyond banning Medicaid for 1.4 million illegal aliens, it: • Requires states to verify citizenship status before providing coverage • Bans automatic Medicaid enrollment for children of illegal aliens • Excludes DACA from Medicaid.”

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Europe in Rush For Initial Trade Framework – Reality of Baseline Tariffs Setting in

A serendipitous article about information from European Commission officials Björn Seibert and Sabine Weyand, as EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič urgently heads to Washington DC for emergency talks Thursday against the backdrop of a July 8 deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump to do a deal or face 50 percent “reciprocal” tariffs.

Let me just remind everyone the ongoing failure to recognize or accept President Trump’s position regarding both the EU and Canadian trade position with the U.S. will be their undoing.  For whatever reason, likely because it has always been thus for them, they both have a massive cognitive disconnect.

EU trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic is going to try and avoid the baseline tariffs; however, the aggregate EU now accepts after reviewing the details of the U.S-UK trade agreement, they will not be able to get below 10%.  This alone has them considerably triggered.

The only real tariff positions the EU have to try and escape are the auto tariffs (25%) and Steel/Aluminum (50%).  There is no way for them to avoid the baseline 10% on everything.   Keep in mind President Trump will add a tariff surcharge for Spain’s refusal to meet their NATO obligations.  Trump cannot single out Spain, so the entire EU will be punished with the surcharge for not bringing them into line.

BRUSSELS — The outline of a trade deal between the EU and the U.S. is taking shape. It would contain a baseline 10 percent U.S. tariff, relief for specific industries and an “up-front” U.S. commitment to tariff relief, four diplomats told POLITICO.

[…] Brussels is pushing to secure a U.S. commitment to “up-front” tariff relief at the time of the agreement in principle, according to the diplomats. This would resemble a deal already struck by the U.K. with Washington, which offered tariff exemptions on auto and steel exports while talks on a comprehensive deal continue. A number of EU countries told the Commission no deal of any kind would be possible without such relief.

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Canadian Government Rescinds Digital Services Tax, Requests to Resume Trade Talks Again

“Elbows up” and knees bent. As expected given the nature of their dependency, the Canadian government has rescinded the digital services tax against U.S. tech companies.

The June 30th collection is halted and the Canadian government led by Mark Carney will be bringing legislation to rescind the tax entirely.

CANADA – […] Minister of Finance and National Revenue, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, announced today that Canada would rescind the Digital Services Tax (DST) in anticipation of a mutually beneficial comprehensive trade arrangement with the United States. Consistent with this action, Prime Minister Carney and President Trump have agreed that parties will resume negotiations with a view towards agreeing on a deal by July 21, 2025.

The DST was announced in 2020 to address the fact that many large technology companies operating in Canada may not otherwise pay tax on revenues generated from Canadians. Canada’s preference has always been a multilateral agreement related to digital services taxation. While Canada was working with international partners, including the United States, on a multilateral agreement that would replace national digital services taxes, the DST was enacted to address the aforementioned taxation gap.

The June 30, 2025 collection will be halted, and Minister Champagne will soon bring forward legislation to rescind the Digital Services Tax Act. (LINK)

In the bigger picture Canada has a serious problem.

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Big Beautiful Bill Passes Procedural Vote in Senate 51-49, Rand Paul and Thom Tillis Remain Opposed

The Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) would make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, end taxation on tips and overtime, boost border security funding and scrap green-energy tax credits passed during the Biden administration; the latter point has drawn strong opposition from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

In a late vote Saturday the Senate passed the BBB 51-49, a procedural vote to start debate on the legislation with Republican Senators Thom Tillis and Rand Paul remaining in opposition.  The bill now heads to the floor for debate and amendment which could position a full vote by the Senate Monday.

As with all large bills there are a lot of aspects that provide positive outcomes, and there are some negatives embedded within it as a result of Senators holding out on behalf of their primary lobbyist organizations. The Democrats are unified in opposition as a political strategy to weaken President Trump.

WASHINGTON DC – Senate Republicans voting in a dramatic late Saturday session narrowly cleared a key procedural step as they race to advance President Donald Trump’s package of tax breaks, spending cuts and bolstered deportation funds by his July Fourth deadline.

The tally, 51-49, came after a tumultuous night with Vice President JD Vance at the Capitol to break a potential tie. Tense scenes played out in the chamber as voting came to a standstill, dragging for more than three hours as holdout senators huddled for negotiations, and took private meetings off the floor. In the end, two Republicans opposed the motion to proceed, joining all Democrats.

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Chinese Company GE Moves Washer/Dryer Manufacturing to USA

GE Appliances is a subsidiary of the Haier company, which is based in China.  Most people do not know that.  GE Appliances are Chinese appliances.

The recent headline about GE Appliances moving their production from China to the USA (Kentucky), is simply an outcome of the need for GE to avoid steel, aluminum and reciprocal trade tariffs.  This is not complicated.

FOX NEWS – GE Appliances on Thursday said it would spend $490 million to move the production of most of its washing machines from China to Kentucky.

The operation will move to the company’s massive industrial Appliance Park headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, where it already manufactures washers and dryers. At least 800 new full-time jobs are expected to be created, the company said in a news release.

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A Note of Caution – Kevin O’Leary Talks About U.S-Canada Trade With a Massive Blind Spot

CTH has continually said that almost no one in Canada has any grasp of what is about to happen within their economy, specifically because only a handful of people realize what President Trump intends to do.

This interview with Kevin O’Leary is a case study in what I have been warning about.  If you have any financial affiliation with O’Leary Ventures or ancillary investments that touch on a dependency therein, be forewarned.

