I am so glad that my days in trade wars and negotiations were when trade rules still counted for something. But I did see most of the trade measures that Chad and Soumaya describe so eloquently. Their new book is probably the most accessible book on trade policy ever written.

Edward Luce in the Financial Times about Musk:

Degrowth isn’t the answer, but deMuskification might be part of the answer. I see increasing income inequality and the right’s general tendency to ignore environmental costs as the bigger issues.

Important paper by Alan Wolff. The three WTO decisions he cites are after my time, but I well remember the original GATT provision. GATT and WTO have been stretched broadly to cover subjects they were never specifically designed for, but have the flexibility to address. AI may be another.

The argument given for HR9062 is disingenuous. The bill apparently ignores that we already have a Foreign Commercial Service that has never received adequate funding and has been kept too small to do the worldwide job it is intended for. Adequately fund FCS. Don’t just do another reorganization.

Oh my, jacking up our entrance fees. If travel to the United States keeps falling, will they try a “Going Out Of Business” sale?

The wheels of justice may grind slowly, but they grind Trump. Visa fees are admin charges and must be proportional to the cost of issuing the visa.

Nothing to see here. Just another Trump real estate deal. Maybe they’ll move Jared and Ivanka’s Albanian resort.

Hey, I’m an old trade guy, so my default position is … tariffs bad, trade good. But the OECD and Rhodium Group data are very persuasive. It’s difficult to calculate subsidies, but this is about as conclusive as it gets. Time for broad countervailing tariffs. Bypass normal CVD rules if necessary.

The deranged tyrant and his disciples are so afraid of actual knowledge. Of course, the aging toddler is sure that reality has a liberal bias, so it must be ignored.

The Guardian has it