How do you get congress to accept the NAFTA notification of intent letter? Why, you backstop the Canadian decision to undermine U.S. dairy farm exports by applying equity import tariffs and offsetting losses to U.S. manufacturers.
First stop, lumber mills. ie U.S. regional impacts, not coincidentally, represented by key Democrat constituents.
The congressional delegations from Washington State and Oregon happen to be mostly elected Democrats; and they happen to applaud the efforts; which means they are not able to criticize the approach. Hmm, it’s almost as if Wilburine and POTUS had a strategy or something. Nah, couldn’t be.
(Via CNN) These are the first tariffs imposed by President Trump, who during his election campaign threatened to use them on imports from both China and Mexico. The decision on Monday is bound to lead to a standoff and could stoke fears of a trade war between the US and Canada, two of the world’s largest trade powers.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the tariffs, or taxes, announced Monday evening were being imposed after trade talks on dairy products fell through.
“It has been a bad week for US-Canada trade relations,” Ross said in a statement. Trump’s tariffs come as the US, Canada and Mexico prepare to renegotiate NAFTA, the free trade agreement among the three countries that came into being in 1994. Trump has directed almost all of his NAFTA criticism at Mexico, which makes this decision even more surprising.
When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Trump in February, Trump said he only expected to be “tweaking” the US-Canada trade relationship.
The tariffs — also called duties — ranged from 3% to 24% on specifically five Canadian lumber companies. For all other Canadian lumber companies, there’s a nearly 20% duty imposed on exports to the US.
The five firms were: West Fraser Mills, Tolko Marketing and Sales, J.D. Irving, Canfor Corporation, and Resolute FP Canada. West Fraser Mills will pay the highest duty of 24%.
The duties were imposed to create a level playing field for American lumber companies.
U.S. lumber companies allege Canadian firms are provided with unfair subsidies by the Canadian government.
Canadian exports of softwood lumber to the U.S. were valued at $5.6 billion last year, according to the Commerce Department.
The Commerce Department said the duties are preliminary and a final determination will be made in September. The U.S. Lumber Coalition, which represents the industry, said the duties will likely take effect starting sometime next week. The Commerce Department wasn’t available to clarify. (read more)
REACTION: Senator Ron Wyden (Democrat-Oregon.), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, applauded the Commerce Department’s decision.
“Unfairly traded softwood lumber from Canada has for decades hurt mill towns and American millworkers in Oregon and across the country,” Wyden said.
“Today’s announcement sends the message that help is on the way,” he said. (link)
QUESTION: The bounce in the Euro is a fool’s’ game?
ANSWER: Absolutely. The Euro is doomed because especially if Le Pen loses, Brussels will be relieved and proceed as usual. The same problems will merely exist and no reform will come forward to save the day. A good wind will blow over the European banking system. You are expecting politicians to admit they were wrong and surrender power in Brussels. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. As Einstein said, you will NEVER solve the problem of the Euro with the same thinking process.
As weekly closing above the 10860 level in the Euro will imply the rally will press high to test the 112-114 level. Just look at the technical perspective on a monthly level. The Downtrend Line stands in May up at 12622. We are nowhere near reversing the trend in the Euro.
We have the French, British, and then German elections here in 2017. We do not expect total chaos before 2018. That seems to be the point of a major shift.
The latest polls show that most people who voted for Trump are satisfied. When the same questions have been asking about Hillary, the opposite response appears. The polls are actually showing that Trump would win a greater margin today than last year. This is interesting for it is confirming the collapse in government with Big Bang that began on October 1st, 2015.
Big Bang was the start of the collapse in confidence in government. This cycle should intensify starting in 2018 running head long into 2020. This is all good for the volatility in markets we see ahead. This is the same trend that produced BREXIT and just wiped out all mainstream parties in France.
Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney appears on Bloomberg News to discuss the seismic, epic, thundershock confrontational clash that is about to take place between the Trump administration and the DC UniParty.
There are no adjectives capable of describing the scope and immeasurable scale of the battle that is about to transpire between the White House and the Democrat/Republican UniParty.
MONEY is where every entity within the full-swamp goes nuclear against President Trump and the administration. Despite all prior discussions toward this end, it is doubtful that more than one-in-a-million people can fully grasp the dynamic at play.
Because the procedural wonk is so inherently riddled with ten thousand tentacles of political schematics, I will defray the wonk-speak until after the video.
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If you are interested in deep political weeds, keep reading. However, if you have blood pressure issues or are concerned about your physical or mental health, STOP HERE and go enjoy life. Believe me.
