MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s secretary of the economy, Marcelo Ebrard, urged “prudence” Friday in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating part of President Trump’s sweeping tariff regimen.
“We have to see where this is going,” Ebrard told reporters. “We have to see what measures [Washington] is going to take to figure out how it is going to affect our country. “
Amid widespread concern about tariffs in Mexico—the United States major commercial partner, with almost $1 trillion in annual two-way trade—Ebrard cautioned: “I tell you to put yourselves in Zen mode. As tranquil as possible.”
Across the globe, nations were assessing how the high court’s ruling might affect them. Some world leaders expressed relief or satisfaction with Friday’s decision.
“The justices have shown that even a US president does not operate in a legal vacuum. Legal boundaries have been set, the era of unlimited, arbitrary tariffs may now be coming to an end,” wrote Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee, on X.
Also writing on X, Canada’s trade minister, Dominic LeBlanc, referred to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which the Supreme Court improperly used to impose tariffs: “The United States Supreme Court’s decision reinforces Canada’s position that the IEEPA tariffs imposed by the United States are unjustified.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, in her daily news conference, diplomatically made a no-comment when asked about the tariffs. “We’ll review the resolution carefully and then gladly give our opinion,” she said.
Ebrard, her economy secretary, plans to travel to the United States next week to clarify matters, he said.
Last year, Ebrard noted, Mexico managed to stave off Trump’s threats to impose a 25% across-the-board levy on all Mexican imports.
However, Mexico has been pushing back against Trump administration tariffs on imports of vehicles, steel and aluminum, among other products.
Among other impacts, the Supreme Court voided so-called fentanyl tariffs on Mexico, China and Canada. The Trump administration imposed those levies in a bid to force the three nations to crack down on trafficking of the deadly synthetic opioid.
In the aftermath of Friday’s ruling, Trump said he planned to seek alternate legal avenues to impose now-stricken tariffs.
About 85% of Mexican exports to the United States are exempt from tariffs because of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The signature accord extended a mostly free-trade regimen between the three nations, replacing the previous North American Free Trade Agreement.
The three-way pact is scheduled for joint review starting July 1. That date marks six years since the agreement was signed during the first Trump presidential term.
Happy Independence Day! Where’s the potato salad and the ribs?
July 2, 1776 was the day that the Continental Congress actually voted for independence. John Adams noted that July 2 would be remembered in the annals of American history. 248 years later, the United States Supreme Court extended sweeping powers to the executive branch in a way that would make King George III blush.
The Supreme Court in TRUMP vs. United States, the high court granted the executive branch “absolute” presidential immunity for “his core constitutional powers.” Additionally, the president “enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does if official.” The six conservatives voted for and the three liberal-minded justices dissented.
In layman’s terms, the executive branch has a greater level of immunity than police officers. Police officers can be charged with murder. However, the President is cloaked by the separation of powers as outlined in Article II of the United States Constitution, according to the Supreme Court decision.
So, what does that mean for the Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump? It means he can fulfill his promise of being a dictator on ‘day one.’
One historical figure compares to Trump in this moment
Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger meets with President Mobutu of Zaire in his Pentagon office in 1983.
In 1960, Mobutu Sese Seko was the second in command in the Congolese Army. In November 1965, Mobutu led two successful coups, with the backing of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). And in 1971, Mobutu Sese Seko consolidated power unto himself. He launched a ‘national authenticity’ program in Congo, previously known as the Democratic Republic of Zaire. He rid his country of all colonial influence and re-established a national identity.
In a speech in Dakar, Mobutu described his plan as, “an experience drawn from the anarchy caused by the plurality of political parties and by the ascendancy of imported ideologies, spread through empty slogans. We have had to wipe the slate clean of all previously existing parties.”
Essentially, Mobutu Sese Seko established a unitarian government. He had the backing of Chairman Mao and the support from Apartheid South Africa. He was a major cult of personality, an overseer of a bereft kleptocracy, while his government was full of corruption. His friends, family members, and benefactors ran government agencies. Mobutu embodied big man rule. What he said was law.
