Subject: Playbook Power Briefing, presented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Trade wars escalate as duties on some Chinese goods take effect at midnight
From: "Anna Palmer Jake Sherman Daniel Lippman" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 05 Jul 2018 10:22:40 -0600
List-Id: <1376319.xt.local>

View online version  |  Add [email-masked] to your address book. 

     

Today's Playbook Power Briefing presented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 
            
By JAKE SHERMAN ([email-masked]; @JakeSherman), ANNA PALMER ([email-masked]; @apalmerdc), DANIEL LIPPMAN ([email-masked]; @dlippman) and AKELA LACY ([email-masked]; @akela_lacy)

        
TRADE WARS -- DOUG PALMER: "New duties on Chinese goods take effect at midnight": "An additional 25 percent tariff on about $34 billion worth of Chinese goods will be imposed as of midnight, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative confirmed Thursday.

"A USTR spokeswoman said U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been instructed to begin collecting the duties, which President Donald Trump ordered earlier this year after a USTR Section 301 investigation blamed China for the loss of U.S. valuable intellectual property, either through forced technology transfers or outright theft. ... 

"The Trump administration is also preparing to hit another $16 billion worth of Chinese exports with additional duties once it completes a public comment period. That could be as early as August. Beijing has also prepared a list of another $16 billion worth of U.S. goods that it will hit with duties in response to that." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba9bd5d56e010d609f4d44ee2424fd1ffb52d9e8d60a5c1171ba539c20510456cf826d93db04900739d2f16ade1cbe4f 

-- SABRINA RODRIGUEZ: "Mexico imposes retaliatory tariffs on dozens of U.S. goods": "Mexico on Thursday began imposing its second stage of retaliatory tariffs on dozens of U.S. goods in response to President Donald Trump's duties on Mexican steel and aluminum exports to the United States. The tariffs complete Mexico's two-part retaliation on almost $3 billion worth of U.S. products. The Mexican government, which first announced its retaliation list last month, started the action on June 5 by eliminating preferential tariffs established under NAFTA on a number of products, including pork, potatoes and whiskey. The Mexican government confirmed on Thursday that the increased tariffs are going
 into effect.

"Most of Mexico's retaliatory tariffs will be imposed on U.S. agricultural exports, such as apples, cranberries and various cheeses. Mexico is also targeting a number of American steel products. The majority of products on the list will face tariffs between 15 and 25 percent." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba9bd5d56e010d6012234e8d19f5314dcce628016c93430298aa473c90bbb208aabfc028dcfaf1a49a6463472b3b4639 

-- SCMP'S AMANDA LEE: "China tries to ease retaliation fears with pledges to help foreign businesses weather trade war": "Asked on Thursday whether China would target U.S.-funded businesses in China to counter U.S. restrictions on Chinese products, Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng said it was not part of Beijing's plan and, instead, China might compensate foreign businesses for losses from a trade war. ...

"The comments come a day before Washington and Beijing plan to implement tariffs against each others' goods in an escalating trade conflict that has rippled out to financial markets.

"Gao said China would not bow to threats or blackmail and would have to fight back if the U.S. went ahead and imposed the tariffs. ... Gao also said U.S. business interests would suffer from the first set of tariffs, with about $20 billion of the targeted goods, or 59 percent, produced by foreign firms, including U.S. ones." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba9bd5d56e010d602736123048321a0975b63195de4228e8d73d41a5988f810f27279b503a0850525ccdc92d9fdc6bff 

SUPREME COURT REPORT -- NBC'S PETER ALEXANDER and DARTUNORRO CLARK: "Trump narrows Supreme Court short list, top 3 contenders emerge": "President Donald Trump has narrowed his list of contenders to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy to three serious candidates, a source familiar with the selection process told NBC News on Thursday.

 "Those candidates are appeals court judges Brett Kavanaugh, Raymond Kethledge and Amy Coney Barrett, the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said. Kavanaugh, 53, and Kethledge, 51, are both former law clerks to Kennedy, as was Neil Gorsuch, Trump's first Supreme Court nominee, who succeeded Antonin Scalia. Kavanaugh, also a veteran of George W. Bush's White House, currently serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba9bd5d56e010d60d2cfedc5667c40f48d3e5cdba3c06e1999348ea5cd708f196c81f7ad088457265381cec669c0b394 ... Roger Meyers in National Review on Kethledge's views on immigration law http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba9bd5d56e010d60414bb0f6f13a109aca8112c339d9199a015521d1fafc9fc2e791fab93bf9f015f44236536f11f485

****** A message from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: There are no winners in a global trade war. Here's a breakdown of the states and industries hardest hit by retaliatory tariffs on American exports. www.TheWrongApproach.com. ******

Good Thursday afternoon. WHAT'S ON THE PRESIDENT'S MIND -- @realDonaldTrump at 10:08 a.m.: 'Congress must pass smart, fast and reasonable Immigration Laws now. Law Enforcement at the Border is doing a great job, but the laws they are forced to work with are insane. When people, with or without children, enter our Country, they must be told to leave without our........" 

