Free Republic

Why has North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un suddenly invited President Trump to talks that include Korean denuclearization?! A Korean nuclear breakthrough may have been achieved— a few days after Trump threatened tariffs on Chinese steel exports. Is there a linkage between Chinese steel and North Korea’s nukes? It's too early to even guess whether U.S.–Korean talks will resolve anything. However, they will bring the United States’ and North Koreas top leaders into direct talks for the first time since the end of Korean War hostilities in 1953. Before Trump even met with China’s President Xi last November, he had...

I’m the guy who predicted a Trump victory against all odds in the 2016 election. I also predicted a “Trump Miracle” for the economy. Here’s my new prediction: President Trump guaranteed his re-election last week. Liberals must be sick to their stomachs. No matter what they do or say, no matter how hard they try to distract us from the booming economy, the “Trump Miracle” shines through. I was going to write about the Trump administration’s war with California, illegal immigration and liberal politicians serving as “lookouts” for illegal felons. This move is cheered by middle-class Americans sick of being...

As for trade, China has taken advantage of the WTO to push mercantilist policies. It uses non-tariff barriers and industrial policy the WTO wasn’t built to address to maximize exports and minimize imports. President Trump’s prospective tariffs on steel and aluminum have put renewed focus on China trade, although the tariffs, at least as announced by Trump, are a comically inept misfire if their true target is China. The rubric for the levies could be: “How to lose a trade war with China in one easy step.” A better approach begins with acknowledging that China is unique, and a unique...

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said on Thursday that he will introduce legislation to nix President Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports just minutes after they were announced. "I will immediately draft and introduce legislation to nullify these tariffs, and I urge my colleagues to pass it before this exercise in protectionism inflicts any more damage on the economy," Flake said in a statement. Trump announced that he would levy the penalties — a 25 percent tariff for steel and 10 percent on aluminum — during a White House event. Canada and Mexico are exempted amid larger trade negotiations, Trump...

BEIJING—The Trump administration is asking Beijing for a plan to cut the annual U.S. trade deficit with China by $100 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that Washington had asked Beijing for a $1 billion reduction—less than 0.3% of the countries’ annual trade gap or around one day’s worth of the trade imbalance. His tweet was off by $99 billion. (please see link for full article)

Tesla's Elon Musk is complaining to President Donald Trump about China's car tariffs on Twitter. "Do you think the US & China should have equal & fair rules for cars? Meaning, same import duties, ownership constraints & other factors," Musk said in response to a Trump tweet about trade with China. "I am against import duties in general, but the current rules make things very difficult. It's like competing in an Olympic race wearing lead shoes." (please see full article at link)

March 8 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Thursday, joined by steel and aluminum workers at the White House, imposed his promised industrial tariffs -- 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on foreign-made aluminum. Trump signed the tariff proclamations Thursday afternoon in a meeting with industry workers and officials -- ushering in fiscal penalties that have drawn ire from world leaders and sparked fears of a possible trade war. "A nation that does not protect property at home cannot protect its property abroad," Trump said. The White House said Canada and Mexico will initially be excluded from the...

In a surprising turn of events, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has taken to social media to make a case for President Trumps recently proposed tariffs. President Trump published a tweet yesterday stating that China was asked to develop a yearly plan for the One Billion Dollar reduction in their trade deficit with the United States. President Trump was well received during his visit to China earlier this year and notes this by saying that U.S. relations with China are very good and that he looked forward to seeing what ideas they came up with. But, President Trump urged that the...

SANTIAGO, Chile — A trade pact originally conceived by the United States to counter China’s growing economic might in Asia now has a new target: President Trump’s embrace of protectionism. A group of 11 nations — including major United States allies like Japan, Canada and Australia — signed a broad trade deal on Thursday that challenges Mr. Trump’s view of trade as a zero-sum game filled with winners and losers. Covering 500 million people on either side of the Pacific Ocean, the pact represents a new vision for global trade as the United States threatens to impose steel and aluminum...

