Deals, Deals, Deals!
A Weekly Look At The News Through The Christian Lens.
U.S. And China Agree To Tariff Reduction.
On Monday morning the United States and China announced a new trade deal due to a weekend of negotiations in Switzerland. The deal will significantly reduce tariff percentages placed on each country. The U.S. will be reducing its 125% tariff on Chinese imports to 10% (besides keeping a 20% tariff on fentanyl) and China will be reducing its 125% tariffs on the U.S. to 10% as well.
The United States and China released a joint statement on the deal in which they both agreed to continue to make trade relations possible between the two countries. The statement said the following,
“Recognizing the importance of their bilateral economic and trade relationship to both countries and the global economy;
Recognizing the importance of a sustainable, long-term, and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship;
Reflecting on their recent discussions and believing that continued discussions have the potential to address the concerns of each side in their economic and trade relationship; and
Moving forward in the spirit of mutual opening, continued communication, cooperation, and mutual respect;”
There is a lot of good here. The first thing that Christians should notice is the Trump administration’s continual commitment to ending the fentanyl crisis in America — keeping a 20% tariff on fentanyl can hopefully show Americans that he is sticking to his guns on ending drug abuse in the United States. This is something we can all be thankful for. The second thing that sticks out in this agreement is similar to what many have been saying for years now; the Trump administration is very good at getting things done.
I am continually surprised at how just a little bit of effort on behalf of a competent Executive branch can make massive impact. In just the past week, the Trump Administration has been able stop a war between India and Pakistan (two nuclear countries) and strike a trade deal with China in which Americans will not be ripped off. These are all good things, and things that all Americans and Christians should be happy with.
U.S.-UK Economic Prosperity Deal.
Since we’re talking about deals, I want to hit on something that took place last week. The United States and United Kingdom released the General Terms for an Economic Prosperity Deal. It’s important to understand that this document only serves as “general terms” and is not constitute a legally binding agreement. That said, I think it’s important to know the details to this deal so we can know the direction the Trump Administration is aiming to take the West as far as economic growth goes. The document states three “core objectives” of the partnership saying that the goal is,
To grow the quality and volume of mutually beneficial trade between the United States and the United Kingdom, creating good, high-paying jobs and growth in both countries;
To remove barriers to make it easier for American and British businesses to operate, invest and trade in both countries; and
To ensure that the Special Relationship is rooted in an enduring economic partnership that is fair, reciprocal, future-facing, and built on a shared vision of the challenges that face our economies.
This is more good news. A good relationship with the UK that is mutually beneficial will produce jobs and security in both regions. Within this document it is stated that the partnership would include a decrease in tariffs on both sides - meaning that it might be time to admit that Trump’s tariff principle might have been right. The document also states that,
“both countries positively support future discussions to strengthen bilateral agricultural trade. The United Kingdom and the United States affirm that imported food and agricultural goods must comply with the importing country’s sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards and other mutually agreed standards.
This is a big statement for the MAHA movement and anyone who wants more regulation on foods and chemicals we put in our foods — it seems that the Trump administration is committed to making America healthy. This is good because the U.S. obesity rate is utterly out of control — more than 40% of Americans are considered to be obese according to the CDC.
This is also, generally speaking, a good thing for Christians who hope for the good of others in their country. It’s rarely spoken of by cowardly and unbiblical pastors, but gluttony is a sin. And overeating is against the command to treat your body as a temple. Now, it’s not the governments responsibility to make you and I work out and eat healthy — that said, the Government’s job is to support the institutions that exist within the country. So, supporting the health of American families is a positive principle, especially in this chemically driven agricultural economy.
A New Jet For Donald Trump?
This is an interesting story. President Donald Trump received a gift from Qatar. The gift is a $400 million Boeing 747-8 jet. The idea is that President Trump can use this jet while a new Air Force One Jet is being manufactured over the next couple of years. After backlash from both Conservatives and Liberals, Trump spoke on the issue saying,
"Now, some people say, 'oh, you shouldn't accept gifts for the country.' My attitude is, why wouldn't I accept the gift? We're giving to everybody else? Why wouldn't I accept the gift?”