... at 10:16 a.m.: ".....Country being forced to endure a long and costly trial. Tell the people 'OUT,' and they must leave, just as they would if they were standing on your front lawn. Hiring thousands of 'judges' does not work and is not acceptable -- only Country in the World that does this!" 

... at 10:17 a.m.: "Congress - FIX OUR INSANE IMMIGRATION LAWS NOW!"

2018 WATCH -- "Montana Sen. Tester 'welcomes' Trump by touting passed bills," by AP's Matt Voltz: "U.S. Sen. Jon Tester gave President Donald Trump a tongue-in-cheek welcome to Montana Thursday by taking out a full-page ad in more than a dozen newspapers thanking him for signing 16 bills the Democrat sponsored or co-sponsored.

"Trump was scheduled to hold a rally in Great Falls on Thursday to campaign for Tester's Republican challenger, State Auditor Matt Rosendale. The president has made the Montana Senate race a priority after he blamed Tester for derailing the nomination of his Veterans Affairs nominee, White House physician Ronny Jackson.

"[Tester's ad] ran in the Great Falls Tribune and in newspapers across rural northern and eastern Montana ... 'Welcome to Montana, and thank you President Trump for supporting Jon's legislation to help veterans and first responders, hold the VA accountable, and get rid of waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government,' the ad read." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba9bd5d56e010d60ba250c0529dbc8950175c4b945068d3ff2874a9692b1817ad03d85e647527e1630a00ccc8d4ac9a6 

THE INVESTIGATIONS ...

-- "Inside the Online Campaign to Whitewash the History of Donald Trump's Russian Business Associates," by The Daily Beast's Lachlan Markay and Dean Sterling Jones: "Spokespeople for online reputation management companies in the two countries confirmed that they had been paid to write articles attempting to whitewash Trump's ties to Felix Sater, a Russian-born businessman who, with former Russian trade minister Tevfik Arif, collaborated with the Trump Organization on numerous real estate deals from New York to the former Soviet Union.

"The campaign appears designed to influence Google search results pertaining to Trump's relationship with Sater, Arif, and the Bayrock Group, a New York real estate firm that collaborated with Trump on a series of real estate deals, and recruited Russian investors for potential Trump deals in Moscow. ... 

"Sater-who once had an office at New York's Trump Tower, Trump Organization business cards, and claims to have worked as a senior adviser to Trump-has recently emerged as a key figure in the federal investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba9bd5d56e010d60b40fa8bc76fe9d0bff90f781976a4f1652e23655ac445f7c0ecde6ed1c9e9f74b3839b57aa587c8e 

-- AP'S GARANCE BURKE and STEPHEN BRAUN: "Sanctioned Russian oligarch linked to Cohen has vast U.S. ties": "Working closely with an American cousin who heads the New York investment management firm Columbus Nova, [Viktor] Vekselberg backed a $1.6 million lobbying campaign to aid Russian interests in Washington. ...His cousin Andrew Intrater served as CEO of a Vekselberg company on that project, and the two men have collaborated on numerous other investments involving Vekselberg's extensive holdings.

"Now, Intrater's investment firm is wrestling with the fallout from financial sanctions the U.S. Treasury Department lodged in April against Vekselberg, one of a group of oligarchs tied to Russian President Vladimir Putin. ... Vekselberg also has cemented tech deals using a Kremlin-funded foundation - raising national security concerns years before special counsel Robert Mueller began probing contacts between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russian intermediaries. His opaque corporate structure, which includes an array of hard-to-trace shell companies, has fallen under Mueller's scrutiny, according to several media reports.

