On the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina, U.S. President Trump, Mexican President Pena Nieto and Justin from Canada deliver remarks prior to signing the NAFTA replacement agreement, the USMCA. [White House Statement Here]

The USMCA is a major structural shift in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, trade agreement. While the new agreement does not form an actual trade-bloc, the agreement removes most of the exploitation of the U.S. market that existed within NAFTA. The U.S. and Mexico are the primary benefactors; Canada notsomuch.

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[Transcript] Buenos Aires, Argentina – 9:24 A.M. AST – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. We’re gathered together this afternoon for a very historic occasion: The signing ceremony for a brand new trade deal, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. So important.

I’m honored to be here with President Enrique Peña Nieto — who’s become a great friend — of Mexico, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has also become a great friend, who has — this has been a battle, and battles sometimes make great friendships. So it’s really terrific.

With our signatures today, we will formally declare the intention of our three countries to replace NAFTA with the USMCA a truly groundbreaking achievement. A modern-day agreement.

I want to thank U.S. Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer and his entire team for their tremendous effort and the efforts that they’ve made all throughout the last almost two-year period.

Thank you as well to Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin, and Director Larry Kudlow for their hard work and untiring devotion throughout the negotiation process. Peter Navarro, thank you so much for the work that you put in. And so many others.

The USMCA is the largest, most significant, modern, and balanced trade agreement in history. All of our countries will benefit greatly. It is probably the largest trade deal ever made, also. In the United States, the new trade pact will support high-paying manufacturing jobs and promote greater access for American exports across the range of sectors, including our farming, manufacturing, and service industries.

As part of our agreement, the United States will be able to lock in our market access to Canada and Mexico, and greatly expand our agricultural exports — something we’ve been wanting to do for many years. This is an amazing deal for our farmers, and also allows them to use cutting-edge biotechnology, and eliminates non-scientific barriers.

Our nations have also agreed to innovate new measures to ensure fair competition and promote high wages, and higher wages, for U.S. and North American autoworkers. The autoworkers are a tremendous beneficiary.

Under the USMCA, at least 75 percent of our automobiles’ content must be manufactured in North America, and 40 to 45 percent of automobile content must be manufactured by North American high-wage labor in order to gain preferential access to our markets. This will help stop auto jobs from going overseas and it will bring back auto jobs that have already left. Many, many jobs are already planning to come back. Many companies are coming back, and we’re very excited about that.

This landmark agreement includes intellectual property protections that will be the envy of nations all around the world. The USMCA also contains robust new provisions on digital trade and financial services, and the most ambitious environmental and labor protections ever placed into a major trade agreement anywhere at any time.

We have dramatically raised standards for combatting unfair trade practices; confronting massive subsidies for state-owned enterprises; and, currently, if you look at it, currency manipulation that hurt workers in all three of our countries. The currency manipulation from some countries is so intense, so bad, and it would hurt Mexico, Canada, and the United States badly. We’ve covered it very well in this agreement.

These new provisions will benefit labor, technology, and development in each of our nations, leading to much greater growth and opportunity throughout our countries and across North America.

In short, this is a model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever. And this is an agreement that, first and foremost, benefits working people — something of great importance to all three of us here today.

President — I must say, Peña Nieto and Prime Minister Trudeau, we’ve worked hard on this agreement. It’s been long and hard. We’ve taken a lot of barbs and a little abuse. And we got there. It’s great for all of our countries.

Thank you for your close partnership throughout this process. This new agreement will ensure a future of prosperity and innovation for Mexico, Canada, and the United States. I look forward to working with members of Congress and the USMCA partners — and I have to say, it’s been so well reviewed, I don’t expect to have very much of a problem — to ensure the complete implementation of our agreement.

Enrique, I want to thank you on a personal note, and I want to wish you the very best. This will be your last day in office, so that’s a very auspicious day when you can sign something so important. But we really do appreciate it. I think I can speak for Justin when I say that. (Applause.) We both — we both agree he’s a special man. And he’s really done a good job, and we appreciate it very much. Thank you.

So I just want to congratulate you on ending your term in office with this incredible milestone. It is really an incredible way to end a presidency. You don’t see that happen very often.

I look forward to working with President-elect López Obrador for many years to come. And our relationship, I know, will be a very good one. We’ve had great conversations and I think we’re going to have a great, great relationship.

