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Simon Lester

@simonlester.com

6.6K followers 710 following 6.4K posts

Founded WorldTradeLaw.net & ChinaTradeMonitor.com Non-Resident Fellow @bakerinstitute.bsky.social Formerly @wto.org @cato.org Trade Policy feed: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:xqzu2eazvxb5fohoc4nap33y/feed/aaab5ctu4u4fc .. more

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Political science 43%

Economics 28%

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Simon Lester @simonlester.com · Apr 3

I see lots of new followers popping up today. I assume you are here for the trade policy, in which case you might like my custom trade policy feed: bsky.app/profile/did:...

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Reposted by Simon Lester

Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 6h

Mexican lawmakers will pause discussion of a government proposal to impose tariffs of as much as 50% on cars, steel and other products imported from China and several other Asian nations

Mexico Congress Halts China Tariff Debate on Lawmakers’ Concern

Mexican lawmakers will pause until late November the discussion of a government proposal to impose tariffs of as much as 50% on cars, steel and other products imported from China and several Asian nations that don’t have a trade deal with the country, according to a top congressman.

bloom.bg

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Reposted by Simon Lester

Sam Shirazi @samshirazi.bsky.social · 8h

The Virginia Governor Debate is about to start

Tune in below

I’ll post any hot takes

www.youtube.com/live/i4JEgkU...

LATEST UPDATES: Spanberger, Earle-Sears Facing Off In Nexstar’s Virginia Gubernatorial Debate

YouTube video by The Hill

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Johan P. Olsen, Kevin Carey, Lesley Bartlett , and 5 more Johan P. Olsen, Kevin Carey, Lesley Bartlett, Robert B. Reich, José Antonio Noguera, Noel D. Johnson, Simon Lester, Klaus Oschema

James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 9h

“I’ll declare war on you if you don’t give me the peace prize” is an incredible bit

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Reposted by Juan Cole, David R. Miller, Bessma Momani , and 1 more Juan Cole, David R. Miller, Bessma Momani, Simon Lester

max tani @maxtani.bsky.social · 9h

New: Bari Weiss booked Hillary Clinton, Mike Pompeo, and Antony Blinken for a roundtable on Gaza, her first major move at CBS.

Notably on a CBS call today in which the panel was floated, one producer also repeatedly emphasized the need to hear from Palestinians in Gaza (Weiss did not respond).

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Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 11h

OTOH, ICE is already in your city, so ... maybe not.

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Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 11h

A good prank would be for someone with a Norwegian accent to call the White House and tell them Trump won.

cc @aslak.bsky.social

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11h

Larry Kudlow to Sen. Eric Schmitt: "You and I should get on a plane, go to Davos or go to the UN or go to the Democratic Socialists who make these Nobel Prize decisions -- I think they'd rather shoot themselves than give him the Peace Prize. He deserves the Peace Prize."

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Reposted by Gernot Wagner, Daniel W. Drezner, Nancy T. Ammerman , and 2 more Gernot Wagner, Daniel W. Drezner, Nancy T. Ammerman, Simon Lester, David Darmofal

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 11h

Republicans have had 15 years to come up with an Obamacare replacement plan. They still haven’t

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 19h

Thune: "The president would like to overhaul Obamacare and give people health insurance that is higher quality and more affordable."

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Reposted by Simon Lester

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11h

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Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 11h

Split screen on the computer. Volume on for the team doing better.

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 12h

Can we use them for WIC?

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 12h

Lee Greenwood, get ready for a phone call.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 12h

From @theathletic.com: Turning Point USA, the organization founded by the late right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, announced that it will be hosting its own Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 8, 2026, to rival the NFL’s choice of Bad Bunny.