"Vekselberg hired Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen as a consultant in January 2017, just months after Cohen paid off the adult film actress known as Stormy Daniels, who has alleged she had an affair with Trump." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba9bd5d56e010d60e06b12c42509dbceceea68fd2fa947172fd601dd7045c8b94363c54b595fd8edcaa1ac691908a45f 

ON THE WORLD STAGE -- "Saudis Lower Most Oil Pricing as Iran Taunts Trump on Tweets," by Bloomberg's Anthony DiPaola: "Saudi Arabia cut pricing for most of its oil grades as the world's biggest crude exporter is increasing production to assure buyers there is sufficient supply following U.S. President Donald Trump's demands that OPEC do more to stabilize oil markets. ... 

"Iran's OPEC governor, Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, had earlier on Thursday urged Trump to stop tweeting about oil, saying his missives were backfiring and driving prices higher." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba9bd5d56e010d60086477680025d2f7a19020070550182fc493b3e500b341b1b522b04fbb8c0d021cdf370e0809850f 

FOR YOUR RADAR -- "Five years ago, the FEC's top lawyer resigned. No permanent replacement has yet been named." by The Center for Public Integrity's Dave Levinthal and Suhauna Hussain: "[T]oday marks five years since the FEC employed a bona fide, duly appointed general counsel to oversee its attorneys and orchestrate the agency's legal efforts - a void that is a 'reflection of the dysfunction at the FEC,' says the last man to hold the job, Tony Herman, now senior counsel at Washington, D.C.-based law firm Covington & Burling." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=590a1dea1c7f1372073223a464c5b12877a75f7ad49f54daada7e6f05856c238b79027a11f70bba7bb17133d87e83411  

THURSDAY LISTEN -- "Does the city of the future know too much about you?" by Ben White: "In this week's POLITICO Money podcast, POLITICO's Nancy Scola takes you on a virtual tour of Quayside, the futuristic smart neighborhood that Google plans to build in Toronto." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=590a1dea1c7f1372d404578da2a1103be4e1992a530044ea043679daff0c2e507ce3da4904b5901938229e80f199c85b ... Nancy's magazine story http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=590a1dea1c7f137209c0d1b71478806158ec5c9100840712ed0edb86360757dc415733c89fc275d02db79c47ad0d9320 

COMING ATTRACTIONS - "Hillary Clinton joins star-studded lineup for Ozy Fest in Central Park," by N.Y. Daily News' Spencer Dukoff: "Clinton will be interviewed by Laurene Powell Jobs, president and founder of the Emerson Collective, a nonprofit organization that advocates for progressive causes. ... [She] joins a lineup that already includes newsmakers like comedians Michelle Wolf and Chelsea Handler, actress Laverne Cox, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, writer Malcolm Gladwell, sportscaster Jemele Hill, billionaire Tom Steyer, author Salman Rushdie and more." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=590a1dea1c7f137278ebeab58231ae8b7a76c78f41de2ce0a19343daefce924aa43640218907c962d646d3e4ec015dd2

AFTERNOON READ -- "Instead of a Ban, Transgender Military Recruits Hit Endless Red Tape," by NYT's Dave Philipps: "Nicholas Bade showed up at an Air Force recruiting office on an icy morning in January, determined to be one of the first transgender recruits to enlist in the military. ... [H]e expected to be called for basic training in a month, maybe two at the most.

"Six months later, he's still waiting. And so are nearly all other transgender recruits who have tried to join up since a federal court ordered the Trump administration not to ban them from the military. ... Since then, scores have applied - but it appears almost none are being accepted. ... The applicants are being stalled or turned away at a time when some branches of the military face a shortage of recruits, and when recruiters have been ordered to work Saturdays to try to make up the shortfall.

"[Transgender groups] initially hailed the court injunctions last fall as victories. But their optimism has melted as months have passed with so few recruits actually being allowed to enlist. ... [S]ome are beginning to question whether the delays are evidence of a concerted effort to keep transgender recruits out, despite the court rulings." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=590a1dea1c7f13725de03e8a9235773cd45d5e7c1e5bd6ef963837cf652812d309b387fce766dc54ccc153d959741d59 

MEDIAWATCH -- Megan Heckerman is heading to the New York Times as a talent and inclusion partner for its newsroom. She most recently was an HR business partner at Politico.

TRANSITIONS -- Elisa Massimino is now a senior fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Kennedy School of Government. She previously was president of Human Rights First. ... Caleb Hull is heading to Targeted Victory as director of content. He most recently was senior editor at IJR. 