During his thirty-two year rule, Mobutu plundered nearly $5 billion of his country’s wealth and resources. He would take himself shopping in Paris, fly the famed Concorde supersonic jet, and entertain the world’s best and brightest. Meanwhile, his country was crumbling. The paved roads his country had in the sixties, devolved into bush in less than twenty years. In the mid-1990s, the AIDS epidemic and famine ravaged his nation. In a country that did not have clean drinking water, affordable medical infrastructure, and lacked security, the disease brought the country and Mobutu to its collective knees. According to UNAIDS, an estimated 410,000 Congolese children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS.
Mobutu’s government fell in 1997 when he was forced into exile. He was suffering from prostate cancer and he died from his illness on September 7, 1997.
Mobutu and Donald Trump love what the government could do for them. Both men had an insatiable desire for power and established autocracies. And both men were willing to destroy the economic prospects of their countries in the name of putting their pursuits first.
Project 2025 is happening right now
Kevin Roberts, the President of the Heritage Foundation and architect of Project 2025, said this on national television:
“The reason that so many anchors on MSNBC, for example, are losing their minds daily is because our side is winning. And so I come full circle on this response and just want to encourage you with some substance that we are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the Left allows it to be.”
Project 2025 will destroy women’s rights, civil rights, voting rights, plus LGBTQ+ rights and protections. It will slice and dice environmental protections and regulations. And it does not stop there. The Family Research Council is leading a new initiative called the “Platform Integrity Project.” It calls on the public to pressure the Republican Party to adopting a hardline anti-abortion, anti-LGBT stance ahead of the election.
Donald Trump, after the Supreme Court handed immunity over to him, amplified calls for mass violence directed at his enemies. He also “ReTruthed” a post using the QAnon slogan, “Where we go one, we go all.” Trump’s MAGA movement believes African-Americans, women, and ethnic minorities, will “replace” White people in society.
This goes on while the corporate and mainstream media continue to shake their hands and whine about how President Biden is too old to be president. And yes, the corporate and mainstream media is still whining over the President’s poor debate performance. Why? They need a two-horse race in order to drive ratings and ad sales while ignoring what will be the most nakedly obvious power grab in the history of western civilization.
What’s Next?
Here is the good news: The choice will be yours on November 5, 2024. It may be the last chance for Americans to exercise that right at the ballot box.
During a typical day during the legislative session, Georgia State Representative Dar’shun Kendrick is usually walking around the House Chamber as she speaks to different lawmakers. It doesn’t matter if they’re from Elberton or East Atlanta. Decatur or Dacula. Kendrick, a Democrat from Lithonia, will speak to anyone in order to build consensus in order to get bills passed.
Last week, Kendrick qualified to run for House District 95, an area that includes portions of Lithonia, eastern Dekalb, southern Gwinnett, and western Rockdale counties. After the 12:00PM deadline on March 8th, Kendrick found out she would not have an opponent in the upcoming 2024 elections. Before she embarks on her eighth term in the Georgia House, the financial securities attorney would sit for an interview with The Atlanta Voice, from her legislative office.
“We’re only down here for 40 days, even though it’s not consecutive, it goes by really fast,” explained Kendrick. “So it’s almost like the time period, which we’re down here, forces you to be fearless because you don’t have all day. And I think I’ve developed some really good relationships. I try to control the things I can control. It gives me such peace.”
Kendrick has championed access to reproductive care and abortion rights, is on the forefront of the tech revolution while fighting against book bans. She also encourages concerned citizens to get more involved in the political process.
In 2017, Kendrick started her law firm, the Kendrick Advisory & Advocacy Group (KAAG). Her firm specializes in corporate securities law. It also helps companies that are raising investor capital. Plus, KAAG is a resource that allows clients focused on growing their company by outsourcing the regulatory services to her firm. So, by definition, KAAG is a registered investment advisory firm. Kendrick possesses a Series 65 license, which means she is licensed to give investment advice in the state of Georgia.
