President Trump affirms the U.S. position to use targeted tariffs to assert reciprocity as the trade standard. Free and fair trade is the goal via removing tariffs and non trade barriers:
The G7 outcome was politically important to left-wing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland. In the days leading up to the summit, their leftist political ideology took a hit when Doug Ford’s conservative movement won in the Ontario Province. Trudeau and Chrystia needed a G7 win.
As a consequence, Justin from Canada needed U.S. President Trump to sign-on to the G7 communique, giving the summit the appearance of influence and success.
The win was needed for domestic political consumption; however, there were/are massive trade issues as an outcome of NAFTA and both Canada and Mexico structuring their economies as pass-through manufacturers of Chinese, Asian and European goods to gain access to the coveted U.S. Market.
Team Justin/Chrystia played the “ally card” diplomatically requesting G7 support. Team Trump was willing to give Team Justin/Chrystia the optics of a political win in the G7 communique as a diplomatic showing of ‘good faith‘, and set aside the larger conflict of the trade dispute for another day. However, moments after they achieved the needed validity, after gaining the U.S. G7 support, Justin/Chrystia dropped the diplomatic approach and went back to public political trade antagonism and confrontation.
That’s the ‘stab-in-the-back’ aspect.
For months Chrystia and Justin have been playing politics with their U.S., Mexico and Canada (NAFTA) trade negotiations. Chrystia and Justin traveling all over the U.S., meeting with liberal comrades and lobbying Washington DC politicians.
I had a feeling this might happen.
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Lucky Day…. Lucky Day… NAFTA squished.
More winnamins.
Delivering remarks in a post G7 press conference, Prime Minister Justin from Canada outlines his perspective on the summit and takes questions from a pre-selected media audience. Many of the questions centered around U.S. positions on trade/tariffs and the Canadian/EU position that U.S. tariffs are illegal; whereas Canadian and EU tariffs are quantifiable expressions of magnanimous intellectual superiority and Americans should spend more time thanking them, instead of these feeble efforts to gain trade reciprocity.
The underlying Trudeau trade premise is that the U.S. should be thankful for the products brought into the U.S. market by Canadians and Europeans. And Americans should express their appreciation through unilateral indulgence-fees for friendship. If President Trump does not agree to continue the cycle of abusive trade policies, the Europeans and Canadians might stop saying they are our closest and most valuable ally.
In the granular details: •On NAFTA Justin from Canada says a sunset clause on any renegotiated trade deal is a non-starter regardless of time-frame. If the U.S. intends to reevaluate the outcomes of a trade deal, there can be no trade deal – ever.
I wish we had caught this interview before the G7 began because it highlights how much energy the international community is expending in their desperation to retain access to the U.S. market. The central issue is how several decades of international trade policy have been built around exploitative one-way access and rules.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, the primary Canadian trade negotiator sat down with The National ahead of the G7 summit to talk about strategies for dealing with the Trump administration, tariffs and expectations for the summit. WATCH:
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There’s a part of this interview that CBC didn’t broadcast, but presented in a twitter video. See below:
The best laid plans of mice-like men simply collapsed when the shadow of President Trump entered the G7 in Charlevoix, Canada.
It’s one thing to talk about the boss when he’s out of town; it’s another thing entirely when he’s sitting next to you. POTUS Trump sets the standard for the scale of influence. Really, it’s such a basic truth – it becomes self-evident. Watch, it is remarkable:
President Trump has taken the Godzilla Trump meme to levels beyond ordinary imaginings. In advance of the G7 summit in Charlevoix, Canada Prime Minister Trudeau sounded the alarm and called in all like-minded allies to help fend off horrible Trump and his arsenal of tariffs.
L-R: European Council President Donald Tusk, British Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. President Donald Trump, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and European Commission President Jean-Claude JunckerFrench President Emmanuel Macron responded to Trudeau’s plea and arrived two-days early to coordinate the strategic message. Together they were looking for leverage in advance of Godzilla Trump’s arrival. Germany’s Angela Merkel, and U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May even brought non-G7 members European Council President Donald Tusk, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker as back-up.
Apparently the six-against-one plan was considered unfair to the six, so they added two more. Unfortunately for Canada, France, Germany and the U.K., Japanese PM Shinzo Abe and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte are not foolish enough to take on Godzilla.
As an entirely predictable outcome, President Trump won again. It’s just so darned funny to watch this play out. The era of the titan is back, and deliciously the titan is an American President, Donald J Trump. He’s one guy, and he has them all surrounded; and he’s laughing the entire time. He’s impenetrable, sharp, funny as heck and monolithic in stature making all of his opposition look decidedly less-than.
Oh man, this is too funny. Remember the Bowing Ball metaphor? Well, in order for the G6+1 grand plan of Emmanuel from France and Justin from Canada to work they would need the U.K, Germany, Japan and Italy to agree…. outlook not-so-good.
President Trump sits down for a bilateral meeting with half of the dynamic duo. President Trump starts out the public comments with a joke-not-joke that Justin will drop all current trade tariffs against the U.S. and Trump will happily concur. ROFLMAO. Immediately drawing out the trade hypocrisy at the heart of matter. Must Watch:
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The disconcerted look on Justin’s face is priceless.
There are visible economic indicators today that positive U.S. MAGAnomic results are overwhelming the voices of purchased political leaders trying to sell a narrative of doom around President Trump’s tariff proposals and reciprocal trade reset. A key point is the U.S. stock market growth amid tariff, trade and NAFTA withdrawal discussion. As CTH has discussed the eventual trade outcomes appear baked into the latest market analysis.
Bolstered by election results showing increased momentum for team MAGA, and decreased likelihood for a Democrat wave, the overall economic news -and factual corporate bottom line results- are flooding the zone with optimism. Amid the strong foundation for U.S. investment and economic growth, the reciprocal trade strategy is no longer heavily feared. Simply put, the ‘America First’ policies are working.
Not only are Trump’s economic policies working (jobs, wages, investment growth), but they are gaining massive momentum as analysts begin to quantify the possibilities of expanded economic growth well beyond the -formerly outrageous- 3% GDP target. The ceiling is being raised faster than the winnamins can be digested.
Amid this U.S. MAGAnomic environment, threats of counter-tariffs by Mexico, Canada and the EU are as useless as feathers in a hurricane:
National Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow conducts a press conference to discuss the upcoming G7 summit in Canada; the pending North Korea Summit; and the current U.S. trade initiatives.
