It is not coincidental that three events are occurring simultaneously:  (1) U.S.T.R. Lighthizer is conducting public hearings on Section 301 impacts; (2) a Chinese trade delegation is in the U.S. to re-initiate talks; and (3) U.S. President Trump conducts a roundtable meeting with congressional leadership over the Foreign Investment Risk Review and Modernization Act.

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[Transcript] 11:35 A.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much for being here this morning, and thank you to Secretary Mnuchin for joining us. And congratulations. You’re doing a great job. We appreciate it very much, Steve.

I especially want to welcome Senators John Cornyn, who has been working so hard lately, and especially at the border. We’re doing things that nobody else thought we could do with very bad legislation. Better get that legislation changed. I think we’ll get it done.

Tom Cotton, Mike Crapo, Marco Rubio, and Jeb Hensarling — I want to thank you all. This has been a tremendous thing that we’re sort of announcing today, but people are — they found out about it.

Each of you was instrumental in passing the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act — so important — which was included in the National Defense Authorization Act that I signed into law earlier this month.

This new authority will enhance our ability to protect cutting-edge American technology and intellectual property vital to our national security. You’ve all been reading that intellectual property and all sorts of different things of that nature are being stolen from us by other countries. It’s going to be very hard for them to do that. We’re putting a lot of safeguards in, and we’re doing a lot of things against foreign acquisition of property, and especially where they’re near sensitive military installations.

So this was a very big deal. This was a very important deal. And the people in this room are the people that really were most instrumental in wanting it and getting it passed.

Because of our incredible achievements, other nations seek to steal, copy, or control American intellectual property. And we had very, very little safeguards up. We had, in many cases, I would say, Marco, no safeguards. And now we have probably the best there is in the world. We’ll see if that’s good enough, and if it’s not, then we will keep adding on to it.

This weakens our economy when they steal, destroys our jobs, and threatens the security of our country. I’m pleased this new legislation provides the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States greater authority when it comes to reviewing foreign ownership of American firms with critical technology and intellectual property.

And if we see something we don’t like — some country is buying something that we don’t want them to be buying — we stop it. We now have the right to stop it. They won’t be stealing our companies anymore, especially companies that are quite complex.

We will protect America’s crown jewels of intellectual property and advanced technologies from harmful foreign investments. I look forward to a productive discussion with the members of Congress here today. To a certain extent, this is a little bit of a celebration meeting, more so than a meeting, John. Right? More than a meeting on the act itself. Because we passed the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act.

But we’re very proud of it. It was in the making for years, and we got it done. So I want to very much thank the people in this room. This is really the group that worked so hard to get it.

And, Mike, maybe I’d have you start off. We’ll go around the room; we’ll say a few words about what we’ve done.

SENATOR CRAPO: Certainly.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Mike.

SENATOR CRAPO: Well, first of all, Mr. President, I appreciate the attention that you’re bringing to this issue. I don’t think that it is well known enough the intensity and the scope of efforts by other nations to steal or to simply outright purchase and access our intellectual property and our technology that’s critical for our national security.

And you’re right, this legislation updates critical procedures that we have in the United States now, in both our export controls, as well as in our Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to put us on the cutting edge to protect America’s technology, intellectual property, and ultimately our national security. So this is critically important.

And I just think it’s important that the American people realize the scope of assault on America today that is happening across this globe.

THE PRESIDENT: It’s true. That’s true. Thank you. Great job you’ve done.

Marco?

SENATOR RUBIO: Yeah, Mr. President, as you know, we often talk about this, and I’m constantly thanking you for finally standing up to China after far too long of not doing it, as an American government. This is the first time since 1991 that we have a near-peer competitor in the world. It was only America and everybody else. And now we are starting to wake up to a reality that we have a near-peer competitor. And this competitor is cheating, stealing, and undermining us, using virtually every tool at their disposal. And one of them is intellectual property theft.

They steal the stuff from us, oftentimes innovated through American taxpayer investment, and then they reverse engineer it and use it for their own purposes. Because they seek to replace us in the world — not to be equal to us; to overtake us. And it’s almost too late. But finally, someone is standing up to them. And I’m grateful to your administration for making this a priority on every front — on trade, but also on national security.

And I’m glad we’re having this meeting today. And we’ll be with you every step of the way on this.

THE PRESIDENT: Great job, Marco. And I have to tell you that — and you see it; you brought it up to me the other day — so our country, since the election, we’re up $10 trillion in worth. And unfortunately — but this is the way it goes — China, over the last four months, is down about $15 trillion. We have to stop it. We can’t allow the things that were happening to happen.

And also, we can’t allow just common trade to stay the way it was — $517 billion in deficits each year. So that’s not happening anymore.

No, I think we’re going to — and as you see, we’re rising very rapidly. We’re rising. And people have said to me, it’s the first time they’ve ever seen it where the United States is like a hot country. We used to be a hot country many years ago. but now we’re the hot country again.

Everybody wants to be here. Companies are moving in. We want some of these companies to move in also, and they’re going to be now protected and we’re going to be protected that there won’t be theft of high-grade technology.

So, thank you, Marco. I appreciate it.

John?

SENATOR CORNYN: Mr. President, under your administration, we’re finally taking the big step to address the national security threat posed by China, which has grown dramatically, as others have already said. And I believe that China represents the foremost national security and economic challenge to our country of any other country in the world —

THE PRESIDENT: Not Russia?

SENATOR CORNYN: — in the long term.

THE PRESIDENT: Not Russia?

SENATOR CORNYN: In the long term.

In addition, its military transformation and its belligerence in places like the South Sea — South China Sea — as Senators Crapo and Rubio have pointed out — they’ve engaged in outright theft of our intellectual property. But this addresses the problem of foreign investment made strategically to exploit gaps in the Committee on Foreign Investment, and for them to be able to acquire the know-how on intellectual property they need in order to gain access to this cutting-edge, dual-use technology.

I just want to express my appreciation to Secretary Mnuchin and Secretary Mattis, the Attorney General, Secretary Ross, and your entire administration for your partnership. We could not have gotten this done without each of these people at the table and certainly the leadership of Chairman Crapo on the Senate side and Chairman Hensarling on the House side. And just, this is a great accomplishment. Now we need to make sure it gets implemented. And that’s — I know we’re top of Secretary Mnuchin’s list to make sure it operates as Congress intended it in order to accomplish these goals.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think not enough focus has been put on China. And that’s been for a long time. And we want to have — a big focus is on Russia. Not enough focus is on China — and other countries, frankly. Not just Russia and China; it’s many countries we have to watch. And probably individuals also.

But this goes a long way. And I appreciate, very much, your words. It’s — you’ve done a great job. Thank you very much, John.

Steve?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: I appreciate the opportunity to work with everybody in this room on this important legislation. I think this is just a great example of the Senate and the House working together, giving us, at CFIUS, the new critical tools that we need to protect investments in the United States while also allowing for investments in the United States. And we will be launching the pilot program very quickly, and we look forward to full implementation of the legislation next year.

So, thank you to everybody.

THE PRESIDENT: You guys like all those cameras behind your head as you speak? (Laughter.) I’d be very, very — I’d take a long time in combing my hair if I was going to be in that seat. (Laughter.) It would take a long time.

Tom?

SENATOR COTTON: Well, it’s a really good thing that the Congress now recognizes China as our chief, long-term rival. We’ve known for a long time that China has been hurting our manufacturing sector, and they’re not buying enough of our agricultural products. They discriminate against our companies. They just turned down the merger from Qualcomm, an American company, and NXP, a Dutch company. It had nothing to do with China; just to hurt the United States and our jobs here.

They’ve been conducting espionage for years. You know, you’ve noticed that their jets look a lot like our jets in our military.

THE PRESIDENT: Especially the F-22.

SENATOR COTTON: Exactly. And now they’re just outright buying our technology. You know, they don’t have to steal it so much anymore, especially if you’ve got smaller companies that have critical breakthroughs in technology or artificial intelligence, or quantum computing, what have you.

This legislation will allow us to recognize those threats for what they are, and to stop China from buying our most critical technology that we need to maintain our role as the world’s greatest superpower.

So I thank you for your support for this legislation, and thank you to all my peers around the table, and encourage Secretary Mnuchin and everyone on the Committee on Foreign Investment to take a very tough look at everything that China is doing to the United States.

