5. Big Things Are Happening with the U.S. in the International Sphere
The President mentioned several things happening on the global stage during the SOTU. Trump mentioned a new trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The trade agreement known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement which Donald trump labeled a “historic trade blunder” and a “catastrophe.” Donald Trump proposed that the USMCA will be “bringing back our manufacturing jobs, expanding American agriculture, protecting intellectual property, and ensuring that more cars are proudly stamped with the four beautiful words: made in the USA.”
President Trump also asked the members of Congress to pass the “United States Reciprocal Trade Act, so that if another country places an unfair tariff on an American product, we can charge them the exact same tariff on the same product that they sell to us.”
Sticking with trade, the President mentions that a new tariff was recently imposed on China. A tariff has been placed on $250 billion dollars on Chinese goods, which has resulted in the U.S. and China working on a new trade agreement.
In terms of international diplomacy, the President noted that he will be meeting again with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un this month and the U.S. continues to push for peace on the Korean Peninsula.
A little closer to home, the President noted that “The United States officially recognized the legitimate government of Venezuela, and its new interim President, Juan Gwydo [Guaido]”
He added, “We stand with the Venezuelan people in their noble quest for freedom – and we condemn the brutality of the Maduro regime.”
Finally, President Trump announced that the U.S. would be withdrawing from a decades-old nuclear treaty with Russia. He said, “The United States entered into a treaty with Russia in which we agreed to limit and reduce our missile capabilities. While we followed the agreement to the letter, Russia repeatedly violated its terms. That is why I announced that the United States is officially withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty or INF Treaty.”
He continued, “Perhaps we can negotiate a different agreement, adding China and others, or perhaps we can’t – In which case, we will outspend and out-innovate all others by far.”
Read a transcript of the SOTU address here or listen to it below.
Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla/Staff
Video courtesy: The White House
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