Free Republic

President Donald Trump was elected in part on his promise to change the direction of U.S. trade policy so it would put America first. He has kept that promise with new trade agreements and tough enforcement actions that break down foreign trade barriers, protect America’s competitive edge and stop the outsourcing of U.S. jobs. A key Trump success — and an important promise kept — has been to end the job-killing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and replace it with a complete and long-overdue transformation. To replace NAFTA, Trump negotiated a modern, state-of-the-art trade agreement with Mexico and Canada...

President Trump appeared to mock House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week by gleefully handing out souvenir pens at the USMCA signing ceremony. A move that came after Pelosi was slammed for handing out souvenir pens with her name on them on the day she signed the resolution to transmit two articles of impeachment against Trump to the Senate.

I was very skeptical when U.S. and Chinese officials announced the two nations had reached a “Phase One” trade deal last December. Neither country released any details regarding the agreement. Chinese officials have been exceptionally muted since the announcement, only emphasizing that the United States would remove a number of tariffs, without mentioning any commitments China had made. Neither the United States nor China even articulated a specific dollar amount of the additional U.S. farm products China pledges to purchase.Last week, both the White House and the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office posted the full text of the agreement, immediately...

The Senate overwhelmingly passed President Trump's proposed replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on Thursday, sending the deal to the president’s desk for his approval. Passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) represents a rare moment of bipartisanship in a bitterly divided Congress. The deal cleared the Senate by a vote of 89 to 10 on Thursday, close to a month after passing the House by a vote of 385-41. Republicans were eager to help Trump accomplish a major pillar of his economic agenda despite their preferences for a deal with looser restrictions. Democrats, who broadly shared Trump’s...

TAMPA, Florida — Vice President Mike Pence told Breitbart News exclusively on Thursday that the Senate’s passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement is a “huge win” for American workers and farmers. Pence’s exclusive interview with Breitbart News, which came on his bus tour between Tampa and Orlando, for which he was conducting a campaign swing up the all-important I-4 corridor in the Sunshine State, came moments after the U.S. Senate passed the USMCA, 89-10. The overwhelming Senate vote came a month after the House in mid-December similarly passed the deal with overwhelming bipartisan support, as the USMCA sailed through...

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Wednesday that “tariffs worked” as a means to prod China to agree to a “phase one” trade deal with the United States. “I keep wondering when people are going to recognize that it is historic that tariffs did succeed,” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street,” shortly before U.S. and Chinese officials were set to sign the initial trade agreement at the White House later in the morning.

Weeks after switching on the machines of a new production line near Bangkok, veteran manufacturer Larry Sloven has a quip for the stream of companies leaving China: “Elvis has left the building.” After three decades of building up manufacturing bases in China, Sloven helped Capstone International Hong Kong, of which he is managing director, wind one down. Costs were rising before the trade war, but a 25 per cent tariff on the lighting products the company exports back to the United States helped accelerate a shift that was set in motion 18 months ago – moving its production base to...

The House on Thursday backed a new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada in a 385-41 vote, giving President Trump a big bipartisan victory and sending the NAFTA replacement to the Senate for consideration early in 2020. Democrats, who control the House, approved the United States-Mexico- Canada Agreement, or USMCA, more than a year after President Trump secured the deal with our neighbors to the south and north. Voting against the measure were 38 Democrats, two Republicans and one independent.

All three major averages are trading in record territory Stocks opened in record territory on Friday, the first session after the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement sailed through the U.S. House of Representatives. The trade deal now heads to the Senate, where it's expected to pass before being sent to President Trump. The final reading of third-quarter gross domestic product, released Friday morning, showed the U.S. economy expanded at a 2.1 percent pace, matching expectations of economists surveyed by Refinitiv. The reading was unrevised from the second estimate, released last month. All three of the major averages were trading higher in the...