From a political perspective the outline of the assembled enemy forces are evident. Next week former President Obama is scheduled to reappear in Chicago. This is not coincidental. There are trillions of dollars at stake.
Every vested financial interest has been, and is now, prepared to do battle against President Trump. All of the body blows from the media, including their professional gaslighting efforts, was merely to soften Trump up for the pending attacks.
All of the previous accusations, ridicule, marginalization, probes and diminishment efforts by the media and their multinational corporate entities will pale in comparison to what lies ahead.
If you listen to Mulvaney carefully, and accept that the UniParty apparatus is real and purposeful, then you can see the scope of the financial strategy coming from DC. Remember, the BIG CLUB has paid for legislative policy. They will not allow those payments to be non-reciprocated, all of the DC politicians are now commissioned to fight without limits or rules on their behalf.
BIG CLUB: ♦Retention of ObamaCare. ♦Deep Federal Spending. ♦NO border wall. ♦Open-ended immigration until congress delivers comprehensive immigration reform to include amnesty. ♦Tax Cuts (corporate revenue enhancements).
♦House Speaker Paul Ryan will use the budgetary rules process, as a backdoor, to leverage the U.S. CoC Lobbyists construct of the Border Adjustment Tax (BAT).
♦No-one paid by the Big Club in Washington DC will willingly support the Border Wall.
Think about what Director Mulvaney is saying in the video above. Mulvaney is highlighting the point that tax/budget will either use the reconciliation process, or not – depending on the opposition and depending on the support.
Any budget can pass the house with a simple majority, the Republicans have full control.
However, when the budget reaches the Senate if they are going to use “reconciliation” (simple majority/republicans only) the budget must be revenue neutral beyond 10 years – if the tax plan/budget is going to be permanent.
If the Tax-Plan/Budget delivered to the Senate is not deemed revenue neutral (scored by CBO) beyond 10 years, it cannot be permanent and use the reconciliation process (simple majority). Such a plan must contain a sunset provision or an expiration date.
A permanent tax plan/budget that is: not deficit neutral, and beyond the 10 year scope, will require support from more than just 52 republican senators to pass; because it will mean long-term deficit spending.
Here’s where the FUBAR of the UniParty comes into play. This is not a Democrat -vs- White House issue.
President Trump cannot present a balanced budget with drastic cuts to government, because UniParty republicans will not support it. They, along with Democrats, will demand more spending.
Most of those same UniParty republicans are already opposed to the border wall. They view funding for the border wall as a negotiation tool to keep the federal government spending on other facets. President Trump cannot fund the wall, and simultaneously fund their big government spending indulgences without deficit spending.
Enter Paul Ryan.
Ryan will propose this Border Adjustment Tax, a program Trump hates, as the revenue tool to provide the funding for the tax/budget that contains the border wall funding.
See how that works?
[U.S. CoC and Ryan ] – The U.S. CoC get their B.A.T, which is essentially a tax against consumers allowing big corporations to fatten their bottom line, by forcing Trump to give up his border wall or go along with their proposal.
Wait, you ask: …what about renegotiated trade deals with (Mexico) via NAFTA that will, essentially, provide the revenue that more than pays for the wall?
Great question. Yes, the renegotiated NAFTA deals would easily provide the treasury revenue that will offset any wall expenditures.
However, now you understand why congress is refusing to accept the NAFTA “letter of intent” from Commerce Secretary Ross. The republican UniParty congress is blocking, well, actually they are ‘strategically delaying‘, Wilbur Ross from renegotiating the trade deal with Mexico – and by doing so they are blocking the revenue that would undermine their tax/budget scheme and argument in favor of the B.A.T.
Remember, accepting the letter of intent triggers the start of a 90-day waiting period before Ross can open NAFTA. Congress is waiting to accept, until the end of the 90-day period falls AFTER October 1st 2017, the beginning of Fiscal Year 2018.
This UniParty approach robs the White House from using the anticipated Mexican money as a point of reference (political talking point) for the current tax and budget proposals which begin October 1st for fiscal year 2018. (The B.A.T also impacts the possibility of a greater economic trade deal with Mexico from the tax side.)
See how that works?
[Hence, the blood pressure warnings]
This is not a Democrat party working against the White House. This is a republican UniParty working against the White House.
Speaker Ryan is positioning funding for the border wall contingent upon Trump accepting the blanket B.A.T as revenue to pay for it. This is the position of the Lobbyists within the U.S. CoC. If Ryan wins we are all screwed because essentially the tax revenue will be on our backs for every product imported and exported. But the big corporations love the enhancements to their bottom lines.
OMB Director Mick Mulvaney is trying to position and protect President Trump from having to accept the B.A.T. because the BAT is antithetical to the economic trade policy, targeted tariff approach, President Trump wants to take.