O’Leary is only a few months away from exploding against President Trump in a manner that will make the Elon Musk statements about Epstein and Trump seem small by comparison.  As yet another Canadian financial voice that just doesn’t get it, O’Leary has no idea the USMCA is about to end. And when it does, oh boy… he will go bananas.

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[BACKGOUND STORY]

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Explains Severity of Response to Canada’s Digital Services Tax

I was unaware until this interview the July 1st digital services tax that Canada is going to apply to U.S. tech companies is retroactive in application. Over a billion dollars will be due on Monday as a result of Canada’s targeting.  Duplicitous Snow Mexicans.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlines the details of what Canada did and why President Trump is responding so forcefully. Bessent also explains that the EU doesn’t have a digital services tax, but some European countries do. President Trump is factoring in those targeted tariffs against our tech industry as he seeks to execute new trade agreements with the EU. WATCH:

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Canada Announces Digital Services Tax Against USA – President Trump Halts All Trade Negotiations With Canada

As we have noted from the beginning, the overwhelming majority of the Canadian people genuinely have no idea what the final goal is for President Trump; this includes Prime Minister Mark Carney. A few Canadians can see the big picture, but only a very few.

Today, President Trump announces that all trade negotiations with Canada are halted, effective immediately, because Mark Carney and his team are trying to target the USA with a Digital Services Tax. When you know the end-game for Trump, you can clearly see how this positioning from Canada once again plays directly into his hands.

PRESIDENT TRUMP – “We have just been informed that Canada, a very difficult Country to TRADE with, including the fact that they have charged our Farmers as much as 400% Tariffs, for years, on Dairy Products, has just announced that they are putting a Digital Services Tax on our American Technology Companies, which is a direct and blatant attack on our Country. They are obviously copying the European Union, which has done the same thing, and is currently under discussion with us, also.

Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately. We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

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Mexican President Sheinbaum Apoplectic at U.S. Sanctions Against Mexican Money Launderers

Things are getting very interesting as the clock ticks toward the end of the USMCA trade agreement.

Almost no one is watching the USMCA element because it quietly exists only in the background of events. However, pay close attention to the ancillary stories because they will eventually merge with the end of the USMCA and two bilateral trade agreements between the U.S-Canada and the U.S. and Mexico later this year.

NATO funding and Canadian economic independence, and by extension the EU and China, comes into the northern agreement.  Border security and Mexican economic independence, and by extension immigration and China, comes into the southern agreement.  The strength of MAGAnomic policy flows directly through both.

In the quiet sphere, a few days ago Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a key player in the trade program, announced sanctions against three Mexican financial organizations that underline the influence of the Mexican cartels and the Mexican government. [Treasury Announcement Here]

“The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued orders identifying three Mexico-based financial institutions—CIBanco S.A., Institution de Banca Multiple (CIBanco) [ORDER HERE], Intercam Banco S.A., Institución de Banca Multiple (Intercam) [ORDER HERE], and Vector Casa de Bolsa, S.A. de C.V. (Vector) [ORDER HERE]—as being of primary money laundering concern in connection with illicit opioid trafficking, and prohibit, respectively, certain transmittals of funds involving CIBanco, Intercam, and Vector.  These orders are the first actions by FinCEN pursuant to the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which provide Treasury with additional authorities to target money laundering associated with the trafficking of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, including by cartels”. (more)

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is furious. “The Treasury Department hasn’t provided a single piece of evidence to show that any money laundering was taking place,” she said. “We aren’t going to cover for anyone, there isn’t impunity here. They have to be able to demonstrate that there was actually money laundering, not with words, but with strong evidence.”

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Israeli Report – Trump, Netanyahu and Arab Partners Close to Peace Solution for Gaza

Last night on CNBC Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff hinted that some stunning revelations around expansion of the Abraham Peace Accords would likely surface in the next week.   Immediately thereafter, President Trump sent a message of support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, against a judicial effort targeting the Prime Minister.

Today, we start to hear of some rather stunning developments in the region that might explain multiple background stories, including the above and the severity of response from President Trump when he felt that Israel was overreacting to the Iran missile fired during the early hours of the ceasefire.

In a stunning development, Israel Hayom is reporting on the outlines of a peace agreement and long-term solution for the Israel-Gaza conflict.  The report might explain why President Trump made bold moves in Syria recently, including the removal of all U.S./western sanctions and the close relationship between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MbS).

According to Israel Hayom, there was a 4-way call (Trump, Netanyahu, Rubio, Dermer) after the Iran strikes. President Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to “fundamental principles in general terms” including:

♦ “Gaza hostilities will conclude within two weeks.” ♦ “Four Arab nations (including Egypt and the UAE) will administer the Gaza Strip, replacing the murderous Hamas terrorist organization.” ♦ “The remaining Hamas leadership will face exile to other countries (possibly Qatar and Turkey), while the hostages gain freedom.” ♦ “Multiple nations globally will accept numerous Gaza inhabitants seeking emigration.” ♦ “Abraham Accords expansion will bring Syria, Saudi Arabia, and additional Arab and Muslim countries to recognize Israel and establish official relationships.” ♦ “Israel will declare its willingness for future Palestinian conflict resolution under the ‘two states’ concept, contingent upon the Palestinian Authority reforms.” ♦ “The United States will acknowledge limited Israeli sovereignty implementation in Judea and Samaria.”

President Trump was reportedly angered by Israeli strikes after his Iran ceasefire announcement, because he feared further hostilities would derail this complicated deal.

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