BORDER/MEXICO/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “President Donald Trump has repeatedly promised that Mexico would pay for the border wall, a pledge he made starting on the campaign trail. Now he’s demanding that Congress come up with more than $5 billion to build a wall. He’ll make a prime-time address Tuesday night, making his case to the public that a wall is needed to address what the administration views as a national security and humanitarian crisis along the Mexico-US border. But even as the government remains shut down due to a fight over the money, the President continues to suggest that Mexico will ultimately pay for some of the wall through his revamped North American Free Trade Agreement, the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement…The USMCA could potentially create more economic activity, and in turn raise tax revenue. The Trump administration has said new rules on auto production would bring manufacturing jobs back to the US. But for now, it’s unclear what kind of impact the deal will have on the American economy. It could potentially eliminate some jobs, too. The US International Trade Commission is investigating the economic impact of the deal, but it has until mid-March to publish its report.”
–Katie Lobosco, “Trump’s new trade deal still won’t pay for his wall,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, January 8, 2019 8:03 pm