Beijing is quickly recognizing they have painted themselves into an economic corner. Beijing enables the DPRK.  President Trump specifically targets this reality as the solution to North Korea’s aggression: ¹Beijing tells DPRK to do stupid thing.  ²DPRK does stupid thing.  ³Trump hits Xi Jinping with economic punishment for stupid thing.
In an effort to keep the panda mask as the primary focus of the international (investment) community; and facing another set of financial sanctions by President Trump and Secretary Mnuchin; and after President Trump explains to Xi Jinping that unrelenting  economic pressure will only get worse; Beijing tells Chinese banks to cut off financial relationships with North Korea.
BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) – China’s central bank has told banks to strictly implement United Nations sanctions against North Korea, four sources told Reuters, amid U.S. concerns that Beijing has not been tough enough over Pyongyang’s repeated nuclear tests.
Tensions between the United States and North Korea have ratcheted up after the sixth and most powerful nuclear test conducted by Pyongyang on Sept. 3 prompted the United Nations Security Council to impose further sanctions last week.
Chinese banks have come under scrutiny for their role as a conduit for funds flowing to and from China’s increasingly isolated neighbor.
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In about a week Round #3 of NAFTA renegotiations begin in Canada.  Dispute settlement and country of origin rules are widely anticipated to be key points of disagreement.
For those who follow trade and economics closely, the latest Trump trade policy outline from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is buckets of good news. President Trump, Commerce Secretary Ross and USTR Lighthizer willing to confront the World Trade Organization (WTO), the epicenter of multinational economics and globalism.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The WTO dispute settlement system is “deficient” and has often ruled in favor of free trade that overlooks details of a trade agreement, U.S. trade envoy Robert Lighthizer said on Monday.
Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Lighthizer, a trade lawyer, made clear that the administration was poised to push for major changes to the global trade system during upcoming meetings of the Geneva-based trade body. WTO member countries will meet in Buenos Aires on Dec 10.
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U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly today in New York.
In a brief joint press availability President Trump stated an optimistic outlook, “an absolute go”, toward the potential for a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

CTH readers will note the ongoing quiet diplomacy that has been a foundational block of the Trump administration from day-one.   In an under-reported recent development Hamas has agreed to hand Gaza to a unity government of the Palestinian Authority.
Those who follow the mid-east closely will note the need for Hamas and the P.A. to align in singular voice was a precondition to the stabilization efforts of Egypt when President Fattah al-Sisi negotiated cease-fire terms in 2014.  President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry were cut-out from the conversation that eventually led to that cease-fire.
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Good interview with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and CBS John Dickerson.  Worth noting the nuance in Tillerson’s statements about messaging toward China, specifically Beijing.  Those who have followed CTH analysis of the administrations China/DPRK strategy will note how Tillerson discusses the enmeshed relationship and the strategy of using economics as leverage toward China.
Tillerson also discusses the upcoming President Trump U.N. speech and the geopolitical alliances the administration has assembled to confront freedom’s adversaries.

QUESTION: Good morning and welcome to Face the Nation. I’m John Dickerson. We’ll get to the story that dominated news coverage most of last week, that of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, but there’s a lot of other news coming up this morning and so we’re going to begin by talking to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Mr. Secretary, welcome. Let me start with the Paris climate accord. The Wall Street Journal reported that the administration was looking for a way to stay in it, but in June President Trump said it was time to exit. So what is the administration position?
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CNN interview with Dana Bash, John King’s ex wife, and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley discussing DPRK, London Bombing, DACA and additional administration policies.
Two quick points:  #1] Overall Haley does well.  However, those who watch closely will note Haley continues to keep one solid foot in UniParty/GOPe position.  She’s straddling the MAGA fence.  Obviously evaluating her career against the party apparatchik.
#2] Don’t be surprised to see less angst toward Trump’s foreign policy strategy.  Obviously the corporate media TDS moonbats won’t change their stance; however, those who look at the larger geopolitical issues are beginning to see indications of how The Trump Doctrine is actually beginning to make significant strategic sense.  They’re late to this comprehension, but it their awakening is notable nonetheless.