Simultaneously, Mulvaney is trying to get President Trump the initial start up money for the Border Wall so he doesn’t have to accept Ryan’s BAT.
Ergo Mick Mulvaney is trying to draw in Democrat votes to offset the scheme of Ryan which is relying only upon Republican votes. If Mulvaney can get Democrats to vote for funding the border wall by giving them funding to continue ObamaCare, Mulvaney won’t need Ryan’s BAT revenue because he’ll have votes to support a deficit bill.
However, Democrats don’t want the border wall either; but they also don’t want ObamaCare to collapse earlier due to funding shortages within the insurance reimbursement program (cost share programs).
FUBAR.
When challenged about the UniParty, it always helps to remind and re-emphasize to people that Republicans in congress (House and Senate – ’10 through ’16) fully funded all of Obama’s policies and programs.
During a press conference yesterday with Italian President Gentiloni, President Trump was asked about the future U.S. role Libya.
QUESTION: President Trump, do you see a role for your administration in helping stabilizing Libya? And do you agree that stabilizing Libya means combating terrorism and ISIS?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: “I do not see a role in Libya. I think the United States has right now enough roles. We’re in a role everywhere. So I do not see that. I do see a role in getting rid of ISIS. We’re being very effective in that regard. We are doing a job, with respect to ISIS, that has not been done anywhere near the numbers that we’re producing right now. It’s a very effective force we have. We have no choice. It’s a horrible thing to say, but we have no choice. And we are effectively ridding the world of ISIS. I see that as a primary role, and that’s what we’re going to do, whether it’s in Iraq or in Libya or anywhere else. And that role will come to an end at a certain point, and we’ll be able to go back home and rebuild our country, which is what I want to do.”
President Trump is taking the smart and strategic approach toward Libya having previously discussed the North African country extensively with President al-Sisi of neighboring Egypt.
The smart play is for the U.S. to maintain diplomatic relationships with Libya, while supporting Egypt and al-Sisi’s position of influence. Libya’s factional and tribal government is still missing the core elements needed for success – a stable central figure with broad moderate following.
History has shown that injecting U.S. opinion toward a centralized government that exists without leadership only brings a worse outcome.
Like Syria, Libya is a tribal nation with diverse ideological and regional perspectives. If there isn’t an existing structure of regional representation when the dictator is removed chaos is the outcome. However, once regional representative leaders are established, the bottom up approach can work better to find a unifying central figure.
President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi began a diplomatic friendship in September ’16 before the U.S. election. Two weeks ago President al-Sisi visited the White House and both leaders warmly praised the relationship established.
[…] “I fully trust the capabilities of President Trump … he can succeed in so many fields that others cannot. I trust him wholeheartedly.”…
As a gesture of the shift in relationship between the U.S. and Egypt, and at the request of President Trump, President al-Sisi’s administration released two imprisoned aide workers. They arrived back in the U.S. late last night.
Maintaining a diplomatic approach, President Trump speaks little about the event except to express appreciation for the release.
(Via WaPo) […] President Trump and his aides worked for several weeks with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi to secure the freedom of Aya Hijazi, 30, a U.S. citizen, as well as her husband, Mohamed Hassanein, who is Egyptian, and four other humanitarian workers. Trump dispatched a U.S. government aircraft to Cairo to bring Hijazi and her family to Washington.
[…] The Obama administration unsuccessfully pressed Sissi’s government for their release. It was not until Trump moved to reset U.S. relations with Egypt by embracing Sissi at the White House on April 3 — he publicly hailed the autocrat’s leadership as “fantastic” and offered the U.S. government’s “strong backing” — that Egypt’s posture changed. Last Sunday, a court in Cairo dropped all charges against Hijazi and the others. (read more)
This is a well presented and easy to understand video which appears to make a solid case that police munitions were fired by the Berkeley Police Department against Trump supporters, and in support of AntiFA thugs, last weekend.
The video was created by Thomas Wictor who is continuing to assemble more evidence. WATCH, it is rather stunning to realize what could be happening:
If the video is correct the FBI needs to immediately open an investigation into the use of police munitions against political opponents by Berkeley Police.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions and DHS Secretary John Kelly visited the Southern border today and paused for an interview with Martha MacCallum:
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Almost simultaneously, OMB Director Mick Mulvaney gave an interview to the Associated Press where he outlines the White House priorities for the upcoming ‘bridge budget’ bill. The short-term budget (May through Sept 30th) is needed because congress never passed a budget from 2008 through 2017, and a continuing resolution spending bill expires on April 30th.
