Author of ‘The Coming Collapse of China’, Gordon Chang, appears on Fox Business to discuss the mounting U.S. trade tensions with China, the fallout from the protests against Carrie Lam in Hong Kong, and the announced visit by Xi to North Korea.

Chang also sees the visit by China’s Chairman Xi Jinping to North Korea as a strategic and purposeful moment for Beijing; an attempt to find footing against the overwhelming economic punishment being delivered by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Well, well, well….  Against the backdrop of everything we have been discussing about the nature of the U.S. – China – North Korea geopolitics; and considering the current position of all the players; THIS is a very interesting development:

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea for two days from Thursday, state media in both countries reported on Monday, making him the first Chinese leader to visit in 14 years.

Neighboring China is reclusive North Korea’s only major ally, and the visit comes amid renewed tensions between the United States and North Korea over efforts to persuade Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons.

“Both sides will exchange views on the (Korean) peninsula situation, and push for new progress in the political resolution of the peninsula issue,” China’s official broadcaster CCTV said in a lengthy report that led the evening news. (read more)

The possibility here is one most CTH readers will immediately recognize.  Is this the predictable face-saving approach Chairman Xi Jinping has selected?

For two-and-a-half years U.S. President Trump has been working on two connected objectives: (1) removing the threat posed by North Korea by severing the ability of Beijing to use the proxy province as a weapon (Kim is hostage to China); and (2) deconstructing the growing economic influence of China.

Both issues are directly connected to national security; and both issues are being approached by President Trump through the use of economic leverage to achieve national security results.

At first blush, there’s always a possibility of Chairman Xi going to see Chairman Kim in dragon mode… looking for a way to weaponize the DPRK despite the budding relationship between Chairman Kim (hostage) and U.S. President Donald Trump.  However, that dragon perspective is blunted by the open media indications that the talks are centered around denuclearization.   So that puts more weight on the second possibility.

The second possibility, the more optimistic possibility, is that we have finally reached that point in the U.S. -vs- China economic confrontation where Chairman Xi is now facing defeat and attempting to save face, and gain a better economic outcome, by releasing his hostage.   This would be an incredible, almost unfathomable, win for President Trump; and an astounding visible affirmation that the year’s long strategy has been successful.

When we began watching this journey in 2017, there were indications President Trump was working specifically to create an outcome of a hostage release.  And in the years that have followed there have been multiple highly-nuanced indications of the strategy Trump was following.  This visit by Chairman Xi to North Korea in advance of the G20 summit has all the indications of this could very well be the culmination; ending exactly where President Trump has intended. As we noted in this graphic two years ago:

Caution is the word of the day.  After all, this is the cunning and duplicitous China we are talking about here…. they have a history of using deceit and stall tactics to achieve victory.  However, President Trump has shown he is well aware of what lies behind the panda mask.

That said, it’s worth watching very closely now to see the details of the G20 and whether Xi and Trump actually meet.

Beijing has announced Chairman Xi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are scheduled for a meeting….  and we know on the issue of DPRK hostage release Chairman Xi will need to save face very carefully.

One way for Xi to avoid the appearance of acquiescence to Trump would be for him and Beijing to place the victory at the feet of Moon Jae-in instead of President Trump.   I would almost guarantee, if indeed Xi is now giving up his hostage, China will position themselves as magnanimous panda and South Korea as the beneficiary.

“Peace is the Prize” ~ Donald Trump

Ultimately, I don’t think President Trump really cares about who gets credit for the victory and hostage release of Chairman Kim.  The world will know, though the media may not assign, the victory is only because President Trump has outwitted Chairman Xi and his communist regime…. and Trump did that though strategic economic pressure.

We should be able to get some indications from public and media discussion ahead of the G20 summit in Japan this month, as to how -specifically- the hostage release will take place; and/or the terms and conditions within that release.   Will Chairman Xi meet with President Trump?

…or will Xi tell Kim (or an emissary) to inform Trump there will be no meeting, but the face-saving terms and reasons are understood by all the principals.

Incredible development.

Lastly, as it relates to the continued U.S. -vs- China trade and economic confrontation, if Chairman Xi expects POTUS Trump to retreat from the massive geopolitical leverage he has created that won’t happen.

President Trump has been openly, albeit with coded messages, telling the world North Korea is no longer a threat.  The secondary purpose of making those statements is to blunt the value of Xi giving up his hostage.  In essence, Trump has been telling Beijing: it’s a victory already achieved, so magnanimous panda isn’t providing Trump anything of measurable value.

Remember, two connected objectives: (1) removing the threat posed by North Korea by severing the ability of Beijing to use the proxy province as a weapon; and (2) deconstructing the growing economic influence of China.  With #1 achieved, President Trump still fully intends to get #2.  Heck, Trump has spent 30-years openly advocating for the principle of restoring American wealth.  That means the economic pressure will continue until Beijing is defeated.

Charles Payne, filling in for Maria Bartiromo, interviews White House Manufacturing and Trade Policy advisor Peter Navarro.  Unfortunately the interview begins with a discussion of tariff polling….  The vast majority of Americans have no understanding of the impact of tariffs and/or MAGAnomic policy; they only know the economic outcomes they can feel.

Mr. Navarro walks through how tariffs interact with global supply chains and the financial manipulation by multinational corporate interests.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appears on Fox News Sunday to debate antagonistic DC Swamp Guard Chris Wallace.  The primary topic was the recent attacks on shipping tankers by Iranian elements in the Gulf of Oman.

Additionally, Secretary Pompeo discussed the protests in Hong Kong against the growing influence from Beijing; the issues with North Korea to achieve a positive outcome with Kim Jong Un; the New York Times story on U.S. active measures against Russia; and the nonsensical -hypothetical- foreign opposition research issue.

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Secretary Pompeo also appeared on Face The Nation:

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The latest set of statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) shows all of the professional pundit claims of higher prices on imported goods due to Trump tariffs are simply disconnected from reality.  In actuality the year-over-year prices of import products are actually dropping:

U.S. Import prices fell 0.3 percent in May, the first monthly decline since a 1.4-percent drop in December. Import prices advanced 1.8 percent from December to April before the downturn in May. The price index for overall imports decreased 1.5 percent over the past 12 months, matching the drop in January. These were the largest over-the-year declines since the index fell 2.2 percent in August 2016. (See table 1.)

The U.S steel and aluminum tariffs have been in effect globally since 2017. Tariffs on softwood lumber (Canada) & durable appliances (S. Korea), same duration.  Additionally the first set of tariffs on China is now well over a year old; and the second set of expanded tariffs on China began a month ago; again, no material impact to the delivered price.

Despite two years of claims by the professional media that tariffs would lead to higher prices for U.S. consumers, as you can see above the reality is quite different.

In part this is driven by lower fuel and energy costs.  Additionally, China is attempting to subsidize its affected industry; and several nations, including China, are attempting to retain export status by adopting monetary policies that devalue their currency.  All of these efforts at countering the U.S. tariffs are having a deflationary impact.

[…] Imports by Locality of Origin: The price index for imports from China edged down 0.1 percent in May following a 0.2-percent drop the previous month. Import prices from China have not recorded a monthly advance since the index rose 0.1 percent in May 2018. Prices for imports from China declined 1.4 percent over the past year, the largest 12-month drop since a 1.6-percent decrease in February 2017.

Import prices from Japan recorded no change in May, after a 0.1-percent decline in April. Prices for imports from Japan also recorded no change from May 2018 to May 2019.

The price index for imports from Canada declined 1.0 percent in May, driven by lower fuel prices. (Link)

President Trump has taken the leverage of economics to levels of geopolitical strategy never seen before.  Nowhere is the genius strategy more clear than in the way Trump has positioned the trade reset and confrontation with China.

In hindsight every move since early 2017 including:  (1) the warm welcome of Chairman Xi Jinping to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate; (2) the vociferous praise poured upon Xi; (3) the November 2017 tour of Asia; (4) the direct engagement with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un; the strategic relationship with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe; and a host of smaller nuanced moves have been quietly building toward a conclusion.

The upcoming G-20 summit is the last chance for Trump and Xi to reconcile considerable differences and President Trump has the strongest strategic position any Chinese official has ever faced.

After Beijing walked away from previous agreements between USTR Robert Lighthizer and Vice-Premier Liu He, Trump initiated a series of punishing economic consequences that had to have been well planned in advance.

The economy in China is reeling from the pressure applied; and stunningly it has only been a month since the consequence phase began.