And I would now like to invite the President and the Prime Minister to say a few words. And perhaps we can start with Justin. And we appreciate it very much. Thank you. Justin, please. (Applause.)

PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU: Good morning. Thank you all for being here, and thank you to Presidents Trump and Peña Nieto. Donald, thank you for your words this morning. Thank you for pulling this event together. Enrique, this, as Donald said, on your last day in office, it’s a wonderful pleasure to see you and to be here on this historic moment.

The new North American Free Trade Agreement maintains stability for Canada’s entire economy — stability that’s essential for the millions of jobs and middle-class families across the country that rely on strong, reliable trading relationships with our closest neighbors. That’s why I’m here today.

The new agreement lifts the risk of serious economic uncertainty that lingers throughout a trade renegotiation process. Uncertainty that would have only gotten worse and more damaging had we not reached a new NAFTA.

But when faced with this challenge, Canadians came together and rolled up their sleeves. Canadians from every order of government and walks of life put their country’s interests first and worked hard to achieve a new, modernized agreement that will protect jobs, strengthen the middle class, and create new opportunities for businesses.

There’s much more work to do in lowering trade barriers and in fostering growth that benefits everyone. But reaching a new free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico is a major step for our economy.

Canadians got here because Team Canada was driven by the interests of the middle class. Free and fair trade leads to more and better-paying middle-class jobs for more people. And the benefits of trade must be broadly and fairly shared. That is what modernizing NAFTA achieves, and that is why it was always so important to get this new agreement done right.

As a result, the tariff-free access that NAFTA guaranteed for more than 70 percent of Canada’s total exports is secure. And that’s essential for businesses, families, jobs, entrepreneurs, and hardworking people in every corner of our country.

As I said, the task isn’t done. There is more hard work ahead to build resilient, strong economies that support families everywhere in Canada.

As I discussed with President Trump a few days ago, the recent plant closures by General Motors, which affects thousands of Canadian and American workers and their families, are a heavy blow. Make no mistake: We will stand up for our workers and fight for their families and their communities.

And, Donald, it’s all the more reason why we need to keep working to remove the tariffs on steel and aluminum between our countries.

With hard work, good will, and determination, I’m confident we will get there. Our shared interests, prosperity, and security demand it.

Before wrapping up, I’d like to personally thank our Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, along with U.S. Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer, and Mexican Secretary of the Economy Ildefonso Guajardo for all their hard work and dedication since the very beginning of this process. I’d also like to thank Ambassador David MacNaughton, Chief Negotiator Steve Verheul, and their talented and extremely hardworking staff.

Once again, thank you all for being here today. (Applause.)

PRESIDENT PEÑA NIETO: (As interpreted.) President of the United States, Donald Trump; Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau; distinguished members of the delegations joining us today: To both, I would like to thank you for your generous remarks.

This is precisely the last day of my administration, ladies and gentlemen, members of the media. During the last day of my administration as President, I am honored to be here standing next to the leaders of two countries who are friends and partners in this signing ceremony of the new trade agreement between Mexico, the U.S., and Canada.

The agreement that we will sign today expresses the shared will by our three nations to work together towards the wellbeing and prosperity of each one of our societies. This day is the culmination of a long process based on dialogue and negotiations that allow us to overcome differences and to conciliate our visions. Once signed, the agreement will be sent to our congresses for its ratification. It will be then when this innovative instrument bears fruit by offering a more inclusive, firm, and modern foundation for our future exchanges.

The negotiation of USMCA allowed to reaffirm the importance of economic integration in North America. For more than a quarter of a century ago, our three countries have maintained very tight trade relationships. Such trade has transformed Mexico. Today, our exchanges abroad represent more than 70 percent of our gross domestic product.

And this has contributed to the fact that, today, the benefits of trade with the world are broadly valued by the Mexican society. Revamping the new trade agreement was aimed to preserve the view of an integrated North America, with a firm belief that together we are stronger and more competitive.

In spite of the progress that we’ve seen in our trade relationship in the last two decades, there was still a long road ahead of us to take advantage of each country’s potential. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement gives a renewed face to the process of integration. This process achieved, on the first place, to modernize our trade framework. Trade agreements shall not be static. Agreements need to move along with the economy and should be according to the needs of our society.

The inclusion of new provisions on e-commerce, information technologies, and trade-enabling practices are now part of the agreement. In fact, one third of the agreement includes topics that were not included in the current agreement. The renegotiating process of the agreement allowed our region to move into a more inclusive integration — a type of integration that listens to the demands of our societies.