Some of the backlash has come from people who are critical of Qatar and their support of Hamas along with many other terrorist organizations — a valid reason to be skeptical and weary of the gift. Some other backlash, mostly from the Left, is that Trump is going to take the gift after this presidency is over and keep it for himself. This criticism has less to stand on since Trump has said that he will put the jet in his presidential library museum after his term is over.
But this all begs the question: should the United States accept gifts from countries who are supporting terrorists and harming our allies? I suppose someone can go both ways on this. On the one hand, showing any sort of solidarity, even if it’s simply accepting a gift, could give the world the impression that we are in good relations with Qatar and therefore can be bought and paid for. On the other hand, it’s a $400 million dollar jet and someone would have to be out of their mind to not accept that jet for free.
I tend to think that if Qatar wants to give us a jet, we should take it — so long as we don’t begin to strengthen relations with the terrorist supporting sycophants over in the Middle East.
Senator Mike Lee Is Trying To Pass A Bill That Will Ban Porn.
This is good news. Senator Mike Lee from Utah is working on passing a bill that would ban pornography. In an interview he did with Michael Knowles, Sen. Lee explained why banning porn is not a violation of our freedom of speech — though many fake Conservatives and Christians would like to argue it is. Overall, this is a good endeavor for the Senator. It’s clear that American’s are completely addicted to porn - the numbers show that Americans watch more porn than they do Netflix and Amazon combined. Do you know how much porn that is? No. Nobody does. Because it’s an absurd amount of degeneracy that couldn’t possibly be accounted for accurately.
Every single Christian should be happy about this attempt to ban pornography for many reasons including the disgusting sex trafficking aspect to the porn industry, the way in which porn is destroying people’s ability to think and interact with the opposite sex (or the same sex), the list goes on and on. Porn is evil and you and I do not have the fundamental right to exploit women for our hedonistic pleasure.
Trump Makes A Deal With Qatar.
According to the White House, President Trump has secured a $1.2 trillion economic commitment from Qatar. What on earth does this mean? Well first, this deal states,
“The landmark deals celebrated today will drive innovation and prosperity for generations, bolster American manufacturing and technological leadership, and put America on the path to a new Golden Age.”
President Trump is promising to usher in a new “Golden Age” in American prosperity and wealth and claiming this deal will be one stepping stone in that direction. One of the major parts of this deal is Qatar Airways commitment to acquire 210 American made Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft powered by GE Aerospace engines. The agreement also states,
“Qatar will invest up to $1 billion in state-of-the-art quantum technologies and workforce development provided by the Joint Venture, supporting U.S. and Qatari jobs and leadership in this critical emerging technology.”
Overall, this looks like a good economic deal with Qatar from the American perspective. That said, this deal has raised some eyebrows as Qatar has not been the friendliest to America or American allies in the past. It seems that Trump’s idea is that economic prosperity can relive tensions between countries. We’ll see if he’s right. Some Conservatives thought it would have been wiser to coerce Qatar into the Abraham Accords and then to make huge economic deals with them.
It’s hard to say which direction is best. I’m interested in seeing how this plays out in years to come.
What To Read…
This week we’re doing something entirely different. I’m suggesting you read a liturgical devotional called Be Thou My Vision by Jonathan Gibson. I’ve been doing this 30 day liturgy for almost three years now and it’s really changed my life. Most Protestants who were brought up in the Evangelical and nondenominational world tend to think that personal devotion is only reading the Bible and praying — to be blunt: that outlook is simply false. To enter into worship and devotion we have to set our affections on Christ. To do this, we have to align our minds and hearts on God in an ordered way. Liturgy, with its orderly and structured focus, helps you worship God and read Scripture in a way that is not merely transactional or legalistic. It’s orderly, prayer-filled, and worship focused. In this book, you will begin your devotional time with a call to worship from Scripture, a confession of sins, prayers of illumination, the Lords Prayer, and so much more. This liturgy is a must have for people who want to actually worship God and not just read about Him.
