Tag Archives: One China

May 3 2025

The Four Cast Podcast | Natalie Winters: ‘Trump government need to be pushing more’


Posted originally on Rumble By Bannon’s War Room on: May 02, 2025, at 3:00 pm EST

May 3 2025

Trump’s EO to Support Trade Apprenticeships


Posted originally on May 2, 2025 by Martin Armstrong 

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Donald Trump signed a new Executive Order to overhaul federal workforce training to prepare Americans for skilled trade jobs. The US federal government funnels $700 billion per year to American universities, but most students exit the education system without any real job prospects in their field of study. This initiative aims to teach young Americans skilled trades that will lead to guaranteed employment and close the labor shortage gap.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US workforce was short 447,000 construction workers and 94,000 durable goods workers. At the current trajectory, the agency believes the nation will be short half a million tradesman positions over the next decade. Over 20% of American manufacturing plants reported labor shortages in 2024, leading to a decline in productivity. Trump has been keenly focused on expanding America’s shrinking manufacturing sector and this initiative is a step in the right direction.

Shortage estimates vary. A Deloitte/Manufacturing Institute report warned of 1.9 million unfilled manufacturing jobs by 2033, as 3.8 million role will need to be filled. Manufacturing employment plummeted to its lowest level during the pandemic with nearly half (46.3%) of the sector out of work. Pandemic aside, manufacturers are struggling to find skilled laborers, with the same Deloitte poll noting that 65% of manufacturers found attracting and retaining talent was their primary business challenge. It was also revealed that 47% of companies would begin to offer work-study or apprenticeship programs.

Trump’s new plan would provide support for 1 million apprenticeships annually. No amount of academia can compensate for a lack of hands-on experience. The old notion that one must complete higher education to obtain a good-paying job is a relic of the past. In fact, many of these trade positions offer excellent first-year pay compared to entry-level corporate jobs. Additionally, these are jobs that likely cannot be replaced with AI. There will always be a need for plumbers, electricians, welders, etc. Higher education is unnecessary for most fields, and reframing education as an opportunity to learn directly from those in the field is an excellent way to educate the next generation of workers, albeit at the detriment of universities.

May 3 2025

Trump Approves First Weapons Sales to Ukraine – Minerals Deal Secured


Posted originally on May 2, 2025 by Martin Armstrong 

MineralsUkraine

The minerals deal was enough to entice President Donald Trump to cave, siding with Kiev and permitting the first US sale of military equipment to Ukraine since taking office. Trump has been extremely critical of Zelensky since the war began, consistently warning Zelensky that he has blood on his hands and must end the war.

Congress approved a $50 million defense package to Ukraine through direct commercial sales (DCS). Trump is a businessman first and foremost—the mineral deal had to be approved before he would approve of any aid package. The United States now has preferential rights to extract minerals from Ukraine. This will provide the US with rare earth elements that are essential for technology and defense at a time when China is withholding sales.

Ukraine retains full ownership over its subsoil and natural resources. Any extraction must be approved by Kyiv. The deal will establish a joint Reconstruction Investment Fund—50% of revenue from licenses for Ukrainian minerals and oil will go into this fund that is intended to aid Ukraine. “Together with the United States, we will create a fund that will attract Western investments to our country,” Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said. “We will manage this fund jointly with the United States. Neither party will have a majority vote, reflecting an equal partnership between Ukraine and the United States.”

Svyrydenko believes that the US will entice others to invest into the fund, which is supported by the US International Finance Cooperation (DFC). “DFC will help us attract investments and technologies from funds and companies in both the US and the EU and other countries that support our fight against the Russian enemy,” Svyrydenko said. She also noted that the first decade of profits and revenues will only be invested in Ukraine.

“In recognition of the significant financial and material support that the people of the United States have provided to the defense of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, this economic partnership positions our two countries to work collaboratively and invest together to ensure that our mutual assets, talents, and capabilities can accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery,” the US Treasury Department stated.

While the Kremlin has not officially commented at the time of this writing, there are statements coming from Moscow condemning this deal. Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, believes Trump is taking advantage of Ukraine by strategically asking it to “pay for U.S. aid with mineral resources.” He declared that “Ukraine is a vanishing country” and believes the US is simply profiting off of a broken nation. Sergei Markov stated that prolonging military spending will only prolong the war and deter any diplomatic efforts.