THE PRESIDENT: And, Tom, you know, we’ve put a $50 billion number out there. Now, the total number is $250 billion. But of that, $50 billion has to do with technology — high tech and things. And there’s a 25-percent tax on that, now, coming in.

And I think that, economically, also helps us. This is very different, but it also helps us. And people are saying that’s already having a big effect. And it is already; we’re collecting that money. It’s a lot of money. Much of it is being collected. Some of it starts in a week. But it’s a tremendous amount of money coming into the coffers of the United States, which nobody has ever seen that before. Nobody has ever come close to seeing that before, actually.

Jeb?

REPRESENTATIVE HENSARLING: Thank you, Mr. President. I’m very happy to represent the House today. I don’t know what to think about the ratio. Does it take one House member to equal four senators? I don’t know. I’ll let them draw their own implications. (Laughter.)

Mr. President, I just came from doing a series of town hall meetings in the 5th District of Texas. People are enjoying — most of them — the best economy in their lifetimes. And they send their gratitude.

Your leadership on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the deregulatory agenda of this administration, has made a real difference.

But you know, and this administration knows, we’re not going to keep 3 percent-plus economic growth if our intellectual property and technology is taken from us by hook and crook, and ill-gotten gains and improper leverage.

So, with your leadership, CFIUS has been updated for the first time in a decade. Needed gaps were filled. And also, Mr. President, I wanted to just thank you for helping unite our Congress and unite our nation. Because the bill that came out of the House was almost unanimous. I think we had two or three dissenting votes. And so Congress is united to ensure that this intellectual property theft does not continue; that we stand up to all the countries that are not playing by the rules, including — and especially — China.

So I want to thank my fellow Texan in the Senate for leading here, my counterpart, Senator Crapo. I want to thank a couple of the House members who aren’t here: Robert Pittenger of North Carolina who authored, originally, the House bill, and Barr, who helped shepherd it through our committee.

And I want to thank the Secretary who played a very vital role, Mr. President, in negotiating those few differences between the House and Senate, and ensuring that we could get this into the NDAA and get your signature. So I wanted to acknowledge yourself as well.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Jeb, very much. This is really a great achievement, and I want to thank everybody in the room very much. Great job.

Thank you, everybody, very much. Thank you.

END

Cristhian Rivera is the illegal alien who killed 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts in Iowa.  Today it is revealed that Rivera used fraudulent and stolen identification to apply for work, a VERY common way for illegal aliens to gain employment in the U.S.

The farm where he worked ran the social security number through the authentication process, after completing the I-9 form; however, they did not use E-Verify which is connected to the Department of Homeland Security.

IOWA – […] Cristhian Bahena Rivera,  the 24-year-old immigrant accused of abducting and killing Tibbetts, allegedly used a different name and provided false identification when he applied for employment at the farm just outside of Brooklyn, his employer said Wednesday.

Rivera worked at Yarrabee Farms in rural Poweshiek County for four years, Lang said. Yarrabee Farms is owned by multiple generations of the Lang family, including Craig Lang, former Farm Bureau President and prominent Iowa Republican.

[…] Dane Lang is Craig’s son. He said Rivera provided a state-issued government ID and social security number when applying for employment. The information is required to file a Form I-9, which verifies the identity and employment eligibility of a person in the U.S.

As a voluntary second verification step, the business put Rivera’s information through the Social Security Administration’s number verification service, but Dane Lang said he and others assumed it was E-Verify.gov.

E-verify.gov allows employers to check if the information on a Form I-9 matches Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security records.

Employment verification officials consider E-Verify a more robust backgrounding system, because it includes immigration status and eligibility to work in the United States. A check of only a social security number verifies that the number, name and birth date an employee provided match information that exists in the federal Social Security database.

Dane Lang said Rivera provided a different name when he applied for employment, but he would not share it on Wednesday, citing the investigation. (read more)

At its core, this is the reason why Wall Street, The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and GOPe republicans are against border security and mandatory e-verify.  BIG-AG and Big Business support the status quo so they can retain/exploit unlawful low-wage illegal aliens within their business enterprise.

There are untold numbers, likely hundreds-of-thousands, possibly millions, of illegal aliens within the agriculture and farm industry.

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.