Germany Automakers Propose Tariff-Free Zone -- June 20, 2018 -- The Market, Energy, Political Page, T+20

Remember: this is only day 20 of the "Trump trade wars."

Wow, wow, wow -- top story of the day -- actually two top stories for the day -- the trade wars. The first story -- the White House is confident it has an edge over China in trade dispute. John Kemp suggested the same thing in three sets of graphs yesterday. Regarding the graphics at that link:
If one thinks about the graphics above and Kemp's thesis, it comes down to this:

• China will have to become energy independent over the next few years
• the US will have to start making its own televisions and plastic toys or find another international source

Now, the second big story for the day regarding  the trade wars: Germany's largest auto makers back abolition of US car import tariffs. Wow. Wow. Wow. Apparently Trump's idea of a tariff-free zone was not such an outlandish suggestion. Also from The WSJ. 

When the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, returns to Washington for consultation with the administration Wednesday, he will be carrying a peace offering for President Donald Trump from Germany’s leading auto makers.

Their proposal, people familiar with the situation say, is simple: Abandon all import tariffs for cars between the European Union and the U.S.

Number of comments to that article so far: 181. Most WSJ articles get zero comments; generally, articles get less than 10 comments.

Kinder Morgan over at SeekingAlpha. Great article for the archives.

Max output? We've talked about this before -- OPEC, Russia promise more oil, but can they keep their promises? Uncertainty over crude supplies from Iran and Venezuela complicate matters. Of course, countries can cheat when it comes to Iran, but who will insure the supertankers carrying that oil? No one. See more at The WSJ. One of my favorite graphics, posted multiple times over the years:

Coal: op-ed from The WSJ. Regardless of how it plays out, Trump's plan is not to put coals miners out of work. You have to love it. Hillary could not even imagine this when she suggested a $30 million program (funded by you and me) to help the coal miners she wanted to put out of work. Is it politically correct to talk about the number of ways to skin a cat?

A presidential missive this month to the Energy Department could eventually result in grid operators, in the name of national security, being ordered to buy power from large coal and nuclear plants that otherwise would be shut down due to unprofitability.

Such an order is somewhat unprecedented, but the fainting spells of energy lobbyists are hard to take, especially from a solar-and-wind promoter at the American Council on Renewable Energy who complained of “arbitrary market interventions.”

Carbon tax: proof that this issue will never die, and will get worse once President Trump leaves office. Even "conservatives" want to institute a carbon tax. Again, from The WSJ and if it's in The WSJ, it has to be true.