Top Navy and Marine Corps officials on Wednesday expressed concern over China’s expanding global reach and said the superpower was rapidly buying up foreign land to “win without fighting.” “When it comes to China, the bottom line there is the checkbook,” Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer told lawmakers during a House Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing. “Not only in the dollars and cents that they are writing to support their military expansion and their technological work, but what they’re doing around the globe ... weaponizing capital.” (please see link for full article)

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - An economist who believes that Chinese goods are literally poisoning Americans, advocates ending Washington's "One China" policy and says trade deals have weakened the United States economically with the connivance of U.S. business has emerged as the big winner from renewed turmoil in the White House. While Peter Navarro says he is not in the running to replace Trump's top economic adviser Gary Cohn, who has said he will quit, he will be a big winner from the departure of a person seen as a bulwark against economic protectionism. (please see full article at the...

The company plans to call back about 500 employees United States Steel Corp. X +4.25% said it would restart a blast furnace in Illinois to handle the higher demand it expects from President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on foreign steel. The steelmaker said it also plans to call 500 employees back to work at the Granite City mill. U.S. Steel idled its blast furnaces there two years ago as a flood of cheap imports pushed down domestic steel prices. Steel producers have been hurt in recent years by increasing competition from foreign competitors, particularly China, that have ramped up production...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that China has been asked to develop a plan to reduce its trade surplus with the United States, without giving any details on how such a request had been conveyed. (please see link for full article)

When President Trump announced he would protect American jobs by imposing tariffs on foreign-made steel and aluminum, naysayers of both parties rushed to the nearest microphone or TV camera. Pundits and politicians alike pretended to be “shocked, shocked” that Trump meant what he said as a candidate, and that he actually means to deliver what he promised during the campaign. The Swamp, in short, is not happy. But cheers rose from the manufacturing belt that runs through the states that put Trump in the White House: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Iowa. “This is a good thing for...

WASHINGTON — As the United States and China look to protect their national security needs and economic interests, the fight between the two financial superpowers is increasingly focused on a single area: technology. (excerpt, please see the full article at the link)

US Considering Broad Curbs On Chinese Imports -- Zero Hedge, 5 March, 2018 -- First thing this morning, when the market was surging and inexplicably rejoicing in the certainty that Trump would back down on tariffs, a nagging feeling that this was all wrong prompted us to ask "What If Trump Does Not Back Down", and to follow it up with a troubling rumor from Strategas, namely that this is all about China, and would involve a massive amount of tariffs, to wit: Trump himself has also said that the trade wars have one major target: Beijing, with the rest...

Published on Feb 16, 2018 A modern trade route between Asia and Europe is under construction. The gigantic project is the brainchild of Chinese president Xi Jinping. (please see the link, for full text)

From Lincoln to William McKinley to Theodore Roosevelt, and from Warren Harding through Calvin Coolidge, the Republican Party erected the most awesome manufacturing machine the world had ever seen. And, as the party of high tariffs through those seven decades, the GOP was rewarded by becoming America's Party. Thirteen Republican presidents served from 1860 to 1930, and only two Democrats. And Grover Cleveland and Woodrow Wilson were elected only because the Republicans had split. Why, then, this terror of tariffs that grips the GOP? Consider. On hearing that President Trump might impose tariffs on aluminum and steel, Sen. Lindsey...

A US aircraft carrier arrived in Vietnam on Monday for the first time since the end of the war, as the former foes bolster military ties in the face of Beijing's build-up in the disputed South China Sea. (Please see full article, at the link)

This video starts out interviewing a 63 year old American steel executive. He says he, himself, will at 63 likely skate in the coming conflict, but he says he is much more concerned about his own children. I agree with him. EVERYONE has been selling out America for the entire last generation and a half. It is time for Trump to stand for America, it is time for us to grow, and be great once again.