Trump’s Taiwan Pact Reshapes Supply
Chains and Global Power
Posted By: FlyRight, 2/13/2026 8:49:41 AM
Trade shapes power structures, and when two economies tighten bonds, the ripple spreads far beyond shipping lanes and customs desks. On Feb. 12, 2026, the Trump administration finalized a sweeping trade agreement with Taiwan that cuts tariffs, boosts American exports, and pours hundreds of billions into U.S. industry. Taiwan agreed to eliminate or sharply reduce tariffs on nearly all American goods, as duties on U.S. beef, dairy, and corn were reduced immediately to 0%. Pork belly tariffs fell from 40% to 10%, and ham fell from 32% to 10%. Taiwan also removed non-tariff barriers on motor vehicles, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals, accepting U.S. safety standards in those sectors.
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American-born Olympian Eileen Gu scored millions from China in 2025 – a staggering payout exposed in a public budget before officials quickly scrubbed her name from the record, according to a report.
The champion freestyle skier, who competes for China, cashed in on a jaw-dropping $6.6 million from the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau last year – a hefty sum that was shared with fellow US-born Olympian figure skater Zhu Yi, according to the country’s budget, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Yi – who renounced her US citizenship – also performs under China’s flag.
Highlighting how the various anti-Trump factions of the Republican apparatus are using the Epstein drama to support their specific needs, Representative Nancy Mace announces yesterday she will use Epstein drama to, “go full blown scorched earth for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and his friends. With no regard to our personal, or professional detriment.”
The background and political timeline hold the key to understanding the mooonbat crazy of it all.
Thursday morning South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette to succeed him when he leaves office at the end of the year. {LINK} This triggered the generally unstable Nancy Mace into an explosive fit of rage,
Kathryn Ruemmler Out at Goldman Sachs
as Scale of Relationship with Epstein
Gains Attention 3 replies
as Scale of Relationship with Epstein
Gains Attention 3 replies
Former White House legal counsel/fixer to Barack Obama, and former personal lawyer/fixer of Susan Rice, Kathryn Ruemmler was Chief Legal Counsel for Goldman Sachs for the past six years. Throughout those jobs and networked professional relationships, Kathryn Ruemmler was also a personal friend and advisor to Jeffrey Epstein.
Yesterday it was reported that Kathryn Ruemmler has resigned from Goldman Sachs.
NEW YORK – Goldman Sachs’s top lawyer, Kathryn Ruemmler, resigned on Thursday in the wake of the Justice Department’s release of emails and other material that revealed her extensive relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier.
Russia announced it will limp to Cuba's rescue as the island bastion of communism in the Caribbean faces a complete economic breakdown due directly to President Trump cutting off black market Venezuelan oil supplies. Cuba has been an economic basketcase for decades, with its only exports being failed revolutionaries and miserable migrants. That situation changed markedly for the worse in early January when the U.S. military launched Operation Absolute Resolve; see Trump Announces Venezuelan Leader Nicolas Maduro and His Wife Captured Following ‘Large Scale’ US Strike – RedState.
At first, Cuba was pretty defiant, but then they all are.
This week’s Japanese Diet election produced a stunning outcome as the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, secured a historic landslide victory in a snap election for the House of Representatives. With 316 out of 465 seats—a supermajority not seen from a single party in the postwar era—Takaichi’s gamble on an early vote amid winter weather paid off spectacularly.
Just as stunning was how Takaichi scored this enormous win as one of President Trump’s strongest allies, contradicting claims by the mainstream media and many European leaders that President Trump’s strong foreign and economic policies are eroding America’s relationships with its allies.
Trade shapes power structures, and when two economies tighten bonds, the ripple spreads far beyond shipping lanes and customs desks. On Feb. 12, 2026, the Trump administration finalized a sweeping trade agreement with Taiwan that cuts tariffs, boosts American exports, and pours hundreds of billions into U.S. industry. Taiwan agreed to eliminate or sharply reduce tariffs on nearly all American goods, as duties on U.S. beef, dairy, and corn were reduced immediately to 0%. Pork belly tariffs fell from 40% to 10%, and ham fell from 32% to 10%. Taiwan also removed non-tariff barriers on motor vehicles, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals, accepting U.S. safety standards in those sectors.
Happy Thursday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. (It's the final two weeks of preparation for the whirlwind book tour, and the Sine Qua Non Sequitur is fancifying an illustrated book of Croatian meatloaf recipes.)