Twenty-four years ago, NAFTA set a new benchmark for trade agreements back then. Today, USMCA is the first trade agreement that incorporates elements that address the social impact of international trade. It enables the participation of more sectors in the economy, including the participation of SMEs in regional trade. It extends the protection of workers’ rights, strengthens the protection of the environment, and also includes a review clause that would make easier that the agreement is revamped more constantly. And this is a true sign of the will we have put in this agreement — the decision to provide more and better opportunities to our peoples.

I would like to acknowledge the work done by the negotiators from the three countries. Each team advocated for each country’s interests. And by doing this, you reached a very positive result for the sake of all countries.

In the case of Mexico, this work bears testimony of the work of the business community who were present during the process, and specifically the new administration that will take office tomorrow. Your support, and the alignment of visions in the last phase, contributed to the success of this renegotiation process. I would like to say that I sincerely acknowledge President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau for their vision and the vision that they have put into the process. Thanks to you, President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau, the agreement that we have signed today will allow each country to gain individually, but also North America will grow stronger and will grow to be more prosperous.

Ladies and gentlemen, currently in the world, each country’s future is firmly linked to what happens in other countries. In North America, we understand this very clearly. We understand that each society’s prosperity will be greater and will be deeply rooted if it’s based in the prosperity of the region as a whole.

This signing ceremony, it is a sign that Mexico, the United States, and Canada, being close — not only due to our geography but on values and our expectations — we’re ready to begin a new chapter in our shared history. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

(The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is signed.)

END – 9:43 A.M. AST

Donald J. Trump

✔ @realDonaldTrump

Just signed one of the most important, and largest, Trade Deals in U.S. and World History. The United States, Mexico and Canada worked so well together in crafting this great document. The terrible NAFTA will soon be gone. The USMCA will be fantastic for all!

First lady Melania Trump gives ‘Fox & Friends’ co-host Ainsley Earhardt a behind-the-scenes look at the White House Christmas decorations and shares her holiday message to Americans.

President Trump took all the ‘dragon slayers’ with him to Argentina likely anticipating a rapid Chinese evolution from Panda to Dragon.  Trump’s delegation selection sends exactly that message.  If cunning Chairman Xi exhibits wounded sensibilities, well, tough.

China deployed the panda mask for over a year in an effort to wait-out President Trump, fair enough; however, that strategy has a severe downside.

If lack of engagement is part of Beijing’s economic defense mechanism, ie. retaining the status quo,  you can expect President Trump to provoke the confrontation.

Does Xi feel rucky?

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China and the United States can reach a trade agreement at the G20 meeting in Argentina this week, the state-run China Daily newspaper said in an editorial on Friday, but Washington must be “fair minded” if it wants to defuse spiraling tensions.

“Beijing wants a deal, just as Washington does. And it is willing to cooperate with Washington in dealing with concerns about trade if they are fair-minded,” the paper said.

“Should there be any other aspirations, such as taking advantage of the trade spat to throttle Chinese growth, then an agreement is unlikely to be reached.”

World leaders started arriving on Thursday in Buenos Aires ahead of the gathering of the Group of 20, where global trade tensions, fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, are expected to dominate the agenda.  (read more)

There is no doubt in my mind that President Trump has a very well thought out long-term strategy regarding China. President Trump takes strategic messaging toward the people of china very importantly. President Trump has, very publicly, complimented the friendship he feels toward President Xi Jinping; and praises Chairman Xi for his character, strength and purposeful leadership. Trump knows how to play their panda/dragon games.

Each time China takes aggressive action (red dragon) China projects a panda face through silence and non-response to opinion of that action;…. and then the  action continues. The red dragon has a tendency to say one necessary thing publicly, while manipulating another necessary thing privately. The Art of War.

President Trump is the first U.S. President to understand how the red dragon hides behind the panda mask. Chairman Xi and President Trump are scheduled for a dinner on Saturday night; their first face-to-face meeting in a year.

The entire planet is focused on the dynamic of Chairman Xi and President Trump.  Billions waged on the position of an eyebrow, or the hint of a smile.  Epic stuff.  In the multinational finance world this is bigger than the moon landing, world cup and Olympics combined.  Every nuance and inference to be reviewed in slow-mo replay by hedge-fund managers looking for any indication of hope.

The funniest thing is Donald Trump doesn’t care about all that.  He has the desired ‘America First’ outcome gamed out; POTUS is only looking to see which direction Xi is leaning.  From there Trump puts the instructions to the team (Mnuchin, Pompeo, Ross, Lighthizer and Navarro); yet even they don’t know the full plan, no-one does except President Trump… for a reason.

The Wall Street global financial crowd is on pins-and-needles hoping desperately the confrontation between China and the U.S. doesn’t escalate.

Meanwhile, blue-collar Main Street USA is hoping ‘bull-in-a-china-shop-Trump‘ shows up and punches Xi in the nose; diplomatically of course.

Peter Navarro, Trump’s hardline trade adviser, will attend the meeting between the leaders, a U.S. official told Reuters. Another official said Navarro’s addition was meant to send a message to China about the administration’s resolve on trade. Navarro has advocated a tough stance against Beijing. (more)

President Donald Trump and Fist Lady Melania Trump arrive in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the G20 Summit of world leaders.  Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived with the first couple met by local dignitaries.

This is one of those reports that seems small and appears way over there on the periphery. However, if MAGAnomics and trade are important to you, this story is very much worth paying attention to.

As CTH shared last week the White House reached out to EU auto executives to request a meeting.  There is a VERY STRONG likelihood the message within this meeting will surround potential tariffs, and questions from team Trump about the intents of EU (mostly German) automakers against the backdrop of the USMCA.

The potential for auto-tariffs terrifies the EU (specifically Germany), because most of their profits from within the industry come from access to the U.S. market.   Few major markets in the world can afford the scale of automobile purchases as a wealthy U.S.A. does.  The profit margins are much smaller in all other countries.  Without the U.S. market, these auto companies would be in deep financial trouble.  Enter Trump’s leverage:

BERLIN (Reuters) – Top executives from German carmakers Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler are finalizing plans for a White House meeting on trade policy next week, German and U.S. officials said on Thursday.

Officials from the carmakers, asking not to be named, said the meeting was tentatively set for Tuesday, and would include VW Chief Executive Herbert Diess, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche and BMW production chief Oliver Zipse.

President Donald Trump has been harshly critical of German automakers and what he sees as an unfair trade imbalance on autos.

He has threatened for months to impose tariffs on vehicles assembled in the EU, a move that could upend the industry’s business model for selling cars in the United States.

However, he has refrained from such a measure while Washington and Brussels undertake talks to cut other trade barriers.

The CEOs plan to make clear they cannot negotiate on behalf of the EU, people close to the matter said last week. (read more)

I love that last line: “CEOs plan to make clear they cannot negotiate on behalf of the EU“, that’s funny; and the best part is Trump knows exactly the silliness of that statement.  Whatever the German auto-sector demands, the EU delivers – P.E.R.I.O.D.

But seriously, the primary question for the U.S. team revolves around seeking to understand how the EU companies will comply with the new U.S-Mexico-Canada  (USMCA) trade pact to avoid the import tariffs.  [Angela Merkel is irrelevant]

The answer is more important to Mexico and the U.S. because no-one is foolish enough to build a manufacturing plant in the left-wing North known as Canada.  So POTUS wants to know how the EU is going to comply with the new 75% origination rules within the U.S. and Mexico agreement.

The outcome of the EU answer(s) will likely determine the scale of tariff that President Trump is considering on the entire industry.  President Trump is actually constructing a 10/25-year economic ‘business plan‘ for the entire country.

Stay tuned…. this is the fun stuff!

President Trump delivers remarks to the media prior to departing the White House en route to Argentina for the G20 summit.  The president remarks about the plea agreement by Michael Cohen to special counsel Robert Mueller.

The New York Post has an article today, surrounding an interview with President Trump, where the topic of declassifying the evidence behind ‘Spygate’ surfaced.

To say there is a massive schism amid supporters of the President on this issue would be an understatement.

On one hand the declassification would potentially, and finally, outline the scale of the FBI/DOJ politicization and weaponization of intelligence against the President – exposing the entire ‘spygate’ scandal in all its glory.  On the other hand that potential is also seen as political leverage against the schemes of DC and all the characters.

Here’s the quotes that matter:

(New York Post) […]  “If they go down the presidential harassment track, if they want go and harass the president and the administration, I think that would be the best thing that would happen to me. I’m a counter-puncher and I will hit them so hard they’d never been hit like that.”