In addition to tariff increases, the U.S. blacklisted Huawei Technologies Co., threatened other major Chinese tech companies and essentially cut-off China from the international supply chain it needs to sustain itself.  Beijing responded by drawing up a list of “unreliable entities” and making threats against any enterprise that would walk away from business engagement with China.  The totalitarian response has worsened the situation, and more companies have announced their intent to decouple from Beijing.

An important aspect, missed by most observers, is the ideology and outlook within any Chinese engagement. Quite simply, if it does not benefit China it is not done.  Therefore any negotiation with China is challenging because Beijing will cede no ground they view as already won.

China does not believe in ‘concession from current position‘ within any terms.  Ultimately this is the reason why the negotiated agreement by Lighthizer and Vice-Premier He was dismissed by Beijing and talks collapsed. China will not cede an already attained position.

China never negotiates terms where they give ground.  Almost all negotiation with China has historically surrounded time.  To appease the West the longer-thinking approach of China has been to negotiate winning more slowly, but they will never retreat on previously won gains.

However, in advance of the G20 Summit in Japan President Trump has positioned Chairman Xi in a lose/lose dynamic.  This forces the outlook of Beijing into a state of internal anxiety.  Only President Donald Trump could have achieved this position, is really is remarkable and is noted within this Bloomberg article:

(Bloomberg) By now, Xi Jinping is used to Donald Trump’s tariff threats. But the U.S. president’s latest ultimatum is personal, and the Chinese leader’s response could have far-reaching consequences for his political future.

Trump on Monday said he could impose tariffs “much higher than 25%” on $300 billion in Chinese goods if Xi doesn’t meet him at the upcoming Group of 20 summit in Japan. China’s foreign ministry — which usually refuses to provide details of meetings until the very last minute — declined Tuesday to say whether the meeting would take place.

The brinkmanship puts Xi — China’s strongest leader in decades — in perhaps the toughest spot of his six-year presidency. If Xi caves to Trump’s threats, he risks looking weak at home. If he declines the meeting, he must accept the economic costs that come with Trump possibly extending the trade conflict through the 2020 presidential elections.

“Whether they meet or not, none of the possible scenarios are good for President Xi or the economy in the long run,” said Zhang Jian, an associate professor at Peking University. “You don’t have a good choice which can meet the needs of the Chinese economy or Mr. Xi’s political calculations.”  (read more)

Read that again carefully….

“If Xi caves to Trump’s threats, he risks looking weak at home. If he declines the meeting, he must accept the economic costs that come with Trump possibly extending the trade conflict through the 2020 presidential elections.”

That is what you call a Lose/Lose scenario.

China NEVER faces lose/lose situations.  The Chinese culture doesn’t even have a frame of reference for a position that includes ‘less losing’ amid better options.

For President Trump to have navigated Chairman Xi into such a position is the pinnacle of strategic success. In the long history of western engagement with Beijing it has never happened, ever.

President Trump is now playing with Chairman Xi like a mouse in a maze.

Trump wants to go to the full confrontation position. Donald J Trump has been talking about this for thirty years.  Additionally, for the past two years he has strategically laid the groundwork and aligned the allies needed for this final confrontation.  President Trump is looking for an excuse to apply the scale of tariffs on China that will crush their U.S. export business – and – force them into massive state subsidies to retain their manufacturing model. This approach creates pressure to retract from preexisting global financial obligations.

President Trump has threatened more tariffs and more consequential action as it relates to non-tariff barriers, IP protection, forced technology transfers etc. as a result of China  reneging on their prior agreement.  In essence, President Trump has put Chairman Xi under threat.  Beijing’s traditional and cultural position would be no-meeting and no negotiation while under threats.

However, as a baseline disposition President Trump doesn’t want Xi Jinping to meet with him.  The appearance of a ‘slight’ is the opening Trump can exploit to apply the 25% tariffs to the remaining $350 billion of imported Chinese goods. This will crush his adversary.

So what does President Trump do… while the tariff threat and trade punishment looms (and he keeps reminding everyone of it), he levels massive amounts of praise upon Chairman Xi making the pressure almost unbearable.

Laughably, U.S. President Trump is wearing the panda mask, and simultaneously applying the dragon approach.  Yes, Trump is using China’s own duplicitous strategy against them.