It is always a good day when I can kick things off with a headline that I know will trigger any lefties who happen upon it. Trust me, there is a lot of happening upon that's happening, or something.
As someone who grew up during the Cold War, the island toilet nation Cuba has always been a commie thorn in the side of the United States of America.
All Cuba’s Allies Have Left? Good Vibes
3 replies
I think all of us have those people in our lives who talk a good game about how they'll always support us in our time of need, but when that time of need actually materializes, they realize there's actual work or stakes involved and don't show up. At worst, they ignore your calls and texts or tell you they have a "scratchy throat" and wouldn't want to get you sick. At best, they send good vibes and pump you up, but then they go on about their lives. That's sort of where Cuba finds itself at the moment, which was exactly Donald Trump and Marco Rubio's—
As ICE agents continue to enforce immigration law in America, the radical Left continues to organise and inspire anti-ICE protestors who block streets, vandalize property, and harass law enforcement agents. The problem is that these protestors don’t see themselves obstructing justice and undermining democratic rule. To the contrary, they’ve been led to believe that they are heroes, good empathetic people bringing justice back to our world, standing up to Trump administration -- evil “revolting monsters” -- and ICE agents -- “thugs who terrorise” illegal immigrants.
California Governor Gavin Newsom wants to be the 48th President of the United States. In pursuit of that lifelong ambition, Newsom has positioned himself as principled but practical.
Even if Newsom’s positioning is genuine, his career conflicts with the promise of his new image. California’s considerable remaining economic vitality is in spite of Newsom, not because of him. On every issue that might differentiate him from the Democratic machine that runs California, Newsom’s pronouncements have been suspect. Either they have been completely fraudulent—his claims to have alleviated homelessness are a perfect example—or they have been flip-flops necessitated to avoid disaster.
And in those cases where Newsom actually flipped into doing something right,
Zohran Mamdani's 'Green Schools for a
Healthier New York City’ Is a Monumental
Waste of Money 13 replies
Healthier New York City’ Is a Monumental
Waste of Money 13 replies
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is an ardent climate alarmist who oversees the nation’s largest school district, the New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) system. Frankly, NYCPS is failing on all fronts. It is doing an abysmal job of educating and protecting the 900,000 students in the district. It is also in massive debt and spends nearly 10 percent of its $42.8 billion budget on annual debt service payments.
Given the awful state of affairs at NYCPS, it is absurd that Mamdani is prioritizing a $3.3 billion program dubbed “Zohran’s Green Schools for a Healthier New York.”
Progressive Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman (D) on Saturday made a last-minute bid to challenge Mayor Karen Bass (D) in the June primary election.
Raman made the announcement hours before the 12 p.m. filing deadline for candidates be on the ballot. She praised Bass in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, calling the mayor “an icon” but said the city needs someone who will tackle its problems.“I have deep respect for Mayor Bass,” Raman told the Times. “We’ve worked closely together on my biggest priorities and her biggest priorities, and there’s significant alignment there. But over the last few months in particular,
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It happened again. Another Democratic politician posed for a photo while attempting to cook meat on a grill. This time it was Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D., Va.) who tried to look normal by grilling a substance some claim was intended to represent "beef." The governor posted a photo of herself on X along with the caption "Order up!" and a steak emoji. Many remarked upon the hideous appearance of the alleged meat, as well as the deranged grin on Spanberger's face—the manic visage of an overmedicated wine mom about to mow down a rival's goldendoodle with her luxury SUV. It was a disastrous grill-related performance from the Democrats, but
World’s most contagious disease spreads
in California as doctors issue warning
about dark times 24 replies
in California as doctors issue warning
about dark times 24 replies
San Diego County health officials have issued a warning about “dark times” ahead as more measles cases are confirmed in Southern California.
While there has yet to be a case of measles in the county in 2026, neighboring LA and Orange County have confirmed cases and officials there are urging parents to vaccinate their children.
A child crying as they receive vaccinations, comforted by an adult. Measles, the world’s most contagious disease, was declared eradicated in America in 2000, but health officials say with vaccine hesitancy, it is slowly making a comeback, leaving children vulnerable.
Dr. Ahmad Bailony said he has seen a change in how parents feel about vaccinating their kids.
In a major development that could reshape the future of federal election law in the United States, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) has officially announced her support for the SAVE Act.
With Vice President JD Vance prepared to break a tie if necessary, supporters of the legislation now say they have the numbers needed to pass the bill under a standing or “talking” filibuster scenario, marking a potential turning point in the GOP’s long-running effort to implement nationwide voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements for federal elections.