(Via AP) […] Mulvaney told The Associated Press in an interview that “elections have consequences” and that “we want wall funding” as part of the catchall spending bill, which lawmakers hope to unveil next week.
“We want wall funding. We want (immigration) agents. Those are our priorities,” Mulvaney said. “We know there are a lot of people on the Hill, especially in the Democratic Party, who don’t like the wall, but they lost the election. And the president should, I think, at least have the opportunity to fund one of his highest priorities in the first funding bill under his administration.”
He said the wall is “something that’s a tremendous priority for us and that clearly was a seminal issue in the 2016 presidential race.”
[…] Mulvaney said the White House isn’t enthusiastic about Democratic demands on the Obamacare payments but is open to them as part of a broader agreement.
“The president has been quoted several times and said he’s inclined not to make them and I can’t tell you that I’m interested in dissuading him from that position,” Mulvaney said. “That being said, if it’s important enough to the Democrats, we’d be happy to talk to them about including that in sort of some type of compromise.”
Added Mulvaney: “If Democrats are interested and serious about compromise and negotiation, the ball is in their court.” (read more)
It is more than a little ironic that most of the opposition to President Trump on budgets is coming from UniParty Republicans in congress. The same UniParty who couldn’t bother to pass a budget since Sept. 2007.
…. Almost a decade.
A decade without a budget, and yet congress has the audacity to quibble over President Trump’s spending requests. Think about it.
President Trump has already proposed a budget outline for fiscal year 2018 that includes over a trillion dollar reduction in actual spending. Not a reduction in the growth of spending, but an actual reduction in year-over-year spending. A concept so foreign to congress that most UniParty Republicans have already announced their opposition toward such an effort and stated they will demand President Trump spend more money.
….now, congress doesn’t want to fund a border wall.
….oh, and congress can’t repeal or replace ObamaCare.
….oh, and President Trump still doesn’t have his cabinet confirmed.
….. and congress is on vacation.
….. and, well, while on vacation, Representative Jodi Ernest is worried about President Trump going to Mar-a-lago too much. Did I mention she said that while on vacation?
….and then, well, congress won’t accept the letter of intent to open NAFTA for trade renegotiation.
There are many people rightly concerned about legislative issues seemingly stuck in the mud. However, what many of those same people seem to forget is the basic reality of President Trump’s America-First agenda being opposed by professional republicans even more than it is opposed by professional Democrats. DC is a UniParty.
Republican and Democrat political leadership, the UniParty writ large, have been paid to protect the legislative priorities of the multi-billion lobbying group known as K-Street.
The fallacy of false choice lies behind the concept of controlled opposition.
Prior to Donald Trump there was only one political party in DC, the Uniparty. President Trump represents the alternative; the second party.
For almost five years we have been pointing out the construct. The UniParty have three unwavering primary objectives as purchased by the lobbying groups: 1) Retention of Obamacare; 2) Budgetary spending to retain growth of government; and 3) comprehensive immigration reform to include amnesty.
These three primary legislative issues are not up for debate, modification or discussion. The legislative outcomes have been purchased, multi-million-dollar investments made, and the interests behind the legislative constructs will not allow any elimination or concession.
Beyond that reality, the rest is simply political optics and gamesmanship. If you refuse to accept this baseline, you will continue to find yourself frustrated as you try to reconcile what is not happening.
Congress, as salesmen for the interests funding their activity, does that which is important to it; and congress does not do that which is antithetical to its pre-purchased interests.
President Trump, through his proposed policy objectives, is antithetical to those interests.
FULL STOP.
Essentially, President Trump has requested the following:
A budget with actual baseline reductions in spending. Where Trump’s cabinet, individually and collectively, will actually reduce scale, scope and reach of federal government.
Healthcare reform to include the elimination of ObamaCare and a return to free market principles to drive down the cost of insurance products.
Funding funding to enhance enforcement of existing immigration law and a border wall to ensure the long-term reductions in the ease of illegal, unauthorized migration.
All three of those requests are opposed by Republicans and Democrats in congress. You can beat your head against the wall in frustration, but the reality doesn’t change. The big money interests who write legislation have paid all members of congress to block these basic principles of President Trump policy.
EXAMPLE – You might remember seeing Senator Rand Paul on TV for 10-consecutive-days (March), proclaiming that RyanCare must be defeated. Toward that end Senator Paul put on a tuxedo went to the House of Representatives, lobbied them personally, and handed out instructions and books telling Hillary’s Favorite Caucus (HFC) if they simply blocked President Trump and Secretary Price he (Paul) would, within two weeks, provide a clean repeal bill from the Senate. Senator Rand Paul said he and Senator Ted Cruz and Senator Mike Lee already had the legislation written for the clean repeal. Senator Paul stated if the House members simply followed his plan he would guarantee the “repeal only” bill would advance within two weeks.
