CTH is more confident than ever about POTUS having a comprehensive understanding of the bigger picture around COVID-19 and China’s Coronavirus outbreak.  In this interview Senator Marco Rubio discusses the risks that China now represents on a myriad of levels.
The Coronavirus issue hits on three main points of policy outlined by President Trump since his initial announcement of candidacy in 2015:  (1) The need for secure borders and strong immigration controls. (2) The need to stop reliance on Chinese manufacturing; and (3) The need for the U.S. to have independent control over key sectors of manufacturing; including healthcare products and pharmaceuticals, as a matter of national security.

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Stay big picture. Think about what you know of the aggressive Communist and strategic disposition of China. In addition to the risks within technology development (well discussed), allowing China to have a heavy influence over critical healthcare supply chains is too dangerous.
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Economic Nationalism -vs- Economic Globalism

Despite the intense doomsayer predictions surrounding the ‘Coronavirus as an economic contagion’ narrative, the U.S. economy remains strong. When evaluating economic impacts for the USA it is important to remember 80 percent of all activity within the U.S. is internal.  We create and consume eighty percent of our own production.

The U.S. economy is unique in the amount of balance within it as compared to other industrial economies.  We are not dependent on exports to sustain our economy; and we are not dependent on any imports at the macro level.  Unlike China, Asia and Europe, and despite decades of efforts by globalists and multinationals, the U.S. generates and sustains a tremendous amount of our own economic prosperity.  First the January data:
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reveals data today showing January wage growth .5%, personal income increases .6%, consumer spending at .2%; overall U.S. savings at $1.33 trillion, and low inflation at 1.7 percent year-over-year.  Solid and stable.
Both consumer spending (+.2 Jan) and inflation (1.6% Jan) were impacted by lower energy prices (-.7%) & mild weather in January.  Reuters spins the lower rate of spending growth to imply a contracting U.S. consumer; there is no data to support that narrative.
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The media is attempting to initiate panic about the Coronavirus in 2020 the same way the media attempted to manufacture panic about an upcoming U.S. recession in 2019.
Earlier today Vice President Mike Pence led a meeting of members of the COVID-19 taskforce.   The segment with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, is interesting.
Dr. Fauci discusses the evolution of novel-coronavirus’ from SARS to MERS to the latest version in COVID-19.  Fauci’s remarks begin at 01:06 of the video below:

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During a mid-afternoon session at the U.S. embassy’s Roosevelt House in New Delhi, India, President Trump met with U.S. and India business leaders. The president cancelled his prepared remarks to the business investors, instead he took questions from roundtable participants.

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White House Manufacturing and Trade Advisor Peter Navarro has been advocating for a return to U.S. production of medical products as a matter of national security.  With the spread of the Chinese Coronavirus and a rapid depletion of medical response products, Navarro’s concerns carry more weight than ever before.
President Trump has tasked Navarro with lead position coordinating the administration response to U.S. supply chain impacts.  In this interview with Charles Payne, Peter Navarro outlines the ongoing efforts to address all Coronavirus impacts.

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On the economic front President Trump has positioned the U.S. to withstand supply chain disruption better than most consumer economies. Starting from a position that the U.S. was too dependent on Chinese products; over the past two years Trump has pressured companies to return to the U.S. or find alternate suppliers outside China. During the two-year tariff battle many companies did exactly that. As a result those companies are not dependent on Chinese component goods. A proactive position is now helping many U.S. companies avoid the China economic contagion, and insulating their business interest.
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White House Trade and Manufacturing Advisor Peter Navarro has an interview with Maria Bartiromo to discuss potential U.S. supply chain issues and the need to reorient our medical equipment manufacturing back to North America.   As Navarro highlights the Chinese communist govt recently nationalized an American medical manufacturing company and commandeered all of their products. An important discussion.
Additionally, Navarro discusses the ongoing administration effort to combat incoming fake products from China still estimated to be over ten percent of all imports.

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National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow appears on CNBC for an extensive interview on upstream economic issues.  With China’s economy at a standstill; and with the troubles of the coronavirus spreading outward; what does that mean for us?
There’s some good questions in this interview.  Domestically, as we noted yesterday, the U.S. economy is strong and growing. However, the Wall Street multinationals are very exposed to the China issues. On the bright side the overall China issues are helping to push more corporate decisions toward domestic investment and away from Beijing.

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Given these lessons being learned, I sure wish we didn’t have China involved in making our medicines and medical products.  The administration needs to look at this more.
Director Kudlow also appeared on Fox Business with Lou Dobbs.
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The potential for supply chain disruption as a result of China dealing with the Coronavirus, and almost a complete shutdown of their manufacturing economy, is looming heavy upon Wall Street multinationals invested in China.
However, tangentially related, as a result of USMCA we are now seeing signs of shifted investment into North America and increases in forecasts for U.S. manufacturing.

(Via CNBC) […] Early in the week, New York’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey for general business conditions posted a reading of 12.9, up 8 points from January and its best level since May. New orders surged to 22.1, the highest since September 2017, and shipments rose to 18.9, the best since November 2018.
On Thursday, the Philadelphia survey exploded 20 points higher to 36.7, the highest since February 2017. New orders hit their highest since May 2018. (more)

The Philadelphia FED tracks factory orders in eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and Delaware.  New orders in that region soared far higher than all expectations, reflecting a strong consumer-driven economy with ongoing purchases of durable goods.
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President Trump and Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno deliver remarks to the press pool prior to a bilateral meeting in the White House. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. It’s great to be with the President of Ecuador — and it’s one of the most beautiful countries in the world — and perhaps equally as important, and maybe even more importantly, your great First Lady. Thank you very much for being here. This is a tremendous honor. Some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world and one of the most beautiful places on Earth, they say. I’ve heard that for a long time.
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Earlier today President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed the President of the Republic of Ecuador and Mrs. Rocio Gonzales De Moreno to the White House.
Ecuador is a key country for stability in central America.  A key topic of discussion between the two leaders will be Venezuela.  Ecuador is suffering firsthand the effects of Nicolas Maduro and his dictatorship in Venezuela with waves of economic migrants from Venezuela arriving through Colombia to Ecuador.   The refugee crisis represents a fiscal strain and also a security threat. There are 400,000 Venezuela refugees in Ecuador.

Counter-narcotics and a trade agreement are also a priority for this meeting. The United States and Ecuador are very close to a free trade agreement. USTR Robert Lighthizer has held a successful round-one negotiation for trade and investment with the Ecuadorian Commerce Ministry; and a second round is likely very soon.

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Ecuador and the United States are working toward an energy and infrastructure framework agreement under America Crece.  Brazil is likely to join in March and they will join Panama, Chile, Argentina, Jamaica, Colombia, El Salvador, and hopefully Ecuador.

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