While we strive to maintain our focus herein on all things market and economic, every now and again we’ll risk touching subscribers’/clients’ nerves on topics that we believe impact/relate to markets and economics, but nonetheless spark ideologically-inspired rebuttals, if not rebukes (we’re talking politics of course).

Well, on the topic of trade, we’re willing to take the risk. In that we believe passionately that ever-freer trade (even unilateral) is far and away in the best interests (be they economic or national security) of us Americans.


As you may know, we maintain extensive ongoing records of the economic happenings the world over. This morning’s headline below speaks to a good thing (doesn’t hurt us when China and Australia come together on trade) and a potentially very bad thing, in our view (knowing our position, you’ll gather what I mean from the headline):

Australia, China Seek to Boost Economic Ties as U.S. Pulls Back (Bloomberg) — Australian and Chinese officials held talks in Beijing. The two nations worked across “a whole range of issues, starting off first and foremost with our combined commitments to grow our economies but also resisting against protectionism” 

You and I live in a country that represents merely 4% of the world’s population. By some miracle, us Americans wield the world’s largest economy by a wide margin. Make no mistake, our leadership in global trade is a huge, if not the hugest, reason we are where we are. 


Think of it this way, the largest company on the planet (Apple [a major component of your portfolio’s tech exposure]) happens to be domiciled in the U.S., while 96% of its potential customers live outside U.S. borders. It’s critical to Apple’s success that America maintain growing, positive, mutually beneficial relationships with the countries that house the world’s customers.


Oh, and same goes for the following:


Note: We deleted dozens (and dozens) of names between Qualcomm and Apple to save space: