When discussing or reviewing trade deals, particularly NAFTA, it is important to remember two baselines: (1) The trade reset is President Trump’s personal legacy initiative; it’s personal – ignore media banter – it’s personal; like, the most important thing he ever thinks about. Always. 24/7. (2) President Trump has no multinational corporations or financial interests with leverage/influence over his decision-making.

There are trillions at stake.

We begin:

“We are already looking at all the issues. We might close this, not in a matter of hours, but these days. We still have next week,” Jesus Seade, designated chief negotiator of Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, told reporters.

Here’s where it becomes important to note that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has twice asked Jesus Seade to remain AFTER hours when all other trade officials have concluded discussions. Closed-door conversations between Lighthizer and Seade; and no-one else. [Refer back to the two Trump baselines again]

Next, before reviewing the comments and presentations of the media regarding the U.S. Mexico NAFTA status; again reference the team approach, and the division of responsibility. Today, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross is meeting with the twitchy Chinese delegation – again, their arrival is not a matter of scheduling happenstance; it is directly related to the ongoing 301 hearings that began two-days-ago, Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Mexico and the United States are close to resolving remaining bilateral issues in the revamp of the NAFTA trade deal, officials said, but hopes of squaring away differences on Wednesday were booted to at least later this week.

“We are already looking at all the issues. We might close this, not in a matter of hours, but these days. We still have next week,” Jesus Seade, designated chief negotiator of Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, told reporters.

“We shouldn’t rush, but we’re already close,” Seade added as he left the Washington offices of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer following the latest talks on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Since restarting last month, the talks have focused on settling differences between Mexico and the United States that go to the heart of U.S. President Donald Trump’s complaint that NAFTA has hollowed out U.S. manufacturing to Mexico’s benefit. (read more)

Always draw references from what you know to be empirically true.  President Trump will not accept the NAFTA fatal flaw.  NAFTA is not currently a trade bloc.  NAFTA is currently an internal agreement of terms-for-commerce between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.  Because it is not a trade bloc, NAFTA is bad. The U.S. is the host (market), and Mexico/Canada are the parasites exploiting free-movement and economic access to that host.

Without new NAFTA rules; making it an actual trade bloc, where Canada and Mexico can only engage with 3rd parties based on the NAFTA group rules; there is no value in NAFTA.

That’s why Trump has essentially sidelined any 3-way discussion, and is engaged in bilateral trade talks.  In addition to hiding the ‘fatal flaw’ U.S. financial and corporate media are willfully blind and intentionally obtuse on this key point.

All indications, look at it from a 30,000/ft level, are that Lighthizer has explained this to Seade.  President Trump wants to see the Mexican economy gain stability and strength; and he is willing to afford time and economic value toward AMLO to achieve economic strength and more broad-based economic stability; however, team Trump will NOT allow the current exploitation to continue. Period.

Therefore, Mexico has an incredible opportunity…. but only ONE opportunity…. THIS opportunity…. to take advantage of the offer.  If they politicize the deal; if they mislead, scheme, or attempt to covertly structure a trade relationship that undermines the basic offer…. POTUS Trump, regardless of opinion or political pressure, will deliver an economic backlash of the size and scale never seen.  Mexico has one opportunity.

After the terms are finalized, they will likely have a time-frame where POTUS will permit the slow withdrawal of the ‘fatal flaw’ issue, while simultaneously supporting Mexico’s own internal growth in manufacturing and economic independence.   This is also the goal of AMLO, and thus this builds the framework of the Win/Win.

Canada is an entirely different kettle-of-fish.  Expect no magnanimous Trump approach toward Canada.  By politicizing their economic interests, Justin and Chrystia have made themselves an economic adversary.  Battle-hardened Trump, who is impervious to political pressure on trade/economics, will not relent.  He simply doesn’t care.

In July 2017, after a speech by former President Obama to the Montreal Board of Trade, Obama instructed Trudeau on how to best weaponize his economic policy to join the anti-Trump resistance. [Conversation pictured above]

President Trump isn’t stupid; he is an apex predator when it comes to the issues of trade, commerce and economics.  Trump knew the scheme, he knew the meeting, he knew the likely direction that Trudeau and Chrystia would take after receiving these instructions. And, in typically predictable form, Justin from Canada followed the left-wing plan and began working against any NAFTA renegotiation.

Justin and Chrystia intentionally planned to undermine any change and scuttle the negotiations.  Hence the demands for gender issues and climate change within NAFTA.

The Canadians made a choice.

No-one forced them to make this choice.

There are no sympathies deserved.

President Trump awards a posthumous Medal of Honor for Air Force Tech Sgt. John Chapman. Chapman was considered a top performer in his field. He was an experienced static line and freefall jumper, as well as a combat diver. He was an expert in reconnaissance operations, air traffic control and terminal attack control operations, which integrates airpower onto the battlefield. He was also a dedicated husband and father to two girls.

Chapman was part of a joint special operations reconnaissance team in Afghanistan in 2002 taking part in Operation Anaconda, which worked to establish observation posts in strategic locations.

WH Livestream Link – Fox News Livestream Link – Alternate Livestream Link

On March 4, the team was trying to land on top of Takur Ghar Mountain to set up an observation post they could use to report al Qaida movement in the area. But as they tried to land, they were overwhelmed by gunfire from the enemy on the ground. Their Chinook helicopter was heavily damaged, and the assault threw Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts to the ground below.

The chopper managed to crash-land a few miles away, but all on board were determined to get back to the enemy-infested mountaintop to rescue Roberts. So, they boarded another Chinook and headed back to the top of the mountain.

The aircraft was again swarmed by enemy fire from all directions, but this time, it successfully dropped off all of the men on the team. Chapman immediately charged up a hill through thigh-deep snow to assault an enemy bunker, killing the insurgents inside and taking it over.

He could have been safe there, but he didn’t stay. Chapman ran to another enemy bunker that was firing a machine gun at his teammates. He was seriously wounded while doing so but he continued to fight for about an hour until he was overcome by enemy fighters. He lost his life, but he was credited with saving many of his teammates.

Chapman was given the Air Force Cross for his actions; however, after a review by then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter, the secretary of the Air Force recommended that Chapman’s award be upgraded to the Medal of Honor.

Chapman will be the 19th airman awarded the nation’s highest military honor since the Department of the Air Force was established in 1947. He’ll also be the first airman recognized with the medal for heroic actions occurring after the Vietnam War.

As is Air Force tradition, Chapman will be promoted to the rank of master sergeant.

Six other U.S. service members died during the Battle of Takur Ghar. They included Roberts, who fell out of the initial helicopter, Air Force Senior Airman Jason Cunningham, Army Cpl. Matthew Commons, Army Sgt. Bradley Crose, Army Spc. Marc Anderson and Army Sgt. Philip Svitak.

“John would have, so I’ll say it for him – every American who set foot on that mountaintop acted with great courage and selflessness and deserves all of our praise and admiration for the sacrifices they made,” said retired Air Force Col. Ken Rodriguez, Chapman’s commander at the time. (link)

Tonight President Donald Trump heads to the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, WV, for a business round table and MAGA campaign rally.  Pre-rally speakers begin at approximately 6:00pm and President Trump is scheduled to speak at 7:00pm.

UPDATE: Video Added

RSBN Livestream – Fox News Livestream – CNBC Livestream

While the moonbats demand ICE is abolished, President Trump participates in a Salute to the Heroes of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs Border Protection (CBP) event at the White House.  Anticipated start time 3:00pm EST.

UPDATE: Video Added

WH Livestream link – Fox News Livestream link – NBC Livestream Link

In an effort to avoid the land mines of social media de-platforming, cousin Joe Dan Gorman has smuggled out another set of brilliantly coded Rebel Alliance video messages from deep inside the froglegs internets.

If you poke a hole in an egg carton, cover one eye, stand naked and watch the screen through a mirror…. well, it takes some practice, but just make sure you draw the curtains to receive the transmission.

Visit Joe Dan HERE – Help Joe Dan Avoid Deplatforming HERE

Under the auspices of making moves to block election interference from outside interests the government of Justin from Canada is moving to block internet content critical of Trudeau and his policies.

Simultaneously and ironically, the same Canadian government is spending millions lobbying U.S. politicians in Washington DC to retain their one-sided NAFTA trade benefits.  Funny that, eh?

CANADA […] Among other things, the government wants to do more to ensure foreign actors or money aren’t involved in elections, require more transparency for political messaging on social media and prevent political parties from setting up ostensible advocacy groups to support them and help skirt spending limits.

[…] Among the options:

• Require the publishers of online content to identify themselves;
• Make internet companies legally liable for the content that appears on their platforms
• Require platforms to clearly identify “bots,” automated social media accounts used to amplify messages;
• Reintroduce a non-criminal remedy to investigate and respond to hate speech, along the lines of the anti-hate provision of the Canadian Human Rights Act, repealed in 2013 amid concerns it muzzled free speech;
• Require much greater transparency for political advertising on digital media;
• Design a “meaningful” way for Canadians to consent to the collection and use of their individual data, which would also apply to databases amassed by political parties.

Those proposals go considerably further than C-76. The bill would prohibit foreign entities from spending any money to influence elections and prohibit anyone from knowingly selling election advertising space to foreign entities. (read more)

Consider this phrase carefully: “Among other things, the government wants to do more to ensure foreign actors or money aren’t involved in elections” … and now contrast that statement against this:

Huh…. Not funny, that!

This might raise an eyebrow:

Did you know it’s against Canadian law for U.S. banks to operate in Canada?  Meanwhile, the Canadian government demands their banks be permitted to operate in the U.S….

Or, did you know that NAFTA is not actually a trade bloc of the U.S., Mexico and Canada?  Instead NAFTA is merely an internal agreement of trade issues only between the three nations.  This structure allows Canada and Mexico to engage with third-party-nations as brokers for access to the U.S. market.   For the last 20+ years Canada and Mexico have exploited this agreement to benefit their own economy, exfiltrated American wealth, and done so without any regard for how damaging it is to the United States.

We are the host. They are the parasites.  I digress….

Thankfully, we now have President Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump is the first, and only, U.S. politician who not only understands the flawed structure – but has also stated quite openly he is no longer going to allow it.   Hence, the massive lobbying effort, and tens of millions being spent, by Canada into the U.S. seeking like-minded allies to eliminate the threat that is POTUS Trump.