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Everything is about the economics.  DACA, NAFTA, N-Korea, UniParty, all of it.  It’s the underlying financial and multinational economic constructs, being deconstructed by a U.S. ‘America-First’ President, that are driving the anti-Trump policy narrative.

When reading this article from Reuters interviewing Mexico’s Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray, remember to review through the prism of prior known activity.  On the NAFTA front, a continual 5 year review is against Mexico’s interests because it has the potential to address back-doors and work-arounds that multinationals will find in concert with a willingness on Mexico to exploit.  Wilburine ain’t no dummy.
Secondly, on the John Kelly comments, remember General Kelly participated in South American and U.S. Mexico summits as head of DHS.  Kelly knows the tenuous nature of Mexico’s economy; while it’s doubtful that Kelly used the exact terminology used by the New York Times to create an anti-administration narrative, there’s no doubt of the reality that Mexico’s economy is tenuous at best.

The head of Mexico’s central banking system, Agustin Carstens resigned last December, and continues his role within the World Bank.  President Trump’s policies are against the financial interests of Mexico.  The outflow of U.S. dollars by Mexican nationals props up the Mexican economy.  Clamp down on illegal immigration, and, well, you can see the possibility.  Remember, there are trillions of dollars at stake – and those interests extend well beyond the U.S. borders.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s foreign minister on Friday said a U.S. plan to add a five-year sunset provision to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was redundant, since the pact’s members can already trigger a renegotiation or leave it at any time.

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UPDATE: The second round of NAFTA renegotiation concluded today in Mexico City, Mexico. A joint statement was released:
Washington, DC – On September 5, 2017, United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Secretary of the Economy Ildefonso Guajardo concluded the second round of the renegotiation and modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in Mexico City, Mexico. This concluded five days of meetings by a team of subject matter experts covering various negotiation topics.
Building on the progress made in the First Round of the renegotiation and modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and Mexican Secretary of the Economy Ildefonso Guajardo, today successfully concluded the Second Round of negotiations, which took place in Mexico City from September 1 – 5.
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As you might remember, in response to a thermonuclear atomic weapons test by North Korea Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is now in the process of writing additional sanctions he will guide into the hands of U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Ambassador Haley will then create a U.N. Security Council resolution containing further economic sanctions toward North Korea using treasury department guidance.
However, as a direct result of the escalation from the DPRK, we can easily predict the final draft will not just target North Korea, but will more substantively target North Korea’s economic enablers.
This is where things get super interesting because all prior U.N. action has built upon itself to these specific ‘enabler’ state sanctions.
Through two rounds of Security Council resolutions both China and Russia have supported the economic sanctions, knowing they would use various workarounds to continue their duplicity.  However, now those sanctions become a risk to the economies of China and Russia because Secretary Mnuchin is likely to use the weight of the dollar in trade contracts as the trigger for sanctions against China and Russia.
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U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is scheduled to speak publicly alongside Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland Tuesday to conclude the second round of talks toward a new North American Free Trade Agreement.
However, you can put a fork in any optimism for a successful NAFTA outcome as Canada now takes liberal virtue-signaling to exponential levels of moonbattery and demands control of the U.S. legislative process.
One source familiar with the discussions said Canada’s Chrystia Freeland is demanding the U.S. pass “a federal law stopping state governments from enacting right-to-work legislation“.  Obviously Team U.S.A., understanding the entire construct of a U.S. Constitutional Republic and the underlying constitution therein, would not, could not and has not agreed to such a ridiculous Canadian request.
What this indicates is how far left the Canadian NAFTA negotiation team are willing to go in advancement of social justice issues that have no bearing on actual trade.  They are politically virtue-signaling to their own internal domestic audiences rather than actually engage in discussion of trade parameters.
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin interviewed by swamp guardian Chris Wallace.

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