6/11/2018
By Charles Payne, CEO & Principal Analyst

Now is the time to address imbalances in trade and other relationships that have chipped away at the economic distance Americans enjoy. The United States peaked as the largest percentage of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the 1950's. Part of the reason is the amount of money spread around the world to help our friends and even non-friends climb back from the ashes.  

The irony is after World War I and II, European nations insisted on curbing the mighty German industrial machine under the guise of stopping it from creating war machines, but the U.S.never put those restrictions on other nations.   

These days, we are told the support and lopsided arrangements designed to assist our allies are entitlements that can’t be adjusted.  

That Was Then, This is Now

The fiasco in Canada is even more of a delicious irony considering how Trudeau hijacked the Trans- Pacific Partnership after the United States bolted and made protectionist demands to preserve “cultural industries.”

And it’s not just Canada. 

The European Union has stated it’s ready to hit American industries with $7.0 billion in additional levies with a focus on peanut butter, motorbikes, whiskey, orange juice, and cranberries. It’s obvious these items were picked specially to target states President Trump won after many of them flipped in 2016.  

However, the European Union (EU) has made the mistake of also revealing its hypocrisy because of current tariffs on these products. 

• Milk production is down 25% from 1996 to 2016. Not only are these potential actions politically motivated, but in the case of orange juice with the EU and those massive tariffs on dairy in Canada, these vulnerable industries are already suffering.

• Orange juice production has swooned to 215 metric tons in 2017 from 761 metric tons in 2008

As for the Group of Seven (G-7) meeting, and how angry our allies are and the potential for kicking America out of the organization, it would be the same as kicking Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson off the Golden State Warriors.  

Charles Payne
Wall Street Strategies

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