Georgia State Rep. Dar’Shun Kendrick, D-Lithonia, is a panelist during the Black Women and Policy seminar at Clark Atlanta University on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice)
Since then, the larger Republican party has leaned into the culture wars. Since the death of George Floyd, Conservatives have been attacking any form of diversity initiatives. Plus, their attacks on investment firms that fund historically disadvantaged groups have been unrelenting since the United States Supreme Court struck down Affirmative Action in 2023. For example, The Alliance for Equal Rights have characterized the purposes of the Fearless Fund and Hello Alice as “discriminatory” and “unlawful.”
Concurrently, there is a lack of commitment across corporations and universities to stand firm on the principles that they were talking about in 2020 because they’re now getting a little bit of a green light that they do not have to invest in DEI programs, if at all.
All the while, State Representative Kendrick, who is a licensed securities attorney, is well-equipped to not only withstand those attacks, but fight back. In 2023, Kendrick began advocating for the Fearless Fund. Black women received less than .39% in venture capital funding. And as a result, Conservatives are fighting Black women, Black families and minority-owned companies because we are receiving crumbs of the cookie.
Kendrick and the Invest Georgia Fund
During the 2024 Legislative Session, Kendrick had four bills that made it to committee hearings. One of them has passed out of the House. House Bill 1138 is legislation that would command the Invest Georgia Fund to consider companies that “Promote and reflect the demographic makeup of Georgia.”
Ryan Wilson, Shamea Morton, Ayana K. Parsons, Arian Simone, Benjamin Crump, Georgia State Rep Dar’Shun Kendrick and Chloe Cheyenne pose for photographs at The Gathering Spot on Thursday, August 17, 2023 in Atlanta. (Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice)
“It’s just one line adding investment criteria to make sure that it reflects the demographic makeup of Georgia,” explains Kendrick. “The Invest Georgia Fund was a fund that was passed in 2013. Two years after I got here, we started funding it with the legislature through the state budget in 2015. It was $10 million over four years, which, if you know, anything about venture capital, $10 million, is nothing. But it was something. It was supposed to be a $100 million fund but ended up being $10 million.”
The Invest Georgia Fund is state funded. It also receives federal funds and treasury funds. Secondly, Invest Georgia does not directly invest into portfolio companies. It only invests in venture funds.
“So, the purpose of the fund was to be a fund of funds,” Kendrick added. “Essentially, it was a venture fund, a publicly-ran venture fund that would give to other venture funds that would then the end user would be Georgia companies, portfolio companies, as part of that particular venture fund.”
Georgia’s population is 33% African-American. Georgia has about 30,000 former Armed Service members. Also, half of Georgia’s population is made up of women. Kendrick says those characteristics are not quotas, because it’s part of sixteen other investment criteria.
According to the bill, the State of Georgia must include businesses that meet all the requirements that are going to give the necessary returns. If the companies are homogenous in any demographic, that’s an opportunity for Invest Georgia to step back and say, ‘does this reflect Georgia? Does that reflect the purpose of the bill, which was to give to Georgia businesses that are representative of every demographic makeup here in the state of Georgia?’
In the end, Kendrick desires to get rid of the Invest Georgia Fund’s current structure as it is known and allow the fund to do direct investments into companies, if the bills do pass. She is tired of our companies not having access to capital while indirectly paying for other people’s generational wealth.
“And I think that’s important and powerful in one line,” explains Kendrick. “It makes all the difference to send to the rural areas and to the state of Georgia that we care about every part of the state. From north to south, east to west, no matter what your background is, we want to consider that. When we’re giving out public funds, and I think this is important to note, because this is your taxpayer money, that’s my taxpayer money. So I want it to reflect how Georgia looks.”
