This is actually a very surprising development.  The World Bank (WB) is a heavily controlled multinational exploit of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and World Economic Forum assembly (WEF).  This could be looked upon as the WTO/WEF taking a knee as they finally accept Godzilla Trump is not going to relent.  Remember, the Build Back Better agenda was a construct from the WEF/WTO.

Looking a little more deeply at the people behind the latest shift in tone and paying close attention to the wording they are using, there’s an inference the World Bank is telling Europe to stop being intransigent or they will lose U.S. military support.  A very unusual shift in WB tone.

In my first review opinion, as the legal arbitration system for trade complaints, the WB are trying to mitigate President Trump’s full-frontal assault on the global trade imbalance that brings the global trade wealth back to the USA.

NEW YORK POST […] – Top economists at the international institution, which helps finance low and middle-income countries, acknowledged that many nations do not provide reciprocal trade access to the US.

“This [situation] could not be sustained indefinitely,” the World Bank’s chief economist, Indermit Gill, said during a news briefing, the Washington Post reported.

[Gill] contended that Trump’s actions were merely a response to uneven trade access between other countries and the US.

Other experts at the World Bank concurred with that assessment and indicated that Europe, Japan and China should all take steps to reduce trade barriers on the US, while calling for an across-the-board rollback on tariffs on all sides. (more)

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be departing London, leaving Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to finalize the details with the Chinese trade delegation.

Apparently, the talks have been very productive according to Bessent and extended well beyond the previously scheduled timeline as they get very specific with the expectations and terms of compliance.

LONDON – U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday he is departing ongoing trade talks with China because he has to travel to Washington, D.C., to testify before Congress the next day.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will remain in London to continue the negotiations with Beijing, which are still underway after two lengthy days of talks, Bessent said.

Lutnick said earlier that the parties were “trying to finish” by Tuesday evening.

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CONTEXT for Los Angeles Riots:  Approximately 12.3 million Mexicans live abroad, both legally and illegally, with 97% of them living and working in the United States, according to BBVA Research.  Last year Mexicans living abroad sent $64.75 billion back home in remittances, largely from Texas and California to states in central and western Mexico.

According to data recently released, in April of this year remittances back to Mexico dropped 12.1%.  The Mexico central bank said April saw 8.1% fewer transactions than a year earlier, that’s down to 12.4 million transactions. For Mexico this is a devastating outcome.

How dependent is the Mexican Govt on these remittances?  Remittances sent home by Mexicans working outside the country surpassed petroleum revenues in 2015. {link} Oil Revenue in 2015 was 23.4 billion; remittances were $24.8 billion.  Last year in 2024 remittances were $64.75 billion…. and in April of this year the remittances dropped by 12.1%.

If you don’t think there is a critical financial motive in this, think again.

CALIFORNIA – About 700 U.S. Marines were mobilized Monday to support the California National Guard to protect federal personnel and property in Los Angeles during protests there, officials said.

The mobilization of the Marines from their base in Twentynine Palms, California, is temporary, to give time for additional National Guard troops to arrive.

Earlier Monday, President Donald Trump said he would support arresting California Gov. Gavin Newsom for purportedly obstructing federal immigration enforcement actions in Los Angeles.

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The blood slowly drains from the face of Margaret Brennan as she faces the indefatigable smiling truth that Kevin Hassett represents. The furrowed brows deepen, the lips pulsate to a purple posture, the accusatory sanctimony drips from her squints and failed constructs until ultimately, she is reduced to a sneering inflection of autonomous twitching.

Kevin Hassett smiles, thanks Ms. Brennan for her endeavors, outlines the White House position on the BBB and China trade negotiations, then happily orders an ice-cream cone for his walk back to the office on a bright sunny day.

[TRANSCRIPT] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re joined now by the Director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett. He joins us from the White House. Good morning to you.

KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Hey Margaret, good morning.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So I do want to allow you to respond to some of the very specific criticisms that Senator Klobuchar made. One of the things she brought up was something that, frankly, the Senate Majority Leader seemed to acknowledge was under discussion, and that was touching Medicare, making some kind of adjustment. He said anything we can do that’s waste, fraud, and abuse is open to discussion. Is the White House open to any discussion around Medicare?

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After President Trump had a direct telephone call with Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping, President Trump announced from the Oval Office that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would meet with their counterparts from China again, only this time Bessent and Greer will be accompanied by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

President Trump repeated the same announcement via Truth Social:  “I am pleased to announce that Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Jamieson Greer, will be meeting in London on Monday, June 9, 2025, with Representatives of China, with reference to the Trade Deal. The meeting should go very well. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

While each of the trade Wolverines have teeth, Howard Lutnick is the enforcer. The issue surrounds prior promises made in Geneva to Bessent and Greer on the continuation of mined and refined rare earth minerals from China needed in batteries.

The addition of Lutnick is akin to President Trump saying, go ahead and make the promise again – only this time Lutnick will be there to spell out the consequences of inaction.

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President Trump and the trade team have made specific requests of Vietnam in order to negotiate a trade agreement.  Unfortunately, just like Canada, Vietnam’s problem is not an unwillingness to comply, it’s their inability.

CTH was in the manufacturing base of Vietnam in January; their factories are loaded with component parts from China used to produce finished goods sent to the USA (and globally).  President Trump is telling Vietnam they need to reduce their reliance on Chinese imported component goods, but China has spent billions in advanced positioning and contracts, influencing Vietnam.

Vietnam is a very poor country, and their population cannot afford to purchase the products they manufacture.  They do not have a domestic consumption base. They are reliant on exports to more wealthy nations to keep their manufacturing base afloat.  Practically, it is easy to have sympathy for Vietnam due to their economic dependence on both China (for imported raw materials) and the USA (for exported finished goods).

VIETNAM – The US has sent a “long” list of “tough” requests to Vietnam in its tariff negotiations, including demands that could force the country to cut its reliance on Chinese industrial goods imports, two people briefed about the matter told Reuters.

Washington wants Vietnam-based factories to reduce their use of materials and components from China and is asking the country to control more carefully its production and supply chains, one of the people briefed on the talks said, without elaborating on whether quantitative targets were included.

The list is part of an “annex” to a framework text prepared by US negotiators, according to four people familiar with the matter.

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A few datapoints to keep on a post-it note as things progress; starting with a rather significant new release that I think you will find interesting.

Approximately 12.3 million Mexicans live abroad, both legally and illegally, with 97% of them living and working in the United States, according to BBVA Research.  Last year Mexicans living abroad sent $64.75 billion back home in remittances, largely from Texas and California to states in central and western Mexico.

According to data just released, in April of this year remittances back to Mexico dropped 12.1%.  The Mexico central bank said April saw 8.1% fewer transactions than a year earlier, that’s down to 12.4 million transactions. For Mexico this could be a devastating trend.  [Sidenote: Remember, Trump is likely planning a complete overhaul of the USMCA later this year.]

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Remittances sent to Mexico slumped 12.1% in April compared to a year earlier, according to central bank data published on Monday, marking the steepest drop in over a decade as U.S. lawmakers mull a tax on such payments sent abroad.

The world’s second-largest recipient of remittances, Mexico receives these payments chiefly from migrants working in the neighboring United States. In April, Mexicans abroad sent fewer transactions and smaller payments, totaling $4.76 billion.

Analysts said the slump likely resulted from a broad crackdown on migration in the U.S. since President Donald Trump came to power in January, as authorities revoke some Biden-era protections and increase raids across the country.

The latest data marks the steepest year-on-year drop since September 2012, according to central bank data.

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appears on CBS News to counter the false information being spread by Margaret Brennan on behalf of Wall Street corporations.  The topics of interest surround China and tariffs.

Let me clarify for the audience that does not follow closely.  Tariffs are paid by the importer based on the wholesale price of the product as delivered by the exporting country depending on the exporters’ tariff rate.  Tariffs are NOT LEVIED/PAID based on the retail price of the product as sold to the consumer.

