National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow discusses the Sept. Jobs report, the ISM manufacturing and non-manufacturing reports and the next stages of U.S.-China trade negotiations.
Kudlow notes job growth in the Household survey was a stunning 391,000 in September.

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Kudlow also appeared on Bloomberg to discuss similar aspects of the latest reports (below).
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In the larger picture it is clear the Obama administration weaponized the institutions of government to target their political opposition. It is also increasingly clear a Hillary Clinton administration would have monetized the U.S. government.
President Obama’s team used the DOJ, CIA, FBI and IRS to target their opposition. The intelligence apparatus was weaponized; one small example that scratches the surface is the FBI/NSA database exploitation. Black files on DC politicians, private sector groups and individuals facilitating leverage, and we are still seeing the ramifications.
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When former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne recently discussed his role within the 2016  “political espionage” operations, he described the financial interests of political office; not coincidentally he also seems to have retreated into a safe-space.
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White House trade and manufacturing policy advisor Peter Navarro appears on Fox Business to discusses the World Trade Organization ruling granting the U.S. $7.5 billion in annual tariff countermeasures against the EU.

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Jumpin’ ju-ju bones – The Trump administration via U.S. Trade Rep Robert Lighthizer and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross won a massive $7.5 billion award as an outcome of the World Trade Organization agreeing with the U.S. against the EU and Airbus subsidies.  The WTO arbitrators decision is final and cannot be appealed.
This win sets the stage for President Trump to deploy $7.5 billion in countervailing duties against products from the EU.  Keep in mind, a final WTO ruling means the EU cannot retaliate against any WTO-authorized countermeasures.  The downstream ramifications are very significant. Think about it: at 25% the U.S. could tariff $30 billion in EU goods.

Man, talk about serendipitous timing… But first, here’s the press release from Robert Lighthizer:

Washington, D.C.–  The United States has won the largest arbitration award in World Trade Organization (WTO)  history in its dispute with the European Union over illegal subsidies to Airbus.  This follows four previous panel and appellate reports from 2011-2018 finding that EU subsidies to Airbus break WTO rules.
Today’s decision demonstrates that massive EU corporate welfare has cost American aerospace companies hundreds of billions of dollars in lost revenue over the nearly 15 years of litigation.

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White House trade and manufacturing advisor Peter Navarro appears on CNBC to discuss the Bloomberg news story about the White House blocking U.S. investment in China.  Additionally, Navarro is asked about U.S-China trade discussions.
This interview happens on the heels of a massive win for the White House at the Universal Postal Union Congress, where the UPU accepted that inbound package deliveries to the United States will no longer be subsidized by U.S. taxpayers – {Details Here}.

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There are two aspects to this recent story: the visible surface issue; and the unspoken issue below the surface.  In essence, there’s more here than most will recognize at first blush.
The surface level aspect is the Trump administration considering a block on U.S. investments into the opaque financial system that is China.
The U.S. financial media view the proposal through the prism of the White House looking for leverage over Beijing during negotiations:

(Via CNBC) […] Restricting financial investments in Chinese entities would be meant to protect U.S. investors from excessive risk due to lack of regulatory supervision, the source said.
The deliberations come as the U.S. looks for additional levers of influence in trade talks, which resume on Oct. 10 in Washington. Both countries slapped tariffs on billions of dollars worth of each other’s goods. The discussions also come as the Chinese government is taking steps to increase foreign access to its markets.

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President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan sign “stage-one” of a U.S-Japan trade agreement negotiated by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Foreign Minister Motegi; both are very strong negotiators.
The agreement has been in the works for several years as President Trump and PM Abe both held firm to positions that benefit both.  [Video and Transcript Below] Japan is the fulcrum for Trump’s Indo-Pacific trade reset; PM Abe recognizes the importance of positioning Japan to benefit from the decoupling between the U.S. and China.  Trade can be boring at times, but this jousting is actually a lot of fun; don’t miss it.

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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much everybody for being here. I’m honored to be alongside my great friend, Prime Minister Abe of Japan, to formally announce our first stage of a phenomenal new trade agreement with our close ally. They’ve been a great friend, and the Prime Minister has been my great friend.
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President Trump and Prime Minister Abe are essentially peas and carrots engaged in friendly economic competition.  The relationship between them is genuine warmth and respect. During their bilateral today President Trump praised the U.S-Japan announcement as big deal, adding it “took a lot of work to get it done.“
Abe has been my friend, POTUS said, adding that Japan – on his request – has been building their plants in the US. In Michigan, in Ohio.  Prime Minister Abe said: “Once again, I’d like to share with you my enthusiasm“ about this agreement. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. We have some of our great farmers and ranchers and businesspeople in the room, and likewise Japan. And we have tremendous representatives — some of the biggest people anywhere in the world — what we’re going and the agreement that we just signed. And it’s an honor to have you with us. I thought you could join us for this meeting.
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Today, President Donald J. Trump met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Republic of India at the United Nations General Assembly. The leaders discussed progress on different aspects of their strategic partnership and upcoming opportunities to ensure it remains strong. The President reaffirmed the importance of greatly increasing trade between the United States and India, and highlighted the need for resolving barriers to free, fair, and reciprocal trade, which includes improving United Statescompanies’ market access in India.  [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. It’s a great honor, as you know, to be with — because we were together just the other day in front of 59,000 people in the stadium, and that was a great day — Prime Minister Modi of India.
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin talks to FOX Business’ Lou Dobbs about the current status of U.S-China trade negotiations.  Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer have been working together on the overall China issues.
Mnuchin delivers a deliberate explanation of the current status.

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