It can be recalled that Rep. Anna Paulina Luna revealed that Senate leadership is moving toward nuking the so-called “Zombie Filibuster” —
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos on Saturday morning tells Fox News that no arrests have been made and no one is in custody after three people were detained the night before.
84-year-old Nancy Guthrie has been missing since Feb. 1 and was last seen on Jan. 31.
Investigators believe she was taken from her home against her will.
TUCSON, Ariz. - UPDATE: Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos tells Fox News reporter Matt Finn that no arrests were made and that no one is in custody after three people were detained Friday night.
Trump Buries Obama’s Climate Policy
14 replies
The U.S. government is dismantling the legal foundation of numerous climate protection measures from the era of President Barack Obama. The economy is being freed from the shackles of CO2 fixation. For European businesses, this will soon translate into noticeably higher competitive pressure.
February 12, 2026, marks the end of a political era in the United States. On Thursday, President Donald Trump, together with EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, repealed the so-called Endangerment Finding. This is one of the largest deregulation measures in recent U.S. history.
Legally, the move primarily deregulates the EPA framework. It is not an executive order or a law passed by Congress.
Some people have just unbelievable gall and a total lack of shame — former President Bill Clinton and California Gov. Gavin Newsom immediately come to mind — and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is proving that in spades. After his state refused to cooperate with federal authorities in their effort to clean up Joe Biden’s illegal immigration fiasco, and after endlessly demonizing agents who have tried to bring law and order to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and after apparently being completely blind to a massive Somali fraud operation that reportedly took in nine billion dollars in grift,
One of the most visible actions after the U.S. Senate failed to pass the House version of a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security this week was Democrats swiftly hightailing it out of Washington, D.C., and heading to Europe for the 62nd Munich Security Conference. Senate Dems were not the only ones eagar to make an appearance at the yearly conference, though, and there's a simple reason for that. In its report, CNN describes the European gathering as a regular pit stop for "politicians to test the foreign policy waters and elevate their own profiles on the international stage ahead of White House runs."
How Did They Think Open Borders Would End?
10 replies
Could Democrats and the media tell us their plan to get rid of the10 million illegal immigrants President Biden let in? Because I'm getting the sense that they don't have one. (snip.) On CNN recently, Oklahoma City's Republican Mayor, David Holt, made the amazingly stupid point that, "we have enforced immigration law law in this country for over a century and ICE has existed for over two decades and we have never seen this type of chaos in the streets of our cities." I can only assume that Holt was snookered for the entirety of the Biden administration. Also since he was born.
The city of Chicago exists on another plane of the universe than the rest of us. It's a place where up is down, black is white, and the basic laws of physics are held in abeyance so that when adding one plus one, any number that's convenient (and politically viable) can be the answer.
In Chicago's budget, the "new physics" includes the caveat that nothing is real unless we (the aldermen and the city's hapless Mayor Brandon Johnson) say it is. And even then, nothing is permanent in this alternate plane of the universe. An equation that's "true" today may not be so "true" tomorrow.
Do you think I'm being facetious?
A Republican congressman vying for Donald Trump's endorsement has been caught inflating claims that his premature son spent 'months fighting for his life' in intensive care to explain the worst voting attendance record of any GOP member.
Texas representative Wesley Hunt missed 77 votes in 2025, nearly 10 times as many as his colleagues and more than any other Republican, GovTrack shows....Hunt cast a provisional ballot on November 4, 2016, but it was not counted because he was not registered to vote at the time.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me: As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,– Julia Ward Howe, Battle Hymn of the Republic
The anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was February 12. Since we now celebrate Presidents’ Day in memory of all our deceased presidents, Americans did not pause for a moment to remember Lincoln. This is very sad, given what Lincoln said that nullifies our contemporary outpouring of anti-White racism.
Going to… California?
7 replies
In the wake of the Democrats’ successful flipping of a long-held GOP Texas state senate seat, one that President Trump won handily in 2024, many pundits expressed opinions about what happened and who was culpable (Republicans) or commendable (Democrats) for it.(snip) the pressing question remained: is this a palpable sign that the Democrats’ “Long Game” is beginning to turn red Texas purple? Some thought “yes.” Some thought “no.” I thought of California. California is America’s most populous state and arguably also the most Democrat. Along with New York, it is a cornerstone state of the modern Democrat Party. Texas is the second most populous state and arguably the most Republican.