“I think that would help my campaign. If they want to play tough, I will do it. They will see how devastating those pages are.”

“It’s much more powerful if I do it then,” Trump said, “because if we had done it already, it would already be yesterday’s news.”

Trump added Wednesday that his lawyer Emmet Flood thought it would be better politically to wait.

“He didn’t want me to do it yet, because I can save it,” Trump said.

The president also pushed back on the notion that all the Justice Department documents should eventually be released for the sake of transparency.

“Some things maybe the public shouldn’t see because they are so bad,” Trump said, making clear it wasn’t damaging to him, but to others. “Maybe it’s better that the public not see what’s been going on with this country.”  (more)

From the CTH perspective this interview essentially solidifies something we have been outlining for several months: President Trump is applying the consideration of leverage to his decision-making.

Many have refused to accept “leverage” was part of President Trump’s primary determination and decision-making.  CTH has been heavily criticized for even presenting such analysis.  Hopefully, this interview puts an end to those criticisms.

Leverage is the primary filter here; and it’s not just leverage against domestic political enemies.

President Trump has fifty years of business skills in various predatory and adversarial financial deals.  Leverage, or the ability to force an opponent to take an action that benefits your position, is the most valuable weapon in deals; business or politics the same is true.

This type of leverage is extremely valuable and it’s not just against Democrats, Obama and the Never Trump alliance (ie. Sea Island group).  President Trump is in a fight against multiple enemies from all sides, across all aisles and political alignments.  The declassification leverage is like an atomic hammer that strikes everyone in a 360° blast radius.

And it is not limited to domestic adversaries.  This leverage has a geopolitical value.

Think about geopolitical trade deals with Five-Eyes allies.  Think about how President Trump may need an ally to take a position adverse to their preferred interests. The potential for declassification of intelligence documents showing complicit corruption within the U.K. and Australia could destroy politicians external to the U.S.

Think about an ally being asked to take a position on China (trade), Iran (sanctions), Russia (energy), etc.  Movement on any of these geopolitical issues, and many more, can be tilted -in part- based on the threat of sunlight or declassification. Leverage is a tool.

Getting particular democrats to support the USMCA; what’s that worth?

Getting a southern border wall and sensible immigration law; what’s that worth?

What does President Trump value?  What is important to him?

What part of the transactional relationship can be enhanced by leverage?   Pro-tip: it’s not personal; it is not leverage to benefit Trump personally; he doesn’t care about that shallow stuff… his view of the horizon is much longer, much further; much more consequential.

It annoys the heck out of many people, me included, that Donald Trump is willing to absorb so much inbound fire, unnecessarily; which, by extension, means that his supporters are forced to absorb so much inbound and unnecessary fire; but he is.

What is President Trump’s primary objective?   Save the U.S.A. through economics.

Economic security is national security.

I think much of our angst is because we look too short-term; and the media does a great job of convincing us President Trump is selfish.  Perhaps they are correct. Perhaps I’m wrong; but I see this leverage issue as something Trump views as important – obviously; or he wouldn’t approach it that way.

Would President Trump trade a $500 billion per year positive benefit to the U.S. economy in exchange for never outlining the fraud against him?

Would President Trump accept new jobs for a million Americans in exchange for never outlining the 2016 fraud against him?

Yeah.

He would.

Without question.

And he wouldn’t care if it meant he could never win in 2020.

He ain’t a politician.

Piss you off?

Probably.

That’s Trump.

The issue is basic to the construct of the USMCA (NAFTA replacement).

BMW made a multi-billion-dollar investment in Mexico in anticipation of exploiting the NAFTA loophole.  President Trump has closed the loophole.  The new USMCA agreement requires 75% of automobile parts made in North America; and 45% must come from plants with minimum labor costs ($16/hr), or face tariffs upon export to the U.S.

As a result BMW is now considering opening those higher-wage component supply operations in the U.S.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – BMW (BMWG.DE) is considering a second U.S. manufacturing plant that could produce engines and transmissions, Chief Executive Harald Krueger said on Tuesday, shortly after a report that U.S. President Donald Trump would impose tariffs on imported cars from next week

[…] BMW is considering changes to U.S. operations as sales in the region grow, Krueger said. BMW has a U.S. vehicle assembly plant, in South Carolina, is planning to open a Mexico factory next year, and is considering changes to its current scheme of importing engines and transmissions.