The House on Thursday backed a new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada in a 385-41 vote, giving President Trump a big bipartisan victory and sending the NAFTA replacement to the Senate for consideration early in 2020. Democrats, who control the House, approved the United States-Mexico- Canada Agreement, or USMCA, more than a year after President Trump secured the deal with our neighbors to the south and north. Voting against the measure were 38 Democrats, two Republicans and one independent... (President) Trump made tearing up NAFTA a hallmark of his presidential run in 2016 as he tried to win over...

Donald J. Trump ‏ Verified account @realDonaldTrump 7m7 minutes ago More We have agreed to a very large Phase One Deal with China. They have agreed to many structural changes and massive purchases of Agricultural Product, Energy, and Manufactured Goods, plus much more. The 25% Tariffs will remain as is, with 7 1/2% put on much of the remainder.... 1,041 replies2,432 retweets7,240 likes Reply 1.0K Retweet 2.4K Like 7.2K ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Donald J. Trump ‏ Verified account @realDonaldTrump 8m8 minutes ago More .....The Penalty Tariffs set for December 15th will not be charged because of the fact that we made the...

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House Democrats and the White House have struck a deal on a historic trade deal to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Tuesday. Pelosi announced the deal on a head spinning day in Washington just one hour after she joined Democrats in setting out two articles of impeachment against Trump. The agreement on the trade pact is important to Pelosi and Democrats, who want to show they can legislate even as they move toward just the third impeachment of a U.S. president in history. Republicans have repeatedly criticized Democrats as being consumed...

As negotiations with China over a “phase one” trade deal continue, the critical 15% December 15th tariffs on about $165 billion of Chinese imports (covering products like iPhones, apparel, and toys) near. While it certainly seems financial markets are rooting for President Trump to postpone the tariffs, this ongoing conflict with China is more important than a few Dow points. And despite all the doomsday proclamations, the stock market is near an all-time high while over $350 billion of Chinese imports face tariffs. That is why Trump should feel no pressure to strike a deal and should implement these tariffs.Ultimately,...

Kwon Goohoon of Goldman Sachs discusses the impact of the trade war on Asian economies. He says the dispute may not be fully resolved, but he doesn’t see further escalation in 2020. (Please see link for video)

China’s hand in cementing a phase one trade deal with the U.S. keeps getting weaker even though many American media outlets keep reporting otherwise because they seem to like Chinese President Xi Jinping better than President Donald Trump, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Monday. (Please see link for full article)

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has been stalled in Congress since Trump signed the new trade deal back in November 2018. With the holiday season upon us, it is time for Congress to finally ratify the USMCA, which replaces the decades-old NAFTA and enables small businesses to boost exports, and safeguard their intellectual property (IP).The political climate is Washington has been filled with more partisan rhetoric and policies than previous Congresses of the past. However, this is Washington after all, and partisanship is the lifeblood of any good political debate. That being said, the USMCA isn’t a trade deal laced...

President Donald Trump on Friday hailed a breakthrough in his drawn-out trade war with China, saying the two sides reached an initial deal that included a surge in purchase of American farm products. With the agreement -- which also covers intellectual property, financial services and currencies -- the White House will hold off on a massive tariff increase planned for next week, and as negotiations progress new tariffs planned for December also could be called off, US officials said. The interim bargain could allow both economic powers to claim success, while averting damaging escalation in the trade war and leaving...

President Trump announced today a “phase one” trade agreement with China. Part of the deal includes a dramatic increase in agricultural products to be sold to China, ramping up from around $16 billion worth per year at its highest historic mark to $40-$50 billion per year moving forward. Current levels are estimated at around $8 billion. While announcing it, the President said farmers should immediately “buy more land and get bigger tractors.” The deal is expected to be written and signed in three to five weeks. It was negotiated on China’s behalf by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. Both...

China poured cold water on hopes for a trade deal, signaling it would retaliate against the U.S. threat to put Chinese tech companies on a blacklist, just two days ahead of the highly anticipated trade talks in Washington. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Tuesday said “stay tuned,” when asked whether China would retaliate for the blacklist over alleged human rights violations against Muslim minorities. “We urge the U.S. to immediately correct its mistake, withdraw the relevant decision and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs,” Geng said at a news conference according to a transcript on the Foreign Ministry’s...