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Remember that?
Well?…
This is the same UniParty that approved Trade Promotion Authority, a Republican Bill, that allowed President Obama to construct TPP and congress reversed the threshold for approval – making it necessary for two-thirds of the Senate to oppose passage to stop it, instead of two-thirds necessary to approve passage. Why would a republican controlled congress make it easier for Obama-Trade to pass and make it harder to stop?
This is the same UniParty that has refused to accept the ‘Notification of Intent’ letter from Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross permitting him to renegotiate NAFTA. Why would a republican controlled congress block President Trump from re-negotiating NAFTA?
Go back and look at the lobbying money spent by the U.S. CoC.
You see, this is where CTH refuses to be co-dependents in our own abuse. We fully understand, and more importantly ‘accept’, the DC UniParty congress has no intention of: Providing a budget to lower spending; repealing and replacing ObamaCare; allowing enforcement of immigration law to include deportation and a southern border wall.
It can be difficult to accept these realities. It can be difficult to confront your abuser. However, until the larger electorate understand the structural concept of the UniParty, there will be hours-upon-hours of talking in circles, and tens of thousands of column inches typed in an effort to reconcile the irreconcilable and avoid accepting the diagnosis:
Whether China is right about North Korea conducting a nuclear test on April 25 remains to be seen, but for now Kim Jong-Un is content with merely escalating the verbal warfare and overnight North Korean state media warned the United States of a “super-mighty preemptive strike” following the latest round of comments by Rex Tillerson who said the United States was looking at ways to bring pressure to bear on North Korea over its nuclear programme.
The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, did not mince its words: “In the case of our super-mighty preemptive strike being launched, it will completely and immediately wipe out not only U.S. imperialists’ invasion forces in South Korea and its surrounding areas but the U.S. mainland and reduce them to ashes” it said according to Reuters.
The threat will hardly come as a surprise: the reclusive communist nation regularly threatens to destroy Japan, South Korea and the United States “and has shown no let-up in its belligerence after a failed missile test on Sunday, a day after putting on a huge display of missiles at a parade in Pyongyang.”
The comments come in response to Tillerson statement in Washington on Wednesday when he told reporters that “we’re reviewing all the status of North Korea, both in terms of state sponsorship of terrorism as well as the other ways in which we can bring pressure on the regime in Pyongyang to re-engage with us, but re-engage with us on a different footing than past talks have been held,”
Furthermore, Paul Ryan said during a visit to London the military option must be part of the pressure brought to bear. “Allowing this dictator to have that kind of power is not something that civilised nations can allow to happen,” he said in reference to Kim. Ryan said he was encouraged by the results of efforts to work with China to reduce tension, but that it was unacceptable North Korea might be able to strike allies with nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, the US and Russia clashed at the United Nations on Wednesday over a U.S.-drafted Security Council statement – which has to be agreed by all participants in the 15-member council – to condemn North Korea’s latest failed ballistic missile test. Curiously, diplomats said China had agreed to the statement.
Previous statements denouncing missile launches “welcomed efforts by council members, as well as other states, to facilitate a peaceful and comprehensive solution through dialogue”. The latest draft statement dropped “through dialogue” and Russia requested it be included again.
“When we requested to restore the agreed language that was of political importance and expressed commitment to continue to work on the draft … the U.S. delegation without providing any explanations cancelled the work on the draft,” the Russian U.N. mission said in a statement.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China believed in the Security Council maintaining unity. “Speaking with one voice is extremely important to the Security Council appropriately responding to the relevant issue on the peninsula,” he told reporters.
With North Korean tensions lingering, there remains some confusion over the whereabouts of a U.S. aircraft carrier group after Trump said last week he had sent an “armada” as a warning to North Korea, even as the ships were still far from Korean waters. The U.S. military’s Pacific Command explained that the USS Carl Vinson strike group first had to complete a shorter-than-planned period of training with Australia. It was now heading for the Western Pacific as ordered, it said.
The incident has also become a source of mockery for China, whose influential Global Times newspaper, which is published by the People’s Daily, wondered whether the misdirection was deliberate.
“The truth seems to be that the U.S. military and president jointly created fake news and it is without doubt a rare scandal in U.S. history, which will be bound to cripple Trump’s and U.S. dignity,” it said.
I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America
First stop, lumber mills. ie U.S. regional impacts, not coincidentally, represented by key Democrat constituents.
Centinel2012 