President Trump, together with Team USA, attend the 31st summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) today.  Paying close attention to who Trump is meeting with, along with the specific length of time allocated to each of the bilateral exchanges, helps to measure the value of each participant in the larger economic strategy.

In the morning (Manilla local time – 8pm U.S. Eastern), President Donald J. Trump will participate in a photo opportunity with President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines. The President will then participate in a welcome ceremony for the 31st ASEAN Summit.
Later in the morning, the President will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull of Australia, followed by a bilateral meeting with President Duterte. In the afternoon, the President will attend the 5th U.S.-ASEAN Summit which commemorates the 40th anniversary of U.S.-ASEAN relations.
Later in the afternoon, the President will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India followed by an embassy meet and greet.
Schedule below:
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Those who have walked in the deep weeds of geopolitical strategy know the emphasis the Trump administration has placed on ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) as a counter-balance (control leverage) to the Chinese trade and military expansion.
The ongoing trade and security relationship between the U.S. and India, as well as other regional partners, is a large part of the overarching dynamic.  The ASEAN Summit in Manilla Philippines is an opportunity for President Trump to expand the conversations; enter into deeper discussions surrounding the terms of partnership; and deepen commitments toward larger U.S. international objectives.

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The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region including India, comprises a combined population of 1.85 billion people, one-fourth of the global population. From the perspective of India – “Prime Minister Modi is likely to reassert India’s push to create a global approach to deal with terrorism. He will also pitch steps to boost regional trade. One of the more significant meetings will be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump.”
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The headline says -2.6%, but that’s the median.  The actual 2019 economic predictive modeling for Mexico is up to a 4% contraction if the U.S. cancels NAFTA.  The next round of NAFTA negotiations is scheduled for November 17th.

Additionally, these models are based on current trade economics and do not factor in the ramifications of Mexico joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership; and signing up to manufacturing sector agreements with Asian nations who can easily undercut even the low wage rates in Mexico based on average wealth.
The predictive models are run by various analysts paid by multinational business interests (corporations) to give advanced forecasting.  The results of the forecasts are used by multinational financial systems to determine the inherent value of future investment within Mexico.
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Apologies in advance to our conservative Canadian friends; but the explainer here is regarding America-First trade and economics against the backdrop of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, Canada and Mexico’s alignment therein, the APEC Summit and rainbow socks.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Justin from Canada

Here’s why Canada and Mexico signing up to TPP is great news for the U.S., and couldn’t come at a better time for NAFTA round #5 on November 17th.  We don’t want TPP to collapse, because TPP ties the hands of Canada and Mexico to elements of trade that are based on collective interests. Their joining TPP provides the U.S. leverage in NAFTA.
Remember, Vietnam is exactly 12 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time zone.  At 7:450pm last evening in Vietnam (local time), at the last minute, Rainbow Socks backed out of the signing the TPP framework (explained here).  Twelve hours later, at 7:20am (local), the AP reported the agreement was “back on” with “a compromise”:

DANANG, Vietnam (AP) — The Latest on the summit of 21 Pacific Rim economies in Vietnam (all times local): 7:20 a.m. – Trade ministers say they have reached a basic agreement on a Pacific Rim trade pact without the United States.

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President Donald Trump delivered an defiant opening speech at the 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in Da Nag, Vietnam earlier today. Speaking to an Asia-Pacific audience consisting of over 400 top corporate CEO’s, international leaders, and key heads-of-state from the region, President Trump outlined his expectation for trade relationships with ALL member states.
Trump began by walking through a list of the primary regional nations, praising each for their history and culture and then highlighting their modern success and advancement in economics and trade.  Then President Trump shifted to economics and national security; delivering a strong and deliberate message that the era of unfair trade practices, and one-sided trade deals, with the U.S. was over.

…”We can no longer tolerate these chronic trade abuses, and we will not tolerate them. […] that is why I am here today. […] The current trade imbalance is not acceptable. […] From this day forward, we will compete on a fair and equal basis. We are not going to let the United States be taken advantage of anymore.”…

As noted by a tuned-in observer of the tone in delivery.  President Trump’s delivery to the audience was as bold and defiant as his presentation at the Al Smith dinner in 2016.  No punches were pulled, no ambiguity in motive. Trump dropped the atomic sledgehammer of economic truth upon the increasingly nervous audience. It was spectacular.  WATCH:

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[TRANSCRIPT] PRESIDENT TRUMP: What an honor it is to be here in Vietnam — in the very heart of the Indo-Pacific — to address the people and business leaders of this region.
This has already been a remarkable week for the United States in this wonderful part of the world. Starting from Hawaii, Melania and I traveled to Japan, South Korea, and China, and now to Vietnam, to be here with all of you today.
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If you haven’t followed the entirety of how the “Freedom Alliance” was assembled in the very early months shortly after the election of President Donald Trump, it’s hard to understand the scope of what is taking place in the middle-east.
The nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), led by Saudi Arabia, are on the cusp of transforming themselves into a modern and engaged era. The goals of the GCC allies, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) are to remove the influence agents who have supported extremism, the Muslim Brotherhood, and stimulated and/or enabled crisis for personal and ideological gains.
Because of the financial reach within the parties involved, the downstream consequences are being felt within the political bodies of most nations including our own. Specifically within Washington DC’s deep-state institutions, career politicians on foreign affairs committees, and within the upper and lower tiers of the aggregate U.S. State Dept.  A great realignment is taking place.

Caption: There will come a time when you will need to choose a side. Think wisely…

French President Emmanuel Macron said today he will make an unexpected trip to Saudi Arabia after leaving the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to see Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and discuss crises in Lebanon, Yemen and the wider region.  This happens simultaneous to the UAE announcing they too are examining bank accounts for their own officials, officers and leaders within their nation.

DUBAI (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron is making a previously unscheduled trip to Saudi Arabia on Thursday to see Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, notably over Lebanon and Yemen.

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President Trump and President Xi Jinping will be holding a joint press announcement from the Grand Hall in Beijing China tonight at approximately 11:30pm (U.S. Eastern time zone). There will be two statements delivered, one from President Trump and one from President Xi.
Because all Chinese broadcasts are controlled by the communist regime, the White House will not host a live stream. However, the joint statement as delivered should be carried on cable TV and possibly included in the Live Stream Options Below:
UPDATE: Video Added

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After an hour of scheduled “closed-door” one-on-one “private” discussion between President Trump and President Xi, the leaders of both nations reassemble with their delegations for discussions between the larger groups.
Beijing Schedule: At 10:40am (local) / 9:40pm (U.S. Eastern) President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping lead an expanded bilateral meeting with their respective emissaries of trade, finance and national security.  (Video of initial remarks)

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(Pool Report) The meeting took place in an elaborately adorned room in the Great Hall of the People.  The US and Chinese delegations faced each other at a pair of long tables. Trump and Xi sat in the middle of the table. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and US ambassador to China Terry Branstad stay on either side of Trump. Trump and Xi both spoke for a few minutes.
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As any interested geopolitical observer will undoubtedly note, the Trump administration is systematically deconstructing the capability of multinational corporate interests to continue their decades-long exploitation of political and economic control.
Within that geopolitical battle President Donald Trump assembled a team of the sharpest, smartest and most patriotic U.S. economic insiders any administration has ever put together.  These are, quite frankly “the killers” President Trump talked about during the campaign.
The killers, dragon slayers amid the big and consequential battles, are, as an outcome of their intended objective, an existential threat to the influence of globalists who have held exclusive multinational economic control and influence for the past 30+ years.
Chief among the team is Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross; a multi-billionaire in the strata of trade and finance, who, like Trump and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, set aside his own life of wealth accumulation and went to work on behalf of team ‘America-First’.  The goal of Ross is to deconstruct and restructure international trade agreements which have been killing the American middle-class for decades.   In that role, Wilbur Ross is a preeminent threat.
It cannot be overstated how effective the America-First team are in carrying out their strategy.  USTR Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross are crushing their globalist opponents.
On virtually every continent the state actors within the multinational systems are reacting to the tectonic changes in geopolitical economics. India, China, Russia, the European Union, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Mexico, South America, Africa, Australia and the larger economies within the ASEAN nations are all changing or reversing their economic positions specifically because there’s a new head at the table of influence commanded by President Donald J Trump.
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United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was interviewed by Fox News host Laura Ingraham ahead of his important participation in the Asia trip.
Within the interview Ambassador Lighthizer shows his wolverine attitude toward the ongoing trade deals and his role within the larger geopolitical strategy of the Trump Doctrine.  There’s solid, affirming and unwavering economic insight within this interview.
Interestingly Lighthizer mentions the national security aspects inherent within the administration’s economic trade strategy. He details how his role, within the larger policy, is to focus intensely on achieving the best ‘America-First‘ trade deal possible. “Killers”.
Secretary Wilbur Ross (commerce), Secretary Steven Mnuchin (treasury), Secretary Rex Tillerson (state) and Secretary James Mattis (defense) then collate the outcome and ultimately President Trump makes the final decision.  Working in concert, together they map how to use the leverage within the Lighthizer’s deals to achieve national security objectives.

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