Example:  A pair of Denim Jeans made in China for Guess Brand.  The Chinese manufacturer sells the jeans to Guess Brand for $10 a pair manufactured.  Guess sells the jeans at retail in the USA for $100 (a $90 gross profit).

A 50% tariff on China means the jeans cost Guess Brand $15 instead of $10 (an $85 gross profit).  A 50% tariff on Guess brand jeans, that retail for $100, changes the cost to the retail brand by $5.

Multinational corporations who have off shored their production and manufacturing to China are the ones screaming about tariffs.  Ultimately in the final analysis, President Trump is exposing corporatism, multinational corporate vultures; he is not necessarily just exposing China.

In the example above the company makes $85 gross profit as opposed to $90 gross profit on the pair of jeans if they do not raise the retail price.  They don’t raise the price because their profit margins are already ridiculous, and that’s why consumer prices do not go up. A 50% direct tariff on Chinese goods only marginally hits the multinational corporation.  American consumers need to understand this dynamic better.    WATCH: 

[TRANSCRIPT] – MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning and welcome to ‘Face the Nation.’ We begin today with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Good morning and thank you for being here.

SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Morning, Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: There’s so much to get to. I want to start with China, because the Defense Secretary just said there’s an imminent military threat from China to Taiwan. Days earlier, Secretary Rubio said he’d aggressively revoked Chinese student visas. On top of that, you have curbing exports to China. Trade talks you said with Beijing are stalled, and President Trump just accused China of violating an agreement, and now says no more, ‘Mr. Nice Guy.’ Are you intentionally escalating this standoff with Beijing?

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Next week on Thursday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is scheduled to travel to Washington DC and meet with President Donald Trump in the White House.  Considering the importance of Germany to the EU economy and subsequent trade relationship with the U.S, this meeting with Merz will likely be the most important discussion toward a possible U.S-E.U. trade agreement.

Germany is the largest economy within the EU and the core industrial base of the European Union.  The number one issue for the German people is their economic status: everything else circles around this priority.

Having spent time in Hamburg, Bremen, Dresden and Frankfurt, it is very clear to me the German people are very focused on work and their vocations. Germans overall, take their economic standing very personally and seriously.

Inasmuch as Merz may have to represent the interests of the larger EU in his approach, he will undoubtedly be focused on what is in Germany’s best interest, with all else second.

For President Trump this specific German interest creates a unique facet of leverage within the larger EU trade discussion.  Because the German economy is so vital, whatever terms Germany decides are the core terms the EU will manifest in their trade and tariff negotiations.

I predict we will hear a talking point from Merz, in generally German snark, something akin to a proposal for a zero-tariff base on the import and export of heavy industrial goods (machinery) for both Germany and the USA.  I say in general German snark because passive-aggressive Chancellor Merz knows the U.S. is currently not in a position to sell Germany heavy industrial goods, and that’s entirely what President Trump is trying to recreate with the trade/tariff policy.

WASHINGTON DC – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Washington next week to meet United States President Donald Trump for the first time since taking office earlier this month.

The leaders will meet in the White House on Thursday and are expected to discuss the war in Ukraine, the Middle East and trade policy, German government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said in an emailed statement.

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The President of the United States, representing the executive branch, takes aggressive emergency action on tariffs and trade to protect American fiscal sovereignty and solvency.  Both chambers of the U.S. congress, the house and senate representing the Legislative branch, affirm the action through legislative support.  Yet, a single court in the judicial branch intervenes on behalf of multinational corporate interests to block trade policy.

That is the framework of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s main point in a discussion with Fox News Bret Baier.  WATCH:

On the DOGE issue, listen to how a well-versed professional executive with years of experience in institutional reform discusses taking the DOGE team effort and integrating them into his massive agency as part of an operational efficiency overhaul.

Compare Secretary Bessent’s approach to other cabinet officials who have yet to grasp and execute the efficiency model that has been handed to them by the DOGE effort.  The contrast is remarkable.

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