Joyful Video of President Trump Inviting USA Gold Medal Hockey Teams to State of Union Address


Posted originally on CTH on February 23, 2026 | Sundance 

The video of President Trump’s locker room phone call with the USA men’s hockey team is pure American.  The joy and spirit of the moment captured in the voice of President Trump and the cheerful celebration of the world’s greatest hockey team.  Lots of good stuff.

FBI Director Kash Patel was in the locker room holding the phone.

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Canada to Provide Express Entry to Trained Foreign Military Personnel


Posted originally on Feb 20, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |  

I have warned many times that immigration policy is increasingly being shaped by political ideology rather than long-term social cohesion and economic stability. The report that Canada is considering an express entry pathway for highly trained foreign military personnel raises very serious questions that go far beyond labor shortages or skills-based immigration. When governments begin fast-tracking individuals with military training into civilian society under expedited frameworks, this is no longer just an economic policy — it becomes a national security and social stability issue.

Historically, successful immigration systems were built around assimilation, economic contribution, and cultural integration. Governments are struggling to build their militaries amid recruitment shortages. Their solution is to import “skilled” fighters as we move closer to global conflict. Military personnel will be included among other high-skilled occupations since the demand far exceeds the available domestic supply.

The larger concern is assimilation and demographic shifts. I have repeatedly stated that social stability depends on shared legal, cultural, and institutional norms. When immigration policy accelerates without equal emphasis on integration, fragmentation follows. Europe has already demonstrated this lesson in multiple countries where rapid demographic policy shifts created long-term social divisions and rising political polarization. Canada is not immune to those same cyclical forces simply because it has historically maintained a more structured immigration system.

There is also the geopolitical layer that cannot be ignored. We are entering a period of rising global volatility into the 2026–2032 window, according to the cyclical models. During such phases, governments increasingly prioritize security, institutional resilience, and strategic labor pools. Policies targeting military-trained migrants may be framed as skills-based immigration, but they also reflect a broader shift toward state planning in response to global uncertainty.

HowEmpiresDie

Look at Russia. Putin turned to Kim Jong-un in a desperate plea to recruit more men. Impoverished nations are willing to import anything, including humans. Canada’s announcement alludes to the government’s importance of rapidly building the armed forces. Canada was so focused on forcing their own men and women to take the COVID vaccines a few years back that they pushed away contenders. What could go wrong if a nation opens its borders to trained mercenaries who may have an allegiance to a foreign government? Ancient Rome too relied on non-Roman recruits, but that was merely one aspect of the collapse.

I have explained in my writings on the Fall of Rome and How Empires Die that empires always turn to external manpower when domestic demographics weaken, and the population no longer supports the state financially or militarily. Hiring outsiders, expanding bureaucracy, and increasing control are all late-cycle responses to declining confidence in the system itself.

Canada Completes Construction of Nuclear Power Plant


Posted originally on Feb 18, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |  

Nuclear energy: appetite growing but challenges remain | Netzeroinvestor

What you are looking at with Canada completing the roughly $9.4 billion Darlington nuclear refurbishment early and under budget is something that completely contradicts the prevailing political narrative about energy policy in the West. The final 878-MW unit is now preparing to return to commercial operation, marking the end of a decade-long rebuild of the four-reactor complex, finished four months ahead of schedule and about $110 million under budget.

A massive nuclear infrastructure project in a Western country was delivered ahead of schedule and under budget. That alone tells you this was treated as a strategic national priority rather than a political talking point.

The refurbishment extends the plant’s operational life by decades and secures over 3,500 megawatts of reliable baseload electricity into at least the mid-2050s. This is the key difference between energy policy driven by engineering reality versus ideological policy driven by climate politics and bureaucratic regulation. Nuclear provides stability. Wind and solar provide volatility unless backed by baseload power.

From a cyclical perspective, this fits directly into what I have written in my reports on energy, sovereign debt, and industrial competitiveness. Nations that secure long-term, reliable energy sources maintain industrial strength. Nations that deliberately dismantle baseload energy in favor of politically fashionable policies inevitably face rising costs, deindustrialization, and declining confidence.

Canada’s approach here is pragmatic. The project began back in 2016 as a long-term refurbishment of all four CANDU reactors, replacing major components and effectively giving the facility another generation of operational life. This is not simply maintenance — it is strategic infrastructure renewal.

Compare this to Europe. The EU has been shutting nuclear plants, imposing Net Zero mandates, and then wondering why industrial production is collapsing and energy costs remain structurally elevated. Energy policy is not separate from economic performance. It is the foundation of it. Germany is the perfect case study of how abandoning nuclear in favor of ideology undermines industrial competitiveness.

What is even more significant is the timing. This project comes as global electricity demand is rising due to electrification, AI infrastructure, and reindustrialization trends. Governments are beginning to realize that intermittent energy cannot sustain modern economies or military readiness. Baseload power is not optional in a geopolitical cycle turning toward fragmentation and potential conflict.

The fact that this refurbishment is being called one of the world’s largest nuclear life-extension projects also signals something deeper: nuclear is returning as a strategic asset. Historically, during periods of geopolitical tension and rising sovereign risk, governments shift toward energy security. That is exactly what the model has been projecting into this 2026–2032 window of rising volatility.

Canadian Prime Minister Pitching Global Trade Rules Agreement to Combat Trump – Connecting Trans-Atlantic to Trans-Pacific


Posted originally on CTH on February 17, 2026 | Sundance 

There is an awful lot to unpack in this seemingly obscure article talking about Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and a new trade approach he is pitching to Pacific/Asia and Atlantic/European nations. [Story Here]

Before getting to the substance of the outline, something important needs to be shared for context.

Do you remember the 2014, 2015 and 2016 top story conversations and debates over the Transpacific Partnership trade deal known as TPP?

You might also remember the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership trade deal known as TTIP.

The TPP (Pacific) and TTIP (Atlantic) were two major multinational trade deals negotiated between 2013 and 2016. While both sparked plenty of debate, most of the spotlight was on the TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Hillary Clinton was in favor of TPP as were most of the traditional republican field of candidates in ’15/’16.  However, Donald Trump was strongly against TPP and pledged to exit out of any negotiations and scrap the U.S. participation if he was to win the 2016 election.  Some of you may begin to remember this.

Donald Trump agreed with our position, that TPP was being falsely sold as a beneficial 12-nation massive trade agreement between the USA and pacific rim countries including Australia and Southeast Asia nations.

With the history of NAFTA behind us, we could see two major issues with TPP:  #1: It was structured with a back door to let China into the deal. And #2) it was created to ensure the USA remained a “service driven economy.”

Supporters of TPP and TTIP claimed this multinational trade deals would create smooth supply chains and align on ‘rules of origin.’ They believed TPP would benefit companies and lead to cheaper products. Critics, however, argued that the agreements were designed to exploit the U.S. consumer market and prevent the country from ever regaining a strong manufacturing base.

I share those reminders to set up the big 800-lb gorilla question.

If the TPP was such a great trade deal for all parties involved, why didn’t the group finalize it after the USA withdrew? It’s been a decade, so why haven’t the TPP nations completed their trade agreement?

The honest answer reveals the undiscussed lie.

Both TPP and TTIP were constructed and designed to keep exploiting the U.S. consumer market. That’s it. That was the entire purpose of TPP (Asia) and TTIP (Europe). Corporations and lobbyists like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote the TPP language to maximize corporate profits. That was the purpose of it.

Take the U.S.A. out of the TPP trade agreement and the purpose/benefit no longer exists.  Without the host, there is no need for a feeding agreement between parasites.  That’s why a decade has passed and TPP/TTIP went nowhere.

All of that said, suddenly with President Trump positioning to eliminate the USMCA trade agreement, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to go back to the TPP/TTIP “Rules of Origin” trade framework in order to create an insurance policy against the end of the trilateral USMCA trade agreement.

Now, here is where it gets really interesting.  There is no way for Canada to remain in the USMCA and simultaneously commit to a trade agreement with different rules of origin.   This means that for Carney to accomplish what he’s reportedly aiming for, the dissolution of the UMCA would already need to be in the works.

USMCA Article 32.10 – Non-Market Country FTA (key provisions):

“A Party intending to negotiate a free trade agreement with a non-market country shall inform the other Parties at least three months prior to commencing negotiations and, upon request, provide information regarding the objectives of those negotiations.

A Party that enters into a free trade agreement with a non-market country shall provide the other Parties with the full text of the agreement prior to signing.

If a Party enters into a free trade agreement with a non-market country, the other Parties may terminate this Agreement on six months’ notice and replace it with a bilateral agreement.” [SOURCE]

The Canadian proposal violates the central tenet of the USMCA. Carney’s proposal can only move forward if the Canadian government has already accepted that the USMCA trade agreement will come to an end.

WASHINGTON – The European Union and a 12-nation Indo-Pacific bloc are opening talks to explore proposals to form one of the largest global economic alliances, multiple people with knowledge of the talks told POLITICO.

Canada is spearheading the discussions after Prime Minister Mark Carney called on middle powers to buck trade war coercion last month, days after Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Denmark’s European allies if it didn’t cede Greenland.

Ottawa is “championing efforts to build a bridge between the Trans-Pacific Partnership [CPTPP] and the European Union, which would create a new trading bloc of 1.5 billion people,” Carney told world leaders and the global business elite in Davos.

The middle powers are taking action. The EU and CPTPP are starting talks this year to strike an agreement to intertwine the supply chains of members like Canada, Singapore, Mexico, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Australia with Europe.

It would bring nearly 40 nations on opposite sides of the globe closer together with the aim of reaching a deal on so-called rules of origin.

These rules determine the economic nationality of a product. A deal would allow manufacturers throughout the two blocs to trade goods and their parts more seamlessly in a low-tariff process known as cumulation. (read more)

In practice, a multilateral trade agreement with “Rules of Origin” involving many countries doesn’t really matter to the USA since our trade deals are bilateral. Other parties can set whatever terms they like, but if they want access to the U.S. market, that’s where we lay out our own specific terms on a one-to-one basis.

The same thing cannot be said for Canada, who is intentionally planning to remain a deindustrialized economy.  Canada will import component goods for assembly in Canada, but they will not fabricate much.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is strategically planning to keep Canada dependent on cheap foreign imports.

Canadians Embrace Cheap Chinese Electric Vehicles


Posted originally on CTH on February 17, 2026 | Sundance 

While the government of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has inked a trade agreement with China to accept cheap imported vehicles in exchange for Beijing purchasing some agricultural products, President Trump has promised those cheap Chinese EVs will never cross the border into the USA.

The Canadian polling on the issue has done a remarkable chang in the past few years.  Now, the majority of Canadians are willing to purchase cheap Chinese EVs. As outlined by Bloomberg, “More than half of Canadians, or 53%, say that knowing an EV was made in China would have no effect on their purchasing decision, according to a new poll by Nanos Research Group for Bloomberg News.”

Approximately 50,000 Chinese electric vehicles will enter the Canadian market in the first year. “The pact with China includes a provision that part of the quota will be reserved for electric vehicles priced at C$35,000 ($25,700) or less, the government has said.” {SOURCE}

The Canadian government wants a Chinese auto manufacturer, any Chinese auto manufacturer, to build factories in Canada to produce these electric vehicles.  Canada wants the jobs and economic activity because Canada is currently bleeding jobs and economic activity due to the trade conflict with the U.S.

Building cheap Chinese EVs in Canada might help offset a few thousand job losses, but building Chinese EVs in Canada only further ensures there will not be a substantive trade agreement between the USA and Canada once the USMCA (CUSMA) is dissolved.  [More on that coming]

Meanwhile, Chinese EV company Build Your Dream (BYD) has announced they sold 4.6 million vehicles worldwide last year, far surpassing Tesla and even surpassing all of the Ford global auto manufacturing.  BYD is now the sixth largest auto manufacturing company in the world.

[Auto News] […] The 2025 sales figures place BYD at sixth largest among global automakers, meaning Ford slipped to seventh in total global deliveries. Toyota remains the dominant global seller with sales exceeding 10 million units followed by Volkswagen Group, Hyundai Motor (including Kia and Genesis), General Motors, and Stellantis.

BYD’s sixth position in the global automotive sales index is particularly notable for an auto maker that focuses almost exclusively on new energy vehicles (NEVs) — a category that includes battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs). (more)

CTH previously outlined the specific explosion in BYD auto sales HERE.  Europe, Russia, Asia and Australia are flooded with cheap Chinese EVs particularly from the BYD brand.  Canada is now opening themselves to face the same issue.

School Shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia Leaves 10 Killed, Including Shooter – The “Gender” of Shooter Creating Angst


A horrific school shooting in Canada has resulted in the death of 10 people. Seven people at the school, two people in a residence nearby and the shooter. The details are starting to come out, but for some reason there is a concerning aspect to the “gender” of the shooter.

