President Donald Trump and President Moon Jae-in participate in a signing ceremony for the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) at the United Nations in New York. Anticipated start time 3:45pm – 4:00pm EST
UPDATE: Video Added
United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley discusses upcoming international issues that will be addressed by President Trump this week at the United Nations General Assembly.
Topics include: (1) upcoming sanctions against any nation that engages with Iran [stage 2 sanctions scheduled for November 1]. (2) The ongoing conflict in Syria. (3) The denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, and issues with North Korea ballistic missiles. (4) the ongoing trade reset and geopolitical strategy with China.
I will Chair the United Nations Security Council meeting on Iran next week!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 21, 2018
Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Kevin Hassett, appears on Fox News to discuss the overall economy and key performance indicators related to ongoing economic policy. Within the interview (02:32) Chairman Hassett notes the unusual intransigence of Canada to join the U.S-Mexico trade deal.
There are numerous indicators that Canada has made the decision to exploit a “no deal” trade position for maximum domestic political benefit. However, despite Canada’s intransigence the U.S. and Mexico are positioned to finalize the agreement bilaterally.
“I’m a little surprised that the Canadians haven’t signed up yet. I worry that politics in Canada is trumping common sense because there’s a very good deal that was designed by Mexico and the U.S. to appeal to Canada. And they’re not signing up and it’s got everybody over here a little bit puzzled.”
Supporting the U.S. and President Trump today; and underlining how strong the U.S-Mexico trade agreement is; Mexico even went so far as to tell Canada today to be ready for a CAN-MEX bilateral if they don’t join.MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s incoming government will pursue a bilateral deal with Canada if talks to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement falter, Mexican president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday.
The U.S-Canada negotiations ended today without any progress. President Trump delivers a video message about trade:
Foreign Minister Chrystia from Canada is in Washington DC today meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. There are conflicting reports as to the possibility of a trade deal being reached. Canada is heavily relying on internal pressure from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobbying group to sway/leverage the negotiation in their favor.
From the Canadian negotiation position every syllable and syntax is viewed through the prism of politics. From comments amid all the Canadian participants and interests, they view President Trump as the only adversarial U.S. entity in the bilateral discussion. As a consequence of this outlook, all Canadian leverage efforts are targeted toward political opposition of President Trump; with assistance from a U.S. congress that has been purchased by Wall Street lobbyists to align with Canada against U.S. interests.
Peel all the layers away and ultimately this is the political position from which Canada is negotiating. All-in-All, the most likely outcome is NO DEAL.
In order for Canada to accept or join, via a NAFTA 2202 modification, they would need to agree to the U.S-Mexico modification terms. For Canada they would have to:
(more…)
John Solomon and Buck Sexton interviewed President Trump on Tuesday September 18th, 2018, in the Oval Office. The interview covered a variety of subjects and Solomon has posted the transcript [SEE HERE]. The interview reveals some new information, such as President Trump’s 2016 gut instinct to fire FBI Director James Comey, and his advisors –likely Steve Bannon– talking him out of it.
Additionally, within the interview President Trump notes he has not seen the content of the documents he had directed to be declassified; he is relying on the group within congress -Nunes, Jordan, Goodlatte, Meadows, Zeldin, etc.- who have investigated the details and made the requests to the executive office for declassification.
Perhaps the most important aspect to the interview is President Trump putting to rest his direct, brutally honest and forthright opinion of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
(Via The Hill) Buck Sexton: Mr. President, why haven’t you replaced your attorney general, given all the things you’ve said and everything else that’s come out about his actions, or inactions?
President Trump: I’m so sad over Jeff Sessions because he came to me. He was the first senator that endorsed me. And he wanted to be attorney general, and I didn’t see it. But he came very strongly he really wanted to be. And, I let him be.
A few days ago, September 13th, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes was given the Keeper of the Flame Award in Washington DC. Within his acceptance speech Chairman Nunes discusses the significance of this time in U.S. history.
In the days and months following Watergate, the HPSCI was given specific rules within their legislative branch oversight, which actually became the most significant tools -utilized for the first time- to uncover intelligence abuses by the former administration. Additionally, Chairman Nunes expands on the “next steps.”
White House National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro appears on Lou Dobbs show to discuss the Trump administration’s round-two 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. The percentage jumps to 25% on January 1st, 2019.
…When you plant your trees in another man’s orchard, don’t be surprised when you pay for your own apples…
President Trump has instructed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to execute Round Two of tariffs on Chinese imports. The first round applied to $50 billion in products. The current round applies a 10% tariff to $200 billion (effective Sept. 24, 2018), until January 1st, 2019, when the tariff increases to 25%.
The list of products is particularly focused, and happily we note it includes almost all Chinese processed food imports.
Chinese food processing is sketchy, and China has refused to comply with most international food safety programs. However, President Trump spared smart watches from Apple and Fitbit and other consumer products such as bicycle helmets and baby car seats.
In a statement announcing the Round-Two tariffs, President Trump warned China if they take retaliatory action against U.S. farmers or industries, “we will immediately pursue phase three, which is tariffs on approximately $267 billion of additional imports.” That would hit Apple and all consumer good imports. Here’s the announcement and the list of products:
Washington, DC – As part of the United States’ continuing response to China’s theft of American intellectual property and forced transfer of American technology, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today released a list of approximately $200 billion worth of Chinese imports that will be subject to additional tariffs.
In accordance with the direction of President Trump, the additional tariffs will be effective starting September 24, 2018, and initially will be in the amount of 10 percent. Starting January 1, 2019, the level of the additional tariffs will increase to 25 percent.
Earlier today President Trump hosted a meeting with the key administration officials executing the workforce initiatives programs. The programs include expanded vocational training, private-public partnerships for education, and expanded investment in skills training for a modern American workforce.
The National Council for the American Worker is the executive agency tasked with execution of the policies and working with various state and local officials to help increase the skills training for U.S. workers. With a MAGAnomic expanding economy; and with all of the subsequent jobs growth; and with a revitalization of U.S. manufacturing; the workforce initiatives are keys to sustaining successful growth for American workers.