“We’re at the range where you could think about a second location” in the United States, he said, adding that such a factory would provide a natural currency hedge. (more)

Oddly enough we predicted this likely move in August: […]  At the 30,000 ft level, the USMCA deal positions Mexico to retain their current multinational investments; and through a series of sector-by-sector standards on origination the deal simultaneously closes the fatal NAFTA loophole.  The agreement makes an economic manufacturing partnership between the U.S. and Mexico; and for assembly products third parties will have to produce parts and origination material within the U.S. and Mexico.

U.S.T.R. Lighthizer put some details forward:

♦The NAFTA Loophole closure is explained in Summary Form HERE; with emphasis on the Auto-Sector.  The key is a 75% part origination level for auto-assembly; and a 40-45% level for parts with a minimum $16/hr wage rate.  The source-origination rate (75%) is even higher than all previously forecast negotiation results.

Example of downstream consequences/benefits:  German auto-maker BMW recently built a $2 billion assembly plant in Mexico (almost complete).  Most of their core parts were coming from the EU (steel/aluminum casting components) and/or Asia (electronics).  Now the assembly plant will have to source 75% of the auto-parts from the U.S. and Mexico, with 45% of those parts from facilities paying $16/hr.  Result: BMW will need to modify their supply chain and build auto parts in the U.S. and Mexico.

(USMCA LINK to Article 32 pdf)

Prior to the USMCA both Canada and Mexico structured key parts of their independent trade agreements to take advantage of their unique access to the U.S. market.  Mexico and Canada generate billions in economic activity through exploiting the NAFTA loophole.  China, Asia (writ large), and the EU enter into trade agreements with Mexico and Canada as back-doors into the U.S. market.  So long as corporations can avoid U.S. tariffs by going through Canada and Mexico they would continue to exploit this approach.

The NAFTA loophole was/is a zero-sum issue: Either Can/Mex agree to give veto authority to the U.S. –OR– President Trump had no option to exit NAFTA completely. Well, Canada and Mexico agreed to the former, so there was no need for the latter.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks to the media following a briefing of senators on Capitol Hill.  The media was primarily focused on the issues surrounding the murder of Kashoggi; and the opportunity to create a wedge issue for the Trump administration.

Many Decepticon senators, benefactors from Qatari (Muslim Brotherhood) financing against the policy of Saudi Arabia, are aligned with left-wing opposition to the President on this issue. Instability in the middle-east is a very lucrative business model for personal financial gain.

A small but interesting development in the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico highlights a backstory CTH suspected several months ago {Go Deep}. August 25th:

As USTR Robert Lighthizer was working with the trade officials representing outgoing Mexican President Peña Nieto, White House adviser/emissary Jared Kushner was quietly working behind the scenes with AMLO trade adviser Jesus Seade and outlining the possibilities if they partnered with strategic economic objectives in mind.

As a result of Kusher’s dogged efforts to bring an entirely new dual-nationalist ‘focus’ within the trade construct, removing the historic globalist baseline, the outcome of the trade deal is excellent for both the U.S. and Mexico.  So today:

MEXICO – […] Kushner will receive the prize “for his contributions to achieve the negotiation of the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA),” according to a statement by Mexico’s Foreign Relations Secretariat.

Peña Nieto will present Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, with the award on Thursday at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina, according to the Reforma newspaper.

“Mr. Kushner’s participation was a determinant factor to start the process of renegotiation of [the North American Free Trade Agreement], avoiding a unilateral exit by the United States from said treaty, and his constant and effective involvement was key in achieving a successful close of negotiations,” reads the official statement on the award.

It’s likely to be Peña Nieto’s last major act as president, as he is due to hand over power to President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Saturday. (read more)

It will take time for Mexico to withdraw from prior corrupt agreements with multinational corporations who have invested in exploitative enterprise and bribed corrupt Mexican officials.   President Trump is EXACTLY the guy AMLO needs to help guide him through a complex business and economic process of extracting his country from the tentacles of economic exploitation.

BACKSTORY CTH September 2018: […]  Previous Mexican Presidents structured economic policy around accepting multinational corporate investment, facilitating the requests of Wall Street investment banks, and the predictable parasitic outcomes that follow. Exfiltration of wealth and exploitation of resources/labor are an outcropping of predatory multinational trade exploitation, ie. “globalism”.

Retention of the multinational schemes generally leads to massive corruption. In the U.S. this corruption is known as “lobbying”, in Mexico the process is called ‘bribery’; however, the activity is the same.

The incoming Mexican President, Lopez-Obrador (AMLO), is more of an economic nationalist; and quite remarkably his economic outlook, at least as his team has described the objectives so far, is quite Trumpian.

You might even say: “Make Mexico Great Again”.

Both U.S. President Trump and Mexican President-elect AMLO have similar outlooks toward predatory multinational corporations and economic exploitation. If you think about how Mexico was used by the multinationals in the past twenty years; and then think about a very real possibility of a U.S President and Mexican President having an economic friendship; well,… holy cats, those multinationals could be remarkably nervous right now.

AMLO supports labor and has an actual agenda to create a strong working-class or middle-class.  The wealth disparity within Mexico has always been a foundational issue that has led to a tremendous amount of corruption.

Similarly, President Trump supports labor.  Likely because of his positive relationships with labor unions as a private sector builder, Trump was the only republican candidate who advanced pragmatic opinion toward organized labor in 2015, 2016 and, as president, in White House meetings where he invited labor officials.  President Trump’s economic agenda is laser focused on a strong middle-class.

AMLO views Wall Street multinationals as predatory by disposition; Mexico has suffered from industrial exploitation, especially in the agriculture sector.  President Trump also views those same multinationals as tending toward predatory behavior, and he has targeted many specific corporations for attention due to their participation in the erosion of the American middle-class and the U.S. manufacturing base.

AMLO is a strong Mexican Nationalist. President Trump is a strong American Nationalist. Within almost all of President Trump’s foreign policy speeches on economics, he openly accepts that all nations should make decisions based on their individual and nationalistic needs.  Trump does not see economic nationalism as adversarial; he points out that trade agreements based on both interests are entirely possible, and actually easy to construct.

As long as AMLO stays away from the authoritarian tendencies of power, ie. government ownership of private industry – and the slippery slope of soft-Marxism, surprisingly he and President Trump are likely to have a great deal more in common than most would think. Both populists; both nationalists; both rebuke the elitist trappings of globalism and intend on executing economic policies for the majority of their citizens.

Because they have more in common on the economics of policy, this explains why the framework of the U.S-Mexico trade agreement between Robert Lighthizer (representing Trump) and Jesus Seade (representing AMLO) was possible to construct.

Lighthizer and Seade held long meetings after formal U.S-Mexico daily negotiations, and together this relationship appears to have been very important in how the deal framework was structured. Right now both teams are filling in the details based on common objectives.

With AMLO and President Trump, Mexico and the U.S. have joint-interests in an economic trade bloc. It is actually quite stunning when you think about the economic power that both nations can hold if their mutual and individual interests remain at the forefront.

President Trump and President Lopez-Obrador have common objectives; and with the economic approach outlined by AMLO toward using Mexico’s energy resources as leverage for expanded investment, the U.S. is well positioned to help.  Mexico needs independent collateral to break the cycle of dependency on overseas money (investment).  Mexico needs policies and partners that can make Mexico, and the Mexican people, independently wealthy.   Guess who the bestest partner would be?  Yup, President Trump.

President Trump is well positioned to assist Mexico via a united trade bloc with expanded cross-border investment for economic development.

AMLO wants a higher standard of living for Mexican workers; President Trump wants greater parity between Mexican workers and their U.S. counterparts. Heck, it was U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and USTR Robert Lighthizer who first proposed raising the Mexican minimum wage. Now both countries have agreed to an incremental Mexican minimum wage aspect of $16/hr within the auto sector.

Combining the wage aspect with the content and origination agreement, this has become a win/win for both AMLO and President Trump. The multinationals within the auto-sector might not like it, but they’ve already put a massive amount of money into plant and manufacturing investment in their existing Mexican footprint. They have no choice.

In an generally overlooked outcome the nationalist interests of Mexico, specific to AMLO, are very close to alignment with the nationalist MAGA agenda of President Trump.

The U.S. economy is expanding at an unprecedented rate, and Mexico prepares to surf the MAGAnomic tsunami known as Donald Trump.

President Trump can see that independent economic future for Mexico based on a partnership that protects the interests of both nations.  It certainly appears that AMLO can see the same vision.

Remarkable times.