Those who’ve followed me for a bit or are readers of my blog are probably aware I’m fully in favor of free trade. I’m also in favor of President Trump’s use of tariffs as a negotiating tool.Continue Reading
Tariffs, Trade Deficits & Under-Employment
Yesterday I did a twitter thread on the President’s use of tariffs and then dove a bit further into trade balances and under-employment.
I am not in favor of tariffs as an economic policy. But I am in favor of the manner in which President Trump is currently using them.Continue Reading
President Trump – A Great CNBC Interview
President Trump did an Interview with CNBC’s Joe Kernen on Thursday July 19, 2018.
Full Credit to the Conservative Treehouse for pointing this GREAT interview out.Continue Reading
President Trump, the NATO Summit & Some Hard Facts
You’re not dealing with Russia. You’re making Russia richer. – President Donald J. Trump
President Trump attended a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
It didn’t exactly go as Stoltenberg hoped:Continue Reading
Mulvaney’s Plans for Government Reform
“It’s been almost a hundred years since anybody’s really reorganized the government…We are still dealing with a Government from the early 20th Century.” – Mick Mulvaney
OMB Director Mick Mulvaney is one of my favorites within the Trump Administration. He brings a common sense approach to issues.Continue Reading
Trade Deficits, Foreign Investment, Under-Employment & Trump
If a country is buying more goods and services from the rest of the world than it is selling, the country must also be selling more assets to the rest of the world than it is buying. – Douglas Irwin
While awaiting the Inspector General’s Report, I came across an interesting exchange regarding trade and foreign investment.Continue Reading
The Shifting Political Sands of Italy
Many observers have noted that populism is inherent to representative democracy; after all, do populists not juxtapose ‘the pure people’ against ‘the corrupt elite’? – Cas Mudde
On April 25, 2017, I wrote the following words in an article titled The EU’s Two Intractable Issues & Election Anxiety:
Brussels is breathing a sigh of relief. Macron is heavily favored to win the runoff election according to polls.
But Brussels should not feel overly confident with this short-term respite. While Le Pen is likely to lose the runoff election, it’s telling that candidates from the French establishment parties were defeated.
Italy may be the true test for the European Union. Indeed, Italy may be the place where the fate of the European Union is decided.Continue Reading
Economic Power & the Denuclearization of North Korea
Turns out there really was something to those reports of a mystery North Korean train arriving in China:
The arrival of a North Korean train in the Chinese capital sparked frenzied speculation that Pyongyang had sent a senior figure—perhaps even leader Kim Jong Un —on a mission to strengthen ties with Beijing ahead of a planned summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.Continue Reading
Tariffs as a Tool Towards Broader Free Trade
President Trump signed Trade Section 232 Proclamations on Steel and Aluminum today.
The signing starts a 15-day countdown before a 25% tariff on imported steel and a 10% tariff on imported aluminum goes into effect.
The Executive Order included a clause granting Canada and Mexico a roughly 30-day grace period to avoid being impacted – but only while NAFTA talks continue.Continue Reading
Why I Support Trump’s Tariff Proposal
On March 1, 2018, President Trump held a meeting with steel and aluminum executives where he made an announcement:
We’ll be imposing tariffs on steel imports, and tariffs on aluminum imports. We’ll probably have everything completed by next week.Continue Reading