Chairman Xi cannot meet with President Trump or his appearance implies a willingness to negotiate terms; and that reverses the dismissive position previously outlined by Beijing when they rebuked the earlier agreement. A meeting now would appear as weak.

However, if Xi refuses the G20 meeting he will be walking into a trap and allowing President Trump to take all adversarial action that could indeed collapse Xi’s economy.

Worse still, Beijing cannot fall-back-on their historic approach and begin shooting missiles from their proxy province of North Korea to attain leverage and negotiating position… because President Trump has already blunted that ability by meeting with Chairman Kim Jong Un.

Oh, the G20 is going to be epic.

…and LOL, the G20 is on Trump’s home ASEAN turf, Japan, with Trump’s good friend and golf partner Prime Minister Abe.

Too funny…. apparently Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez didn’t watch what happened to China (or Canada) when they made similar threats of retaliation against President Trump’s tariffs.  Seriously.

President Trump wants the border secure, yes. However, President Trump would also welcome a trade tariff battle with Mexico (they can’t win); so this isn’t a technically a threat from the position of POTUS:

(Reuters) – Mexico will be ready to retaliate in kind if the U.S. government imposes tariffs on Mexican exports to the United States, Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on Friday.

Speaking in Congress, Marquez said Mexico’s government would also initiate bilateral and multilateral procedures to defend its trade interests if the United States were to introduce tariffs. (link)

Now, if Mexico intended to fulfill its end of the recent border and immigration agreement, the tariffs would be a moot point.  So why are Mexican officials even contemplating a tariff war?

Here’s the specific and expanded Mexican promise on border and migration control:

That’s the letter POTUS Trump had in his pocket:

Essentially: keep your word, or in 45 days things will get ugly…. and 45 days from then, the 20% rate tariffs will begin.  Choose wisely.

Earlier today President Donald Trump delivered remarks on expanding health coverage options for employers and workers through health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs).

Under the rule, employers will be able to provide their workers with tax-preferred funds to pay for the cost of health insurance coverage that workers purchase in the individual market. The rule will particularly benefit small businesses that face costs in offering a traditional group health plan and businesses that do not currently offer coverage.

[Transcript] THE PRESIDENT: (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you. This is very nice. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Happy Birthday, Mr. President! (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

THE PRESIDENT: Beautiful. Wow.

AUDIENCE: (Sings “Happy Birthday.”) (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Very nice. Wow. That’s — that is very, very nice.

Please. You must like what I’m about to say, I think. (Laughter.) And we all like what we’re about to say. We worked very hard on it.

And thank you all for joining us on this magnificent day in the Rose Garden. A special place. We’re here to announce the latest historic action that we’re taking to help millions of Americans receive high-quality and very affordable healthcare — something so important. And we’ve been working on it long and hard. A certain group, right on these first few rows, they’ve been working very long and very hard. And I want to thank you.

We’re delighted to be joined today by Vice President Mike Pence. Mike, thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you.

In addition, I want to express my gratitude to Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Steve, thank you very much. (Applause.)

Alex Acosta. Secretary. (Applause.) Thank you.

A man who has been working very hard for this day: Secretary Alex Azar. Thank you, Alex. (Applause.)

And also with us are Acting Administrator of the Small Business Administration Chris Pilkerton. And — where’s Chris? Chris? Good. Chris, hi. (Applause.) Congratulations, by the way. Congratulations. You liking it? I hope you’re liking it. Huh? I hear you are.

And Treasurer of the United States Jovita Carranza. Thank you, Jovita. (Applause.) Thank you very much.

And I want to extend a special welcome to the many small business owners who are here. We have a lot of them in the — in our midst. And thank you very much. This is a big advantage for you and something where you can take care a lot of — a lot of great people are going to be taken care of. So, thank you all for being here. Thank you very much.

Small business optimism is soaring in our very booming and big economy. And today, we give you even more reason for your confidence in the future.

Two years ago, in October of 2017, I signed an executive order to increase healthcare choice and competition all across our nation. Since that time, my administration has worked tirelessly to expand options and drive down the cost of healthcare for the American people.

We took swift action to open short-term health plans and association health plans to millions and millions of Americans. Many of these options are already reducing the cost of health insurance premiums by up to 60 percent and, really, more than that.

We also have launched a new initiative to bring down the price of prescription drugs. We are holding Big Pharma accountable. And, I must say, Big Pharma has also been working with us to try and get prices down. And if we had support with the Democrats, I must say, we could get it down even more.

We’ve reduced prices now by a — quite a bit. And this year is the first year, Alex Acosta — right? — in 54 years — 53 years that drugs prices have come down. And I want to congratulate you and all the people that have worked so hard with you. (Applause.) That’s really an incredible thing. First year.

And we could get them down a lot more if we had a little support in Congress. And I think we’ll get that support. I think that has to be — that has to be a joint. If that’s not going to be bilateral, we’re going to get that done, and I think we’re going to get it done quickly. We’re going to get a lot of support. I’ve spoken to Democrats, and they are in support of it. We have to see if we can actually get them to raise their hand. If they do that, we’re going to see some tremendous cuts in drug prices. So thank you very much, Alex.

We’ve asked Congress to support a new research initiative to find a breakthrough cure for childhood cancers. And we’ve begun a public health campaign to eradicate AIDS in America once and for all. And that’s really taking place like nobody would believe. We’re looking at a 10-year plan. And at the end of 10 years, we’re going to be in very good shape. Who would’ve thought that was possible even just a short time ago?

And we’re making dramatic strides in combatting the opioid epidemic. We have it down by a period of almost — a number of almost 17 percent this year. And when I heard it, I thought they made a mistake. I said, “You are not real. That’s not a real number.” And it is very much a real number.

So, Kellyanne and all of the people that have worked on that, that’s a tremendous achievement. And we’ve worked with the medical profession and with doctors and with everybody, and to think that it’s 17 percent in one year — that’s a tremendous achievement. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

And we’re now working with Congress to pass legislation that ends surprise medical billing. And we’re going to have another big announcement in two weeks, unrelated but something that’s going to have a profound effect on the things that we’re talking about and have been talking about over the last two and a half years. It’s going to be something really incredible. That’ll take place over the next two weeks. That’ll be a very big announcement. Nobody knows what it is. It’s going to be a big surprise, but it’s going to be a very pleasant one.

No American should be blindsided by bills for medical services they never agreed to in advance. We’re promoting price transparency to force competition and drive down cost. And that’s what’s happening, and that’s one of the reasons we’re getting the drug prices — stopping from those tremendous increases that have taken effect for so many years. For so many decades, they’ve been going only in one direction: up. And now we have them breaking even and going down.

We’re defending Medicare and Social Security for our great seniors. We’re eliminated — and we have eliminated Obamacare’s deeply unpopular individual mandate penalty. And you know how bad that was. (Applause.) Think of it: You paid a tremendous amount of money for the privilege of paying so that you don’t have to pay for bad insurance. Okay? How bad does that get? That’s got to be a first. Nobody has ever heard of that one. But we eliminated it. It’s gone. So you’re saving a lot of money, and it’s a terrific thing.

And we will always protect patients with preexisting conditions. Always. (Applause.) We’re always going to protect the patients. Preexisting conditions.

And today I’m pleased to announce another groundbreaking action. We are dramatically increasing the ability of Americans to access more affordable health insurance through options and through their employers. We’re doing so by expanding Health Reimbursement Arrangements, or HRAs, as they are commonly known. HRAs will allow American workers to shop for the plan that’s right for them and their family, and have their employer cover the cost. And it’s a reasonable cost, and people are going to be getting tremendous benefits.

This will be possible because HRAs will now receive the same tax treatment that other employer-provided health plans have always enjoyed. There was a lot of restrictions, and it was impossible until now. This is something that its time has come. It’s popular. It’s really, really been a success. And I think this is going to be — for many people, this will be the way of the future.

The previous administration imposed crushing fines and other penalties on HRAs to prevent employees from selecting the plan of their choice. It was impossible. With today’s action, we are eliminating all of those restrictions. And thanks to the changes we’re making, an estimated 11 million Americans will now choose their own plans with the help of the HRAs. This will increase the size — (applause) — thank you. This is a very big deal. This will increase the size of the individual market by at least 50 percent, improving choice, promoting competition, and lowering costs for the American people.

HRAs provide another important option to help even more employers offer great health insurance. And the benefits to the American workers will be incredible. They will be especially useful for small employers: An estimated 90 percent of the businesses that will take advantage of HRAs have fewer than 20 employees.

This announcement is a monumental victory for small businesses, for their workers, and previously uninsured Americans who will now have access to high-quality health plans of their choice.

With us today is one of our nation’s wonderful small business owners: [DEL: Tony :DEL] [Tom] Kunkel from Maryland. And I will say — Tom, you come up. Where is Tom? Are you up here someplace, Tom? I have not met Tom. Oh, you’re a handsome guy. Come on up here. (Laughter.) Tom Kunkel, would you say a few words and let them know what’s just happened to you?

Please. Thank you, Tom. (Applause.) Thank you.

MR. KUNKEL: First of all, I’d like to say “Happy Birthday” to the President.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.

MR. KUNKEL: Thank you. A lot of people from my office also wanted to say “Happy Birthday.”

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

MR. KUNKEL: Three years ago, I actually spoke to the U.S. Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee about reinstating the Health Reimbursement Benefit Program that had existed previously. This was after the Obama administration had made it illegal for our business to help employees with their health insurance costs.

At the time, we had been helping our employees, some who had very serious medical conditions, including cancer. And after the Obama ruling we had to stop all reimbursements, and –which caused a great bit of hardship for our employees. And several of them I actually ended up losing because they had to leave us and go to other companies that offered a little better health benefits.

So I want to thank the President and the administration for supporting this new measure and all of his pro-small-business policies. We very much appreciate it in the small-business community.

So this new rule really allows small businesses to offer a benefit to our employees that will help our employees with healthcare costs, provide more and better options for them and also for employers.

So, again, thank you very much, Mr. President. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Also, we’re joined right now — Andrea Burns, a small business owner from Pennsylvania. Please come up. Andrea, please. (Applause.)

MS. BURNS: Hello.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. How are you doing? Nice to see you.

MS. BURNS: Happy birthday

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.

MS. BURNS: Nice to see you.

THE PRESIDENT: Have a good time.

MS. BURNS: Hello, my name is Andrea Burns, and I’m a director at Richard S. Burns and Company, a family-owned and operated construction waste material recovery and processing facility in Philadelphia. We employ approximately 100 people.

And, right now, my brother and I — Allen — choose the healthcare plan for all of those employees. They don’t have the opportunity to choose the provider, the coverage, or the premium. This plan — HRAs — would allow us to give them the opportunity to choose the plan that’s best for them. Thank you. Thank you for making (inaudible).

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, darling. Use it well. Use it well, Andrea. That’s — you will. Thank you very much.

And it’s going to be a great — it’ll be a great difference. I’ve repeatedly called on Congress to work with us to bring down the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs. It’s all happening.

Instead, more than 120 Democrats in Congress have signed up for the Bernie Sanders massive government takeover of healthcare. That’s going to hurt a lot of people. It’s going to hurt our country. Socialist healthcare would crush American workers with higher taxes, long wait times, and far worse care. Their plan would eliminate Medicare as we know it and terminate the private health insurance of 180 million Americans and even more than that now.

On my watch, we will never let that happen. We will never be a socialist country. (Applause.)

We have to reject the socialist model that rations care, restricts access, slashes quality, and forces patients onto endless waitlists. Instead, we believe in freedom. We believe in choice. We believe in the highest standard of care in the world — anywhere in the world.

And we believe that American families must always have the right and the power to choose the very best treatments, plans, doctors for themselves and for their loved ones. They need that freedom. They have to have that freedom. And that’s exactly what today’s action is all about. We are putting the people back in charge with more choice, for better care, at a far lower cost.

And other people will not be paying for their healthcare. We won’t be raising taxes. We won’t be taxing you into oblivion. We won’t be raising the tax rates to 90 percent. I’ve heard 90 percent. The only problem with that one: It doesn’t even come close to taking care of the situation. So that means you have to go a lot higher than 90 percent. I don’t think that’s going to work too well in this country. We’ve lowered taxes. We want to keep them down. That’s very important. (Applause.)

And we will not rest until Americans have the healthcare system they need and deserve, a system that finally puts American patients first.

I want to thank everybody for being here. It’s a very important day, a very special day. God bless you, and God Bless America.

Thank you all very much. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you.

Thank you everybody.

[Transcript Ends]