ENGAGED - Cogan Schneier, social media editor at NRECA and a Politico alum, got engaged to Mike Rooney, an account manager at software company Tableau. "He proposed on the beach yesterday at my family home in Cape Cod after a round of golf. Friends and family were waiting back at the house with a surprise party." Instapics http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=590a1dea1c7f1372cf16266fd1cfeb6cf996e2e792276a1f4973beaa4c2478233c6f341d7302a54064814df35e120a4c 

WEEKEND WEDDING -- Lissette Flores, a supervisory community development specialist at HUD and a CBPP alum, married Amilcar Guzman, director of data and evaluation at Casa de Maryland and national president of the alumni association of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. Wedding pics http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=590a1dea1c7f13729f9e8f70d803fe8c01c020dfa67dc52b132f2488b727386a2bc2dd76ea9c836389899bd56def1f7d ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=590a1dea1c7f1372ea262d18782d2fcb00bf4a5a07d87033f71e2bb3517c371b28e86fae13c5b72c3dd45d1a23d3c40d ... NYT announcement http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=590a1dea1c7f1372557ccd910a72d2ecd947effac632f0bde654911f64ce7d3533c961dee150018bffa87e1bac881d2e

WELCOME TO THE WORLD - KERRY ALUMNI: Jamesine Rogers Gibson, Western states senior climate analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists and a John Kerry and EPA alum, and Bennett Gibson, senior recruiter at Google and an Apple and Yahoo alum, welcomed Emma Gibson.

****** A message from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Trade works. Tariffs don't. See how hard your state will be hit by retaliatory tariffs on American exports at www.TheWrongApproach.com. ******

SUBSCRIBE to the Playbook family: POLITICO Playbook http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d22fa3199eb1ffe9bba4a7c8dc2abd090651f331e72dbae18e10beacd4437ba5180a450901e97d45c08a1e94f44eff64 ... Playbook Power Briefing  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d22fa3199eb1ffe9643a6e8eab1cddcab453623c1b5874b3e49e088c532b492ed6a52b072e4b6930625fbcb3a875afa2 ... New York Playbook  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d22fa3199eb1ffe98fb0a167b2b74b0aef5d03ba6e31d771add2f2b71d9ec6a8cfa67bf7e658bbde5349bd3674ca6276 ... Florida Playbook  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d22fa3199eb1ffe96104a3ec641851a6c267012a4f673c9384cecf969bf86013f1d641de7706c13fe268d07af7c5f65d ... New Jersey Playbook http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d22fa3199eb1ffe93cc53e21129273b7ec6f9be90c8d4061f96b82999126e6f3a533b22a8a442da04e6a0fde5761c24d ... Massachusetts Playbook  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d22fa3199eb1ffe9b340837903c5064851110270999988d96cfcf4704f514c15a877a1e20dd38e4ba6b8b7e9570c326f ... Illinois Playbook 
 http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d22fa3199eb1ffe9b84ead7c3008618c46c6f4e146759096127afb6b9b32f0c695004b2ab17b7658e8c2d06da3b228e8 ... California Playbook http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d22fa3199eb1ffe91031bf81fcb2db57625dbe7e2e16d581de197f19e512cc8d579fc1e1c0b374f5c80d2d1dd7a6be91 ... London Playbook  
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0996233d100d62a837315ce21d99b5e843452ecfbbd4f4f9c7a1f60bc470ad5da1f3565b082dd0262c716c0e25b513e ... Brussels Playbook  http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0996233d100d62a259fe3183871cd0f0b94117c69e1bbb4f6d989f28ac9d5b289e9edb6d63be88de75f0da55893a103 ... All our political and policy tipsheets http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0996233d100d62a6491cf7cb7d5678271573a92d900210d833e8f1b0b35edebaa51769fe4e00dda0a95a8e69276f34b
    
View online

 To change your alert settings, please go to http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c0996233d100d62a01297e93d29f8c18ffc574bf931f06745c75b07c3a7a117d4ec97a5990a7133b793a15d7dcdf5d9b or http://click.politicoemail.com/profile_center.aspx?qs=c1c81b2ef644fde1dd3c1f6178ef6a8ea3ee660992025bd44f2ef6d94ee9ba710ed9068edccd38261fcae1cbca97cb2ac0e869d0f9cbfce53a7d12a9185928c4
This email was sent to [email-masked] by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA

To unsubscribe,https://www.politico.com/_unsubscribe?e=00000164-6b3e-d85b-a776-ffbfb3a00000&u=0000014e-f0fe-dd93-ad7f-f8fffbc40000&s=7f224e94cecb27f583b2a7500acf8638d7c4ec6a24a0dbbee0676a67e0f824c756bd55b1111a4797475f371a8b1df1585803f752f706fa30dd01f5497cecf848