Turning Point USA, group founded by Charlie Kirk, announces Super Bowl halftime counterprogramming

Turning Point USA is calling its Super Bowl halftime show a celebration of "faith, family and freedom."

nyti.ms

Reposted by Simon Lester

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 12h

Turning Point USA, group founded by Charlie Kirk, announces Super Bowl halftime counterprogramming

Turning Point USA is calling its Super Bowl halftime show a celebration of "faith, family and freedom."

nyti.ms

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Reposted by Simon Lester

China Trade Monitor @chinatrademonitor.bsky.social · 13h

China Expands Rare Earth Export Controls

Today, China's Ministry of Commerce expanded its dual-use item list for export control purposes, by adding rare earths, rare earth-related technologies, raw materials, alloys, processing equipment to the list, further tightening its export controls over the rare earth supply chain. ...

dlvr.it

Reposted by Simon Lester

Chris Cillizza @chriscillizza.bsky.social · 13h

What if...Donald Trump actually deserves the Nobel Peace Prize?

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Reposted by Will Jennings, Scott L. Greer, Joseph Schafer , and 7 more Will Jennings, Scott L. Greer, Joseph Schafer, Kevin Carey, Smith, Alan Richardson, Andrew Jacobs, Scott A. Imberman, Simon Lester, David Darmofal

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15h

RFK Jr: "Somebody showed me a TikTok video of a pregnant woman at 8 months pregnant -- she's an associate professor at the Columbia Medical School -- and she is saying 'F Trump' and gobbling Tylenol with her baby in her placenta. The level of Trump Derangement Syndrome is now a pathology."

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Reposted by Rosemary A. Joyce, Alan Richardson, Dana R. Fisher , and 2 more Rosemary A. Joyce, Alan Richardson, Dana R. Fisher, Simon Lester, David Darmofal

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15h

JD Vance describes Chuck Schumer as "one of the most famous Palestinians in the world"

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Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 15h

I really wish I were qualified for this job.

Jay 🦋 @jay.bsky.team · 15h

Are you a lawyer? Do you enjoy working on small teams tackling big things? We’re hiring a senior counsel.

jobs.gem.com/bluesky/am9i...

Bluesky Jobs

jobs.gem.com

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 15h

I have a vague memory of Republicans being concerned about overly expansive federal government power. Was it all just a dream?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15h

Noem: "With your authority, we're purchasing more buildings in Chicago to operate out of. We're gonna not back off -- in fact, we're doubling down. We're gonna be in more parts of Chicago in response to the people there. We're looking at facilities we can deploy more law enforcement out of."

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 15h

Hey, if you can implement that, go for it! My sense is that in practice, regulation has done this in a way that requires uploading of government issued documents.

Reposted by Simon Lester

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15h

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Reposted by Simon Lester

Jay 🦋 @jay.bsky.team · 15h

Are you a lawyer? Do you enjoy working on small teams tackling big things? We’re hiring a senior counsel.

jobs.gem.com/bluesky/am9i...

Bluesky Jobs

jobs.gem.com

33 96 300

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 15h

I like swearing as a general matter (doing it myself and hearing others do it), but I agree that politicians seem lame when they do it. "How do you do fellow kids" energy.

Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · 1d

Seriously, politicians need to cut the f'n swearing:
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

Politicians Aren’t Cool Enough to Curse This Much

Political leaders once watched their language. Now they delight in using obscenity.

www.theatlantic.com

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 15h

If it helps, you will never be as old as I am. 😜

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 15h

How would you write and implement that law? It's really hard! If it means every user has to provide age verification, that is a privacy nightmare, hurts small players, and generally sucks.

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 15h

What if he agreed to resign the presidency if he got it?

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Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 15h

In my view, there's no way to regulate Meta into creating good Internet spaces. They would lose too much money if they did that. But we can build the spaces ourselves.

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Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 15h

I think a likely place they end up is private discord chats centered around gaming. 😬

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 16h

My solution: Build better internet places for everyone to hang out.

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Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 16h

With the kids, if you kick them off social media, where do they go? There are some much darker corners of the internet out there.

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 16h

Will this regulation be effective though? I have doubts. The EU tried out some data privacy regulation, and now I have to click on cookie preferences all day and still have no data privacy!