China controls 75% of the world’s rare earth minerals, and the US has been desperate to secure new reserves in the wake of the trade war. Ukraine’s mineral deposits have been largely untouched up until now. There were strategic reasons for the US to sign this deal, but it remains to be seen whether this move will lead to further involvement in this perpetual proxy war.

May 3 2025

De Minimis Loophole for Beijing Ends, Temu Halts Direct Shipping from China


Posted originally on CTH on May 2, 2025 | Sundance

Think about it.  We’ve already heard about the massive stoppages of April factory work in China, causing serious concern for Beijing and Chinese worker protests.

American importers front loaded inventory in February and March with a 50% increase in orders.  Now, in addition to those factories going quiet, the de minimis rule kicks in.

(Via CNBC) – Chinese bargain retailer Temu changed its business model in the U.S. as the Trump administration’s new rules on low-value shipments took effect Friday.

In recent days, Temu has abruptly shifted its website and app to only display listings for products shipped from U.S.-based warehouses. Items shipped directly from China, which previously blanketed the site, are now labeled as out of stock.

Temu made a name for itself in the U.S. as a destination for ultra-discounted items shipped direct from China, such as $5 sneakers and $1.50 garlic presses. It’s been able to keep prices low because of the so-called de minimis rule, which has allowed items worth $800 or less to enter the country duty-free since 2016.

The loophole expired Friday at 12:01 a.m. EDT as a result of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in April. (more)

The de minimis loophole comes from back in the 1930s. The idea back then was, say you went on a vacation to Paris, you shouldn’t have to file customs paperwork or pay taxes if you decided to ship some little Eiffel Tower statues to your friends back home.

Congress in 2015 then raised the de minimis threshold from $200 to $800. However, the e-commerce world exploded, and Chinese companies began using the de minimis loophole to ship cheap goods (ex. Temu and Shein) into the USA direct to consumers without paying any customs duty.

On April 2nd, as part of the global trade reset and tariff structure, President Trump revoked authorization for Chinese goods to transfer to the USA using the de minimis rule. The de minimis exemption was cancelled for all products coming out of China. The rule change only targeted China and Chinese shippers. No one else. [XO HERE]

As part of the modification to Executive Order #14257, President Trump has increased the baseline tariff for product mailed from China [de minimis tariff] from 30 90 percent to 120%.

Mailed products from China now face a 120% tariff.  Additionally, minimum tariff amounts increased from $75 to $100 effective May 1st, and from $150 to $2oo effective June 1st.  [See Section #4]

Example: If you order a $20 shirt from China effective June 1st, you will pay $220.  $20 for the shirt, and $200 minimum tariff.

Yep, this is only the beginning.

May 3 2025

Kevin O’Leary Discusses Beijing’s Tariff Reversal and China Wanting to Meet with Trump Administration


Kevin O’Leary appears on Fox Business to support President Trump’s tariff proposal against China that is targeted to confront the dragon behind the Beijing panda mask.  WATCH:

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Posted originally on CTH on May 2, 2025 | Sundance

Kevin O’Leary appears on Fox Business to support President Trump’s tariff proposal against China that is targeted to confront the dragon behind the Beijing panda mask.  WATCH:

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May 3 2025

White House Special Event – Promises Made, Promises Kept – 4:45pm ET Livestream


Posted originally on CTH on May 2, 2025 | Sundance

I’m not exactly sure what this event is all about; however, at 4:45pm the White House says tune in.  Livestream Links Below:

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Lo-Fi MAGA Video to Relax/Study To 

May 3 2025

REPORT: Stephen Miller a Top Contender for National Security Advisor Role


Posted originally on CTH on May 2, 2025 | Sundance

The report is coming from Axios, so take it with a grain of salt.  It could also be the White House testing the waters for DC reaction to the possibility.  The outlet is saying White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller is a top candidate for consideration to fill the National Security Advisor role to President Trump [SEE HERE].

Stephen Miller already runs the White House Homeland Security group, inside the executive office.  He has been an excellent organizer and spokesperson for DHS deportation operations, and the Homeland Security Council runs very smooth under his direction.

That said, from my perspective, the key qualification for Stephen Miller is that he DOES NOT carry the infection of time spent inside the Intelligence Community silos.  Miller’s autonomic outlook is not contextualized to believe everything the IC says. This is critical.

An effective National Security Advisor in the modern era (post Patriot Act) needs to look at all intelligence with cynicism, accepting that weaponized political perspective permeates the entire silo that might be providing the information.  The NSA cannot trust anyone in the IC, yet the NSA must be trustworthy to President Trump.

Remember, the Director of National Intelligence (Tulsi Gabbard) is an assembler of pre-existing intelligence, the DNI does not create intelligence.  The Director of the National Security Agency is under the DNI and operates as the librarian for data, from which other silos gather intelligence.  The Director of the NSA does not create intelligence.

It is the Pentagon, the State Dept., the FBI, the DOJ-NSD and the CIA who create most of the intelligence that flows to the President.  The National Security Advisor needs to be the filter between manipulated DoD, DoS, FBI and CIA information.

The Nat Sec Advisor needs to be able to question the assembled briefing material, review the raw data if needed, hop on a plane and go to the source of the intelligence to discover if it is real or false.  The Nat Sec Advisor then engages with his/her peers (foreign directors of intelligence), evaluates against the information from U.S. officials, and then informs the President of the best determined facts available.  The Nat Sec Advisor is incredibly important.

The policy of the President is framed, in part, by the information he receives from the National Security Advisor.  Unfortunately, in the game of political silos, this is also why the IC manipulate the information given to the Nat Sec Advisor in order to shape the policy of the President.  This is why the discernment skill is so important for the position.

Stephen Miller has that discernment skill and likely the right about of skepticism to be a very useful National Security Advisor; plus, Miller has the added benefit of also being trustworthy as he is currently trusted by President Trump.

If the report is accurate, Stephen Miller would be a great move.

President Trump has NEVER had a genuine, authentic and trustworthy National Security Advisor.

Miller would likely be the first, and the only NSA who would carry a MAGA perspective.  However, that said, this is also the reason why the Intelligence Community would be structurally aligned against Miller assuming the role (including both HPSCI and SSCI adversaries).   Stephen Miller would be the first NSA to exist outside their traditional control mechanisms.

The people deep inside the CIA, FBI, Pentagon and State Dept. silos would likely not appreciate Stephen Miller; however, President Trump would likely benefit greatly.

I think Stephen Miller is a great choice.

May 3 2025

April Jobs Report Reflects 177,000 New Jobs Beating Expectations, Federal Employment Drops 9,000


Posted originally on CTH on May 2, 2025 | Sundance 

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) has released the jobs and employment data for April [SEE HERE].  Within the data we see 177,000 jobs were gained, beating expectations of 133,000.   The unemployment rate remains unchanged at 4.2%.

Federal government employment declined by 9,000 in April [BLS, Table B-1]  Health care added 51,000 jobs: consisting of hospitals (+22,000) and ambulatory health care services (+21,000). Transportation and warehousing increased by 29,000 jobs in April: with warehousing and storage (+10,000), couriers and messengers (+8,000), and air transportation (+3,000).

(Via Wall Street Journal) – The U.S. economy continued to add jobs at a steady clip in April, although the pace of gains slowed slightly during a month that saw changing tariff announcements and market turmoil.

The U.S. added 177,000 jobs in April, the Labor Department reported Friday, above the gain of 133,000 jobs economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected to see.

The unemployment rate, which is based on a separate survey from the jobs figures, held steady at 4.2%.

The jobs number was less than the 185,000 jobs added in March. The job gains for February and March were revised down by a combined 58,000 jobs.

Federal-government layoffs were a drag on payrolls. Federal government employment declined by 9,000 in April.

Stocks opened higher. All three major U.S. indexes were up 1% or more in early trading. (more)

May 3 2025

Fox News Highlights DOGE Weekly Recap Meeting – Billions in Government Waste


Posted originally on CTH on May 2, 2025 | Sundance 

Apparently, each week the Dept of Govt Efficiency (DOGE) team gets together for a weekly debriefing and recap session of what is happening in the various agencies under review.  Fox News host Jesse Watters accompanied Elon Musk to this week’s meeting.

Fox News has shared the discussion to help people understand a little bit more about what is happening behind the scenes with the DOGE review team. It is an interesting discussion.  WATCH:

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Part Two is below.

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May 3 2025

Secretary of State Marco Rubio Discusses Status of Globe with Geopolitical Consequence


Posted originally on CTH on May 1, 2025 | Sundance 

I’m not sure why they choose Hannity but given that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now also the interim National Security Advisor, it’s worth quickly visiting his perspectives in this new dual role. WATCH (prompted):

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