The Associated Press describes the situationVANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — A shooting at a school in British Columbia left eight dead including a woman whom police believe to be the shooter, while two more people were found dead at a nearby home, Canadian authorities said Tuesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said more than 25 people are injured, including two who were airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries, after the shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.” (more)

BBC SUMMARIZESPolice say an attacker killed nine people before taking their own life on Tuesday. – Six victims were found dead inside Tumbler Ridge Secondary school, while a seventh person died on the way to hospital. The body of the attacker was also found at the school. – Two more people were found dead inside a residence nearby. – Police described the suspect as a “female in a dress with brown hair” in an active shooter alert sent to the community. – At least two other people were taken to hospital with serious or life-threatening injuries following the attack, and as many as 25 people were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said. – Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, said he is “devastated” by the shooting and that his government “stands with all British Columbians as they confront this horrible tragedy.” – The PM cancelled his upcoming trip to the Munich Security Conference in response to the shooting. (link)

If this information is correct and the shooter was a trans, I can only imagine the level of political correctness that will follow from Canada about the shooting.

Canada is the global woke central. February 11, 2026 | Sundance

President Trump Threatens Blockade of Almost Completed Michigan-Ontario Bridge


Posted originally on CTH on February 9, 2026 | Sundance 

Writing on a Truth Social post earlier this evening, President Trump is threatening to block the U.S. side of a new bridge that links Detroit, Michigan to Ontario, Canada:

(Truth Social) – “As everyone knows, the Country of Canada has treated the United States very unfairly for decades. Now, things are turning around for the U.S.A., and FAST! But imagine, Canada is building a massive bridge between Ontario and Michigan. They own both the Canada and the United States side and, of course, built it with virtually no U.S. content. President Barack Hussein Obama stupidly gave them a waiver so they could get around the BUY AMERICAN Act, and not use any American products, including our Steel.

Now, the Canadian Government expects me, as President of the United States, to PERMIT them to just “take advantage of America!” What does the United States of America get — Absolutely NOTHING! Ontario won’t even put U.S. spirits, beverages, and other alcoholic products, on their shelves, they are absolutely prohibited from doing so and now, on top of everything else, Prime Minister Carney wants to make a deal with China — which will eat Canada alive. We’ll just get the leftovers! I don’t think so.

The first thing China will do is terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada and permanently eliminate The Stanley Cup. The Tariffs Canada charges us for our Dairy products have, for many years, been unacceptable, putting our Farmers at great financial risk. I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve. We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY. With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset. The revenues generated because of the U.S. Market will be astronomical. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” ~PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP

The USMCA renegotiation plan likely plays a big part in this announcement.  Don’t react, just watch.

Trade Watch – President Trump Has Conversation with President Sheinbaum About Upcoming USMCA Review


Posted originally on CTH on January 30, 2026 | Sundance January 30, 2026 | Sundance 

President Trump speaks to President Sheinbaum about upcoming USMCA renegotiation, while Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard meets simultaneously in Washington with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to discuss the upcoming trade review.

(VIA BLOOMBERG) Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she had a “cordial” conversation with Donald Trump on Thursday, discussing trade and security issues ahead of the review of the North American free trade deal.

Sheinbaum said the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement will continue as planned and that she and the president discussed tariffs and non-tariff barriers in their latest call.

Mexico’s leader added that Trump invited her to the US but that no date has been set for what would be their second in-person meeting.

On security, Sheinbaum offered that both leaders are pleased with the level of cooperation so far between their two countries. Trump agrees “that we are making progress in the general understanding we have,” she told reporters at her regular daily media briefing, without offering more details.

Sheinbaum first revealed the latest phone call with Trump in a social media post. (read more)

We all know what is likely to happen, these small articles are like aperitifs while we await the main performance.   Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of Canadians -sans possibly Alberta residents- are clueless.

Giddy Up – USTR Jamieson Greer and Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard Begin Formal Trade Negotiations


Posted originally on CTH on January 28, 2026 | Sundance 

Here we go.  If you’ve been under the Treehouse branches for more than a few months, it is now officially time to pull up a rock take a front row seat and enjoy the show.  Don’t draw attention to yourself; however, please do bring your favorite beverage, relax and watch what no one else will admit is happening.  The 2026 operation to exit the USMCA is officially underway.

While the Snow Mexicans are gnashing their teeth talking about feelings and various shiny things, United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is meeting today with Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard to strategize the best approach for a U.S-Mexican bilateral free trade agreement.

Please remember, in order to fully appreciate the moment, we must allow all negotiation pretenses to remain in place, giving the illusion of something that will no longer be present when the end goal is reached.

Jan 28 (Reuters) – U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard agreed during a meeting on Wednesday to begin formal discussions on possible reforms to the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, Greer’s office said.

Possible reforms include stronger rules of origin for key industrial goods, more collaboration on critical minerals, increasing efforts to defend workers and producers, and efforts to combat dumping of manufactured goods, the USTR’s office said in a statement. (LINK)

As we noted at the end of last year, splitting the USMCA into two bilateral trade deals, one for Mexico and one for Canada, will be one of the most interesting and long-term economically significant moves in U.S. trade history.  It is going to be a lot of fun to watch these negotiations, and the pre-positioning gives us a preview of what is to come.

Mexico is doing everything almost perfectly in preparation for their bilateral deal.  Canada is doing exactly the opposite and positioning themselves for the worst possible outcome of a deal with the USA.  The disparity in approaches is so different, even now it is remarkable to watch.

President Trump is establishing an entirely new economic, trade and finance system. The era of the Marshal Plan is over; it has been factually deconstructed in the past 12 months.

Canadians and Europeans are desperately trying to offset the ramifications, hold on to their economic benefits and find a new mechanism to afford the domestic indulgences now eliminated by President Trump.

Needing alternatives for their economies, the EU and Canada are looking to India and China respectively as a financial offset.  Meanwhile, so far, Mexico is playing it smarter….

Big Picture: President Trump and Trade Using the Art of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy


Posted originally on CTH on January 27, 2026 | Sundance

People might be interested in the recent stories of Canadian Premier Doug Ford and his reversal of position on Chinese EV production. Ontario Premier Ford now welcomes Chinese EVs into Canada.

Or people might be interested in the recent story of the EU announcing a historic trade deal with India. The European Union is now looking to find new markets to replace the U.S., while simultaneously agreeing to establish a new immigration/recruitment process to accept massive numbers of Indian migrants.

Yes, Canada reverses their position on trade with China, that’s odd. And somehow the EU immediately forgets their demands for India to stop buying Russian oil or face EU sanctions, another oddity.  This is like watching someone you don’t like, get engaged to your smelly, fat ex-girlfriend. [Matthew 15:14]

Canada and the EU take trade and economic positions seemingly against U.S. interests. Simultaneously Mexico modifies all their trade positions to come into alignment with the USA. Yesterday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Mexico will no longer ship oil to Cuba.

What’s going on?

Well, to really understand what is happening you need to look at President Trump’s responses to all of the individual issues outlined above and take a much bigger picture view.  President Trump is the master of the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy.’

♦ CANADA – When President Trump was asked about Prime Minister Mark Carney creating a new trade agreement with China, President Trump responded that he didn’t care – it was irrelevant to him.  Yet, simultaneously inside the USMCA President Trump has the power to veto any trade agreement between Mexico or Canada and a non-member nation.

So, why didn’t President Trump care?  Easy, because in President Trump’s mind there’s not going to be a USMCA; so, he really doesn’t care if Canada runs to violate it.  In real terms, Canada doing bilateral deals with other countries, especially deals potentially detrimental to the USA, only strengthens his position on dissolving the USMCA.

If Canada violates the terms and spirit of the USMCA, it makes dispatch of the unliked trade agreement even easier.  Canada is helping President Trump remove the congressional justification they could use to block him.  If Canada is violating the USMCA (CUSMA), Congress is kneecapped from interference.

Provoking Canada into a trade position, that puts them at a disadvantage trying to stop the dissolution of the CUSMA, stops Congress from opposing the fracture, and then opens the door to a bilateral trade agreement, is creating a self-fulfilling prophecy that is entirely controlled by President Donald Trump.

[I pointed this out on the ‘Russian Sanctions’ map four years ago for a reason.] 

♦ EUROPE – In the last few months, the EU has been pressuring President Trump to join them in putting sanctions against India for purchasing Russian oil.  Suddenly, all those Russian energy issues are dropped, and the EU signs a trade agreement with India.  Again, just like with Canada, President Trump doesn’t care; he’s working on a much bigger objective.

Both Canada and Europe are independently, out of necessity, taking action that takes apart the trade and economic system they created.  At the core of the old trade system both Canada and Europe were exploiting the USA, exfiltrating wealth and skimming the independent entrepreneurial innovation that originates from within the U.S. economic system.

That necessary exploitation happened because the USA is innovative (freedom-based capitalism), while the CA/EU system is built on government control mechanisms.  The CA/EU energy policy is just one impactful example of their pontificating inability to be insightful when it comes to consequences.  The EU and Canada are now stuck looking for markets that will do the dirty jobs, provide them with core components, while simultaneously looking for markets for their finished products.

On the other side of the approach is President Trump, working to expand U.S. industrial dirty job capacity, create our own core components, then create finished goods entirely on our own.  A complete revitalization of the U.S. industrial and manufacturing base.  Our U.S. GDP is currently expected to grow north of 5%.  This is not happening by accident.

Additionally, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is not bragging about importing Indian IT workers in a vacuum.  If the EU cannot skim off the IT capabilities of America, they have to find another Braintrust to tap.  Just like the innovative dependencies of China, the EU is intellectually frigid; compliance is ingrained in their academia.  Within the USA, we still have foundational disposition of ‘screw you‘ in our DNA.

Look at the advancements of Artificial Intelligence, or AI. All of the growth in that tech sector is being led by America. President Trump is taking every approach to ensure we remain the world’s dominant power in AI development. As much as Elon Musk’s quirks and quasi-friendly politics annoys me personally, strategically, on the technology side, it’s good to see him chumming around with President Trump; at least that’s what I tell myself.

♦ MEXICO – This is where it gets really, super interesting.  You might remember that China was set to invest between $5 billion and $10 billion (total) in Mexico for EV auto manufacturing.  In December of 2023, three Chinese auto manufacturers, MG, BYD, and Chery, announced they were going to spend billions building new EV manufacturing plants.  Each Chinese manufacturer was initially going to spend between $1.5 to $2.0 billion.  By March 2024, the reasoning was evident – Biden was supporting it.

When President Trump won the November 2024 election, all of those Chinese investments and plans inside Mexico were cancelled.

As we noted at the end of last year, splitting the USMCA into two bilateral trade deals, one for Mexico and one for Canada, will be one of the most interesting and long-term economically significant moves in U.S. trade history.  It is going to be a lot of fun to watch these negotiations, and the pre-positioning gives us a preview of what is to come.  Mexico is doing everything almost perfectly in preparation for their bilateral deal, including their stopping of oil shipments to Cuba.

This alignment follows the Mexican government passing a sweeping set of tariffs against Chinese imports. The Mexican government, led by Sheinbaum, made moves throughout 2025 to stay in alignment with a favorable U.S. trade agreement.  Meanwhile, the Canadian government, led by Mark Carney, has been more antagonistic and positioning Canada to lose badly.

♦ SUMMARY: Some people have construed the bilateral trade preference of President Trump to be the elimination of globalism in favor of nationalism in trade agreements. While the outcome of Trump’s approach indeed aligns with that theme, it is not specifically the objective of President Trump to eliminate global trade, but rather to focus on specific interests in trade that benefit the unique nature of each party involved.

Canada can embrace China, and Europe can embrace India; in the bigger picture it really doesn’t matter.  These relationships only create dependencies which are the natural outcome of globalism.  From President Trump’s position, what really matters is what happens within our borders and how the United States economy is positioned.  This is President Trump’s singular focus.

Do you remember President Trump leaving the 2025 G7 meeting in Canada early? The final day invitation list brought Australia, Mexico, Ukraine, South Korea, South Africa, India, the United Nations and the World Bank into the G7.  President Donald Trump smartly exited the G7 assembly a day early, he departed before that crowd of interests arrived.  The world leaders came because the process to keep USA wealth inside the USA is against their interests.  That’s why they came, and that’s why President Trump left.

Globalism, in its economic construct, is a series of dependencies. However, the opposite is also true. If nations are not dependent, they are sovereign – able to exist without the need for support from other nations and systems. If nations are sovereign, then globalism is no longer needed. If each nation of the world is operating according to its individual best interests, the position of Donald Trump, then what happens to the governing elite who set up the system of interdependencies?

“G7”?