Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appears for an interview with Trish Regan immediately after President Trump signed the Presidential Proclamation to advance Steel and Aluminum tariffs to protect and expand American industry. [DEEP DIVE]

Ms. Regan is one of the financial business analysts who have slowly evolved away from the insufferable Wall Street/U.S. Chamber of Commerce ‘globalist’ viewpoints, which was/is entirely built upon a false premise.  Thankfully Ms. Regan joins the ranks of economic patriots Charles Payne and Lou Dobbs.  We’ll keep working on Maria Bartiromo.

In this interview Secretary Ross elevates the discussion beyond just Steel and Aluminum and begins to expand -and emphasize- the perimeter of an entirely new American approach toward trade, “reciprocity“.  Indeed for the very first time in this interview Secretary Ross gives a preview into what will follow and how ‘reciprocity’ will be applied.

“President Trump is taking action today to protect both our national security and industries critical to our economy. The President’s decision regarding the steel and aluminum Section 232 reports are the result of a long and well-thought-out process led by the Commerce Department. Once again, President Trump is keeping his promises and standing up for American families, American businesses, and American workers.”  ~ Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross

The specific target has always been China; and POTUS Trump, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, USTR Robert Lighthizer and Trade Policy Adviser Peter Navarro know to hit their target they have to get past the hurdle of trans-shipments of Steel to proxy nations by China to avoid the tariff.

So what does POTUS Trump do…. he takes the position of the tariff opponents and amplifies it.  Trump’s trade policy opponents, realizing something was going to happen regardless of their opposition, started demanding “targeted tariffs”; that is, tariffs applied against target nations.  POTUS Trump brilliantly spins their position and says: ok, let’s target by granting “exceptions” to the tariffs.

What POTUS will announce is “targeted exemptions” to the trade tariffs on Steel and Aluminum.  Not “targeted tariffs”, but rather “targeted exemptions”.

The exemption approach puts more power in the hands of Team ‘America-First’ than targeting the steel dumpers directly. Team Trump will reward good behavior.

Any nation that acts like a Chinese proxy in the trans-shipment problem will not get relief from the tariffs.  However, the nations that manufacture and trade honestly will be granted tariff relief.  This allows Team Trump to evaluate the origin of the Steel used by countries that want to import their finished goods into the U.S.  If they are using Chinese Steel, the tariff applies.  If they are using their own manufactured steel, there is no tariff.

See how brilliantly that works?

By taking the position of his opposition and modifying it to enhance his own policy, POTUS has gained leverage.  The U.S.A. now holds the strength of enforcement based on American determination of origin of their material.  If the producing nation doesn’t follow the Trump rules, they will pay the tariff.  In essence, Trump is helping all manufacturing nations by positioning the United States as the “steel compliance office”.   We will determine who is using Chinese Steel and who is not.

This also gives Trump, Ross and Lighthizer massive leverage against China.  No country will want to lose access to the U.S. market by engaging in the sketchy trans-shipping arrangement with China.  POTUS Trump holds all the cards.

This approach also puts Mexico and Canada (NAFTA) on notice that if they use Chinese steel they will face a tariff despite our NAFTA agreement.  Again, more leverage.

Brilliantly played….

Something that now seems ordinary, until you think about it historically – and realize it is actually, stunningly, extraordinary, is the level of transparency President Trump has delivered to his administration. Citizen government by a person who understands the value of the camera and the opportunities of the microphone.

Here President Trump frames a cabinet meeting with the media for over 20 minutes while outlining initiatives and objectives.   No prior president has ever allowed even a small percentage of the deliberative access delivered by President Trump.  POTUS keenly dominates the narrative; outlines the milestones; establishes the expectations and summarizes the issues.

About mid-way through this video is just captivating, really.  Must Watch:

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If you stand back and think about it, what President Trump is doing is remarkable. POTUS has lulled us into seeing this as commonplace, it’s not; it is anything but common.

President Trump will sign a trade-section 232 proclamation today to elevate Steel and Aluminum manufacturing to be of national security status.  The overall trade initiative which stems from the 232 proclamation will be a 25% trade tariff on imported steel and a 10% trade tariff on imported aluminum.  POTUS Trump will control exemptions.

The trade announcement is anticipated at 3:30pm in the White House today.

UPDATE: Video Added

WH Livestream Link – RSBN Livestream Link – CNBC Livestream Link

♦Three days ago (March 5th, 2018) South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang.  ♦Earlier today Chung Eui-yong met with President Trump’s National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and briefed other senior members of the Trump administration. ♦Moments ago President Trump told the media to anticipate a “big announcement from South Korea” at 7:00pm EST.

Given the time of day for the announcement, it must be very good news for Team Trump and likely surrounds discussions between the South Korean officials and the DPRK about denuclearization talks.  [7:00pm EST is 5:00am Friday in South Korea.]

(Above and below) South Korea National Security Chief Chung Eui-yong visiting the White House earlier today, for a briefing with HR McMaster. –source–

…. This follows South Korean chief delegator Chung Eui-yong meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on March 5th, 2018, during their meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea. (pictured below) –source–

FULL BACK-STORY

It’s unlikely the media will give President Trump credit.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross talks about the importance of trade “reciprocity”.  As Wilburine outlines phase-2 MAGAnomics is only just beginning the reciprocity discussion.

Additionally, Secretary Ross talks about the issues with Chinese steel trans-shipment and the reason for Steel and Aluminum tariffs to be global in order to address China’s use of proxy nation states to continue dumping.   In this interview Ross begins to outline the fine points behind the pending 2018 trade negotiations. It is going to take a lot of repeated effort to awaken the larger U.S. electorate to the issues.

Why ship directly to the U.S., or manufacturer inside the U.S., when you could just assemble in Mexico and Canada and use NAFTA to bring your products to the ultimate goal, the massive U.S. market?

From the POTUS Trump position, NAFTA always came down to two options:

Option #1 – renegotiate the NAFTA trade agreement to eliminate the loopholes.  That would require Canada and Mexico to agree to very specific rules put into the agreement by the U.S. that would remove the ability of third-party nations to exploit the current trade loophole. Essentially the U.S. rules would be structured around removing any profit motive with regard to building in Canada or Mexico and shipping into the U.S.

Canada and Mexico would have to agree to those rules; the goal of the rules would be to stop third-party nations from exploiting NAFTA.  The problem in this option is the exploitation of NAFTA currently benefits Canada and Mexico.  It is against their interests to remove it.  Knowing it was against their interests President Trump never thought it was likely Canada or Mexico would ever agree.  But he was willing to explore and find out.

Option #2 – Exit NAFTA.  And subsequently deal with Canada and Mexico individually with structured trade agreements about their imports.  Canada and Mexico could do as they please, but each U.S. bi-lateral trade agreement would be written with language removing the aforementioned cost-benefit-analysis to third-party countries (same as in option #1.)

All nuanced trade-sector issues put aside, the larger issue is always how third-party nations will seek to gain access to the U.S. market through Canada and Mexico.  [It is the NAFTA exploitation loophole which has severely damaged the U.S. manufacturing base.]

The U.S. has to look upstream, deep into the trade agreements made by Mexico and Canada with third-parties, because it is possible for other nations to skirt direct trade with the U.S. and move their products through Canada and Mexico into the U.S.

Additionally, with Canada now joining TPP it has become impossible for the U.S. to remain in NAFTA and simultaneously conduct trade negotiations with TPP nations.

EXAMPLE: If the U.S. remained in NAFTA all TPP nations would engage in trade discussion knowing there was a Canadian and/or Mexican option to gain access to the U.S. market.  Therefore, despite the size of our market, we could never negotiate a better trade agreement than the deal existing between Canada, Mexico and their TPP partner nations.

President Trump, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Trade Adviser Peter Navarro and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer well understand this structural problem.  ONLY Trump, Ross, Mnuchin, Navarro and Lighthizer are willing to confront this problem.  If Trump had lost the 2016 election, Clinton would have joined the multinationals and U.S. workers would have suffered greatly.

Lastly, the issue of Canada and Mexico making trade agreements with other nations (especially China), while brokering/leveraging their NAFTA position with the U.S. as a strategic part of those agreements, is a serious issue that cannot adequately be resolved while the U.S. remains connected to NAFTA.

At the conclusion of Round #6, this was the direct issue at the heart of a very frustrated U.S.T.R. Lighthizer’s strongly worded response to Canada:

[…]  In another proposal, Canada reserved the right to treat the United States and Mexico even worse than other countries if they enter into future agreements. Those other countries may, in fact, even include China, if there is an agreement between China and [Canada]. This proposal, I think if the United States had made it, would be dubbed a “poison pill.” We did not make it, though. Obviously, this is unacceptable to us, and my guess is it is to the Mexican side also. (read full remarks)

*ahem* As if on cue…

(tweet link)

DEEP-DIVE FULL BACKSTORY

The Eagle, The Panda and The Red Dragon

Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the U.S. Department of Justice is filing an injunction to block enforcement of three California immigration laws, each enacted within the past year.

Summary of California Laws Being Challenged:

(Encapsulated from Fox News coverage)  ♦ One law offers additional worker protections against federal immigration enforcement actions. Senior Justice Department officials have said it’s prevented companies from voluntarily cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.

Employers are mandated under the law to demand ICE agents present a warrant or subpoena before entering certain areas of the premises, or when accessing some employee records. Some companies have complained they’ve felt torn between trying to comply with seemingly contradictory state and federal statutes, since penalties for non-compliance can be steep from both entities.

♦ The second law also known as “the sanctuary state bill” protects immigrants without legal residency by limiting state and municipal cooperation with the feds, including what information can be shared about illegal-immigrant inmates.

♦ A third law gives state officials the power to monitor and inspect immigrant detention facilities either run directly by, or contracted through, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Maria Bartiromo interviews Treasury Secretary Mnuchin to discuss Gary Cohn’s departure from President Trump’s National Economic Council (NEC).  {Deep Dive Here}  Secretary Mnuchin talks about the larger MAGAnomic objectives, and the transition of the administration into ‘policy phase-2’ with all attention now focused on Main Street.

Great Interview:

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♦Economic Patriotism – ‘America First’:
√ Unleash energy development. Drive down energy costs. Lower cost-of-living.
√ Eliminate regulatory stranglehold. Unleash free market entrepreneurial expansion.
√ Lower corporate tax burden. Position business investment ‘best bet’ domestically.
√ Generate investment expansion. Create: jobs, jobs, jobs.
√ Generate higher labor demand. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs = Higher wages, wages, wages.
√ Lower middle-class tax burden. Combine higher wages with lower taxes. 2x benefits.
==> WE ARE HERE <==
• Structure trade deals to benefit workers/companies inside the U.S.
• Leverage access to U.S. market as incitement for domestic investment.
• Economic Growth + Domestic Manufacturing Expansion =  GDP increases.
• Increased overall tax revenues from expanding economy stabilizes debt and entitlements.