In a series of announcements, the Trump administration has retriggered the suspension of the de minimis exemption which will begin tariffs on imported small shipment foreign goods globally and from Canada, Mexico, China and Hong Kong specifically.  {SEE HERE}

The suspension of the de minimis exemption means direct to consumer product shipments valued under $800 will again be subject to tariffs.

Additionally, President Trump has triggered a 50% tariff on imported copper except for those nations who have a free trade agreement in place for their copper component goods.  {SEE HERE}

WHITE HOUSE – STRENGTHENING AMERICA’S COPPER INDUSTRY: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a Proclamation to address the effects of copper imports on America’s national security, including by imposing tariffs on several categories of copper imports.

• The Proclamation imposes universal 50% tariffs on imports of semi-finished copper products (such as copper pipes, wires, rods, sheets, and tubes) and copper-intensive derivative products (such as pipe fittings, cables, connectors, and electrical components), effective August 1.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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This is more than slightly interesting.

According to a Fox News release, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino found multiple files related to the FBI activity in the Trump-Russia collusion hoax, which included the classified annex to the John Durham investigation, inside burn bags in a secret room at the FBI building in Washington, DC.

The discovered Durham annex is now being declassified by the CIA and others and transferred to Senator Chuck Grassley’s staff who will release it to the public momentarily.  WATCH the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) response to these revelations, Chairman Tom Cotton, the guardian of the Intelligence Community, will likely demand special counsels be triggered in order to create the “ongoing investigation” defensive shield needed for his benefactors.

That’s how the silo system in DC rolls.

DC EXCLUSIVE: FBI Director Kash Patel found a trove of sensitive documents related to the origins of the Trump–Russia probe buried in multiple “burn bags” in a secret room inside the bureau, sources told Fox News Digital.

Sources told Fox News Digital that the “burn bag” system is used to destroy documents designated as classified or higher.
Sources told Fox News Digital that multiple burn bags were found and filled with thousands of documents.

Sources told Fox News Digital that one of the documents FBI officials found in a burn bag was the classified annex to former special counsel John Durham’s final report, which includes the underlying intelligence he reviewed.

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Now you will see why I said to watch this interview without distractions.

FED Chairman Jerome Powell announced today the FED Board of Governors is keeping the interest rate at 4.25 to 4.5 percent.   The Central Bank of the United States is trying to create an unsustainable debt spiral.

The goal of the FED (Central Bank) is to create a debt spiral that leads to a crisis.  This is the way the Central Bank controls the activity of the smaller banks.  This is the way the Central Bank keeps control over the people in America.  WATCH:

Don’t pretend. Stop being a battered victim to an abusive relationship with government.

President Trump is pumping money into the USA economy through economic growth, tariff revenue, federal govt downsizing, expanded private sector employment and wage growth.

The Central Bankers are trying to drain money from the USA economy through monetary policy and control over the behavior of the smaller regional banks and credit unions.

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Too funny.  The economic pretending is so strong almost every outlet leads the Gross Domestic Product news release by saying “better than expected.”  Duh!   The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) releases the GDP date for the second quarter (Q2) and shows a 3.0% jump in economic growth.

We say “duh”, because it was an entirely predictable result.  Why, because imports are a deduction to the GDP equation and imports dropped 30.3% in the second quarter (Table 1, line 19).   We said this was going to happen because there was a surge of imported goods in the first quarter as companies tried to be proactive with orders in advance of tariffs.

That massive influx of imports made the Q1 GDP weak (-0.5%).  Conversely, with all those goods delivered in the first quarter, the products were not imported in Q2 and the GDP rebounded.  The lack of imports, ultimately the lack of deduction, resulted in a 5.18% positive change to the second quarter GDP (Table 2, line 47).

[Source, Table 2, Line 47]

But wait, the winning doesn’t stop there.  Remember, the Big Beautiful Bill just passed in July. That means fixed asset investment is likely to expand in Q3 because 100% expensing on capital investment was part of the BBB.

But wait, there’s more.  Annual wages spiked 4.4% — double the rate of inflation (2.1%).   That means people are growing their wage incomes twice as fast as prices are rising.  Real wage growth is back again!  Yes, REAL WAGE GROWTH.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

(more…)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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President Trump holds a press conference aboard Air Force One en route back to the White House.  Currently the press comments are audio only, but will likely have video upon arrival.

President Trump begins his remarks talking about a threat delivered by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to the state of Israel where the U.K is threatening to recognize a Palestinian state if Israel doesn’t stop the bombing in Gaza and deliver aid to the impacted citizens.   LISTEN:

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The terms Ukraine and government corruption are synonymous regardless of who is funding the schemes.  After Volodymyr Zelenskyy grabbed more power by stripping two key anti-corruption agencies, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP), of their independence, protests erupted.

European leaders immediately noticed the intent of the power move and threatened Zelenskyy with a withdrawal of support. The current dictatorship of Zelensky and his small team then quickly reversed course.  However, the damage is done, and once again Ukranian corruption is center stage.

It doesn’t matter how much western intelligence agencies and pro-Ukraine western govt officials try to hide the nature of the duck represented by Zelenskyy by calling him a swan, eventually the quacking returns – the mask drops.

UKRAINE – […] Some also cautioned that the agitation could spark a popular uprising like the one that toppled then-President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014. “We are now in the face of the most dangerous development in all the years since Maidan,” wrote Sevgil Musayeva, editor-in-chief of the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper. And like others, she hazarded that Zelenskyy’s powerful Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak was behind the move, amid signs that NABU is preparing cases against presidential insiders.

Eventually, with public uproar mounting, Ukraine’s president bowed to the pressure and agreed to restore the independence of the agencies — a new law turning back the clock is meant to be voted on Thursday.

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