{{snicker}} Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has announced a decision to delay a Commerce Department decision on Aluminum until sometime before November 30th.

…”Commerce said it would issue its preliminary determination in the aluminum foil case – along with a decision on China’s non-market economy status – by Nov. 30. A final duty determination is expected 75 days later.”…

When you analyze the Trump Doctrine, using economics as leverage for national security objectives, it becomes easier to understand the ebb, flow and timing of Wilbur Ross trade determinations. Economics, trade policy and national security objectives are all connected.
WASHINGTON(Reuters) – The U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday it would defer issuing its preliminary determination in an anti-dumping duty probe into imports of aluminum foil from China.
The department said in a statement the delay would allow it “to fully analyze information pertaining to China’s status as a non-market economy (NME) country.”
U.S. aluminum foil producers have filed petitions with the U.S. government accusing Chinese manufacturers of dumping the product in the United States. In 2016, imports of aluminum foil from China were valued at an estimated $389 million, department figures show.
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CARIBBEAN SEA (NNS) — President Donald J. Trump visited the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), Oct. 3, to discuss relief efforts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands with Navy and Marine Corps leadership.  President Trump met with Governor Kenneth Mapp of the US Virgin Islands aboard the Kearsarge:

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Ward Room – USS Kearsarge – [Transcript] 2:54 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, thank you very much. I wanted to begin by saying well be leaving tomorrow morning very early from the White House. Well be going to Las Vegas. We will be paying our personal respects and condolences to everybody.
What happened is such a tragedy. So unnecessary — who can believe what happened in Las Vegas. Great love for the people, great love for the people of our country, and I look forward to going tomorrow. The First Lady will be coming with me, and were going to be paying our respects and condolences. Well be leaving early in the morning.
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The Backstory Here Is Important – Those who travel the deep weeds of politics might remember back in August when the Trump administration delayed $300 million in economic aid to Egypt.  The U.S. media made quite a fuss about it and claimed U.S. Egyptian relations would be stressed.  Reminder:

CAIRO— Egypt reacted angrily Wednesday to the Trump administration’s decision to cut or delay nearly $300 million in military and economic aid over human rights concerns, a surprise move given the increasingly close ties that have bound the two allies since President Donald Trump took office in January.

Hours after the U.S. announcement, Trump’s Middle East envoy, son-in-law Jared Kushner, arrived in Egypt as part of a Middle East tour to try to revive Arab-Israeli peace talks. He met with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and later conferred with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry before leaving for Israel.

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President Donald Trump spent much of the weekend working from his New Jersey golf club in Bedminister and then attended the international golf competition, The President’s Cup, at Liberty National Golf Course in Jersey City.
President Trump presented the winning trophy to Team U.S.A., and with compliments to the international competition dedicated the trophy to the people of Puerto Rico, Florida and Texas who are dealing with the aftermath of three devastating hurricanes.

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President Trump tweeted this morning while Secretary Rex Tillerson is in China meeting with Xi Jinping about what to do with North Korea. ….or put another way: Tillerson chats about Rocket-boy consequences with big Panda while the sound of a lion roaring is heard over the background of the bamboo forest.
If you’ve been following along, Trump/Tillerson creating the need for ‘Magnanimous Panda’ is actually quite fun to watch unfold.

President Trump will never use the U.S. military to solve this regional issue.  The national security strategy is based entirely on economics (leverage) and diplomacy (ownership).  President Trump’s words and rhetoric against Kim Jong-un, and the response from Jong-un in kind toward President Trump, creates the foundation of a need for magnanimous panda to step in.
Remember, Beijing doesn’t want to take ownership of DPRK.  China prefers to retain influence over behavior, they are the enablers, but not be directly responsible for the enforcement of any agreement which comes with attached consequences (economic punishment) for DPRK violations.
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Ahead of an upcoming trip by President Donald Trump, and against the backdrop of economic sanctions by Trump/Mnuchin and the U.N. toward North Korea, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson works on the “Magnanimous Panda” strategy within the Trump Doctrine.
The ‘Big Picture’ goal is for China to accept responsibility, publicly, for spearheading the denuclearizing program within an established “six party talk” framework.  China ultimately becoming the guarantor of a denuclearized DPRK, and President Trump stroking the Panda Fur (praise) while simultaneously controlling the amount of bamboo in the Beijing forest.  So far, things are proceeding swimmingly.

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping offered warm words for U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday, calling him a friend and saying he expected Trump’s visit to China in November would be “wonderful”.

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President Donald Trump discusses the short-term (relief) and long-term (recovery) efforts for Puerto Rico.    As everyone is aware, even before the storm the island territory was under financial collapse as a result of Democrat mismanagement and generational political agendas’ creating a culture of dependency.
Hurricane Maria has exacerbated Puerto Rico’s problems and is showcasing a governmental structure incapable of governing during crisis.  The media hypes the suffering, yet omits the Island’s inept systems of governance and the culture of dependency.  The only way the U.S. federal government can assist effectively is by taking over almost every aspect of state and local government.
As President Trump points out in this impromptu press conference, congress has some decisions to make on the long-term future of Puerto Rico.  Throwing money at the problem is futile when the recipient systems are fraught with ineptitude and corruption.

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After several conversations with dozens of relief and recovery workers the message to CTH from boots-on-the-ground is the same: the culture of dependency is jaw-dropping. Watch the raw background footage from Western media on the island and see if you can spot any native Puerto Rican residents doing much, if anything, to help themselves.
FUBAR
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President Donald Trump delivers a speech outlining the latest tax reform plan to an audience at the National Association of Manufacturers in Washington, D.C.

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[Transcript – 11:41 A.M. EDT] THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Taking up a lot of television time, but that’s okay. (Laughter.) Thank you all very much. It’s great to be here with the National Association of Manufacturers. And I especially want to thank your president, Jay Timmons, and your chairman, David Farr, along with all of the members of Congress that are here today. And they’re working hard, I will tell you that.
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GOP Majority Whip Steve Scalise returns to congress today following almost four months of surgery and recovery from an attempted assassination at a June congressional baseball team practice.  Scalise received an emotional welcome and shared how his prayers had been answered during his recovery process.

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We’ll dig through the tax reform details as they become available.  However, pragmatic #MAGA Trump supporters would be wise not to get too far out in advance of supporting this GOPe tax reform package yet.

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The reason for caution is quite simple.  Notice the players, the key constructionists. These are the exact same Decepticons who constructed the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) trade deal, and who operate in DC on behalf of their multinational corporate sponsors and benefactors. The representatives within this press conference are the EXACT SAME members who constructed TPP and pushed Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) to ensure its legislative passage.
On the broad overview so far – it would appear the Decepticons are following their traditional UniParty playbook.  Meaning they are following the road-map that continues the status quo by announcing a program not structurally established to meet the guidelines of the Trump MAGA agenda; at least as it was initially described.  Much like the ruse with Obamacare repeal and replacement efforts the GOPe often do this intentionally.
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