President Trump has announced the nomination of Jamieson Greer to be the United States Trade Representative (USTR).  Jamieson Greer was the Chief of Staff to former USTR Robert Lighthizer.

In a previous nomination of Howard Lutnick as Commerce Secretary, President Trump noted Lutnick would have responsibility overseeing the office of the USTR.   Apparently Lutnick and Greer will be working closely together.   Great news.

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Greer is likely to be facing China first and most directly, as President Trump economically faces the EU and NATO over the Ukraine issues.

The second announcement on the economic team does not need confirmation.  President Trump announces the return of ¹happy warrior Kevin Hassett as Director of the White House National Economic Council (NEC).  This is awesome news, and Hassett is a great communicator.

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Other than Trump winning the election, this is the best news all year. Mexico is threatening to retaliate against Trump’s border security tariffs, with some form of economic punishment. Pinch me, this is too awesome.

Keep in mind that around 35% of Mexico’s GDP is contingent upon exports to the USA, meanwhile only around 1% of our stuff exports to them. Then add in the remittances of dollars to Mexico, and more than 50% of the Mexican economy is contingent upon us just being friendly to their needs.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has no clue or comprehension about the scale of Trump’s leverage over her. This is like a spoiled teenager threatening to cut up the credit card dad gave her if she can’t go to the concert. Beyond funny.

WASHINGTON DC – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government would retaliate if President-elect Donald Trump moves forward with his threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on the country, warning of severe economic consequences for companies operating in both countries.

Sheinbaum unveiled the letter during her daily press conference in Mexico City, which responded to Trump’s plan to slap 25 percent tariffs on all goods from Mexico and Canada in an effort to crack down on the flow of migrants and illegal drugs into the United States. Trump also pledged an additional 10 percent tariff on China.

“For every tariff, there will be a response in kind,” Sheinbaum wrote in a letter sent to Trump. The text was released by the Mexican Embassy Tuesday morning, which said the economic fallout of a trade war would harm shared enterprises, particularly automotive companies that operate in both countries.

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This is the way.  This is exactly what we voted for.  In addition to the 25% border security tariff against Mexico and Canada, President Trump is announcing an additional 10% tariff against China as an impact fee for their failure to stop the illegal manufacture and shipment of Fentanyl.

The 10% Fentanyl impact fee will be in addition to any/all targeted tariffs against Chinese goods that are planned.

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REMINDER – Agenda 47 Tariffs previously outlined.

The “Universal Baseline Tariffs” are the economic policy blade to drive a stake through the vampire heart of corporatism, globalism and the exploitation of the U.S. economy by multinational corporate interests. This “universal baseline tariff” approach, is the policy that slays the dragons of the World Economic Forum, destroys the Beijing dragon and simultaneously ends the EU Marshal Plan advantage. This is a big deal.

President Trump made the economic policy announcement in February 2023, and it is an incredible structure of trade and economic proposals that would be resoundingly effective at restoring every financial mechanism within the United States as a sovereign country.  The proposal is economic nationalism in policy form.

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Boy howdy, this article by The Associated Press is very telling.

First, it’s worth remembering that in the fine print of the USMCA deal, Mexico and Canada must comply with North American parts origination for anything they want to manufacture for sale into the United States.  Meaning, all trade manufacturers must either create their component parts domestically, or purchase them from the U.S, Mexico and Canada. It’s the core point of the USMCA trade agreement.

Secondly, in an aspect exclusive to the U.S. part of the deal that President Trump and USTR Lighthizer insisted upon, if either Canada or Mexico are deemed to be non-compliant with the agreement, the USA can cancel/override any trade agreement Mexico or Canada have with another nation.  It’s a heavy accountability hammer securing the gate into the massive USA market.

In an AP report today, Mexico is scrambling to find local or North American sources of parts and components, because President Trump is set to come into office and look at USMCA compliance.  Apparently, Mexico has been using excessive amounts of Chinese component parts for goods being sent into the USA and Canada.  Now they are quickly trying to source alternatives.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico has been taking a bashing lately for allegedly serving as a conduit for Chinese parts and products into North America, and officials here are afraid a re-elected Donald Trump or politically struggling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could try to leave their country out of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement.

Mexico’s ruling Morena party is so afraid of losing the trade deal that President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday the government has gone on a campaign to get companies to replace Chinese parts with locally made ones.

“We have a plan with the aim of substituting these imports that come from China, and producing the majority of them in Mexico, either with Mexican companies or primarily North American companies,” Sheinbaum said.

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Suspicious Cat smells some possible streamlining and downsizing afoot.

Not only has President Trump announced the nomination of Howard Lutnick as Commerce Secretary, but he has also announced that Lutnick will carry the role and “responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative” (USTR).

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Perhaps in the second term President Trump and Howard Lutnick are going to fold the USTR into the Dept of Commerce?  Interesting.

Hopefully, Howard Lutnick, like Wilbur Ross, will keep the U.S. Chamber of Commerce blocked from influence over the upcoming trade discussions and potential trade agreements.  We note that former USTR Lighthizer was part of the transition discussion, and it seems odd his name has not surfaced…. yet.

Regardless, Howard Lutnick is an excellent choice for all the reasons previously outlined.

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In September we noted Howard Lutnick was the *ONLY* person, other than former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who accurately outlined: (1) Energy as the core source of sticky inflation; and (2) ending the Marshal Plan for EU tariffs as a key objective in term-2.

In combination with his eloquence in outlining MAGAnomics, which is remarkably impressive, this combination of skillsets would make Howard Lutnick the ideal candidate for Term-2 Commerce Secretary.  The guy simply ‘gets it.’ {SEE HERE}

Howard Lutnick was also in the running for Treasury Secretary; however, today several media outlets are reporting that Lutnick is likely to be nominated as Commerce Secretary, making him the first and leading WOLVERINE announced in the MAGAnomic team.

WASHINGTON DC – Donald Trump is expected to nominate veteran Wall Street financier Howard Lutnick to lead the Commerce Department, according to people familiar with the matter, elevating one of the financial world’s most vocal supporters of the president-elect to a crucial position overseeing the incoming administration’s economic agenda.

Lutnick, chief executive of the financial-services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, in recent months has become a close Trump ally and had been a top contender to lead the Treasury Department. As the co-chair of the president-elect’s transition team, Lutnick has spent much of his time at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private Florida club, poring over shortlists of candidates for positions in the administration.

A spokeswoman for Lutnick declined to comment. A Trump transition team spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Punchbowl News earlier reported that Trump was expected to chose Lutnick for the role. (read more)

Howard Lutnick gets it. The essential core of MAGAnomics.  Drive down the cost of goods through expanded energy development, then leverage reciprocity in tariffs to end the exfiltration of wealth.  Then cut out regulation and unleash American enterprise. This is the way to reverse this insufferable economic trajectory that creates a “service driven economy.”   The entire interview is well worth watching:

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Responding to reporters’ questions, today President of the European Union commission Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Donald Trump then immediately began the framework to explain EU background discussions in economic terms. “We still get a lot of [liquified natural gas] from Russia, and why not replace it by American LNG, which is cheaper for us and brings down our energy prices,” said Ursula von der Leyen.

The EU realizes the seismic shift that is upon them as a result of the U.S. election.  Everything from the Ukraine-Russia war; the economics of energy which President Trump will use in negotiations for peace; to the factual lowered prices within the EU created by Joe Biden energy policy to punish Americans; to funding for NATO in combination with the potential for the end of the Marshal Plan one-way tariffs are looming.  President von der Leyen is in a very precarious position.

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Ursula was speaking from ¹Budapest, Hungary.

While many are interpreting her remarks about purchasing LNG to be snuggling up to President Trump, factually it is a much bigger problem than western media will openly discuss.

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President Donald Trump sits down with Bloomberg Editor-In-Chief John Micklethwait for an extended interview. The interview is in partnership with the Economic Club of Chicago and is structurally President Trump facing down the globalists who sell Wall Street policy.

The interview was at times very combative as the interviewer, John Micklethwait, pushes a Wall Street ideology in alignment with the World Economic Forum. However, President Trump has already proven that his economic policies work.

President Trump stared down every WEF talking point and totally destroyed it.  This interview is brilliant and a perfect juxtaposition for Economic Nationalism vs Multinational Globalism.  President Trump tore the talking points apart.  AWESOME! 

Notice in the conversation about Tariffs, not a single word made by the “economists” on the value of the dollar and how pertinent it is in the equation.

When China and the EU devalue their currency to offset the impact of tariffs, the dollar value increases. This means it costs less dollars to import goods that come to the USA at a lower price (due to subsidies). Essentially, the diminished tariff impact is doubled.

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I have outlined my general opinion about labor unions [HERE].  Now we are going to focus on the realities, politics and economic outcomes from an International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) strike.

I mostly support the strike. I even mostly support ILA President Harold Daggett, a man of notoriously intemperate and sketchy disposition.  Daggett grew up in Queens, New York, directly at the same time and place as another wildly attacked industrialist turned titan of politics.  It is safe to say, they know each other; but I’ll get to that later.

Let’s turn to the issues that matter.  The dockworker strike has the potential to have major ramifications against the U.S. economy.  If the docks don’t work, the imports and exports don’t happen.  This could be a big mess, a really big mess if it goes on for a long time.

“People never gave a sh!t about us until now, when they finally realize that the chain is being broke now. Cars won’t come in, food won’t come in, clothing won’t come in.”

This union leader makes $900,000 per year. Maybe not the best spokesperson.

pic.twitter.com/b6sOXVsxJh

— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) October 1, 2024

U.S. MEDIA – The US port workers launched the strike due to a labor dispute with employers’ group United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), after their six-year contract expired.

For their new contract, ILA wants USMX to increase wages by 77 percent over six years and bar any automation, which they believe threatens workers’ jobs.

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On one side you have the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA), which represents 50,000 East and Gulf Coast dockworkers.  On the other side you have the U.S. Maritime Alliance, or USMX, an organization bargaining on behalf of the port owners, container owners and corporations.  In a few hours the ILA is scheduled to strike against USMX.

A late breaking development:

[SOURCE] – [pdf Specifics]

I am not sure how this is going to eventually end but suffice to say at least a one-week strike is built into the current dynamic.  I doubt any last-minute negotiations will stop that from happening, but you never know.

Below is a video reflecting the firm position expressed by ILA President Harold J. Daggett, who represents the interests of the workers.  There are many who may not like the tone or expressed strike intent of Mr Daggett; however, given the nature of modern corporatism as it stands, what workers have been doing hasn’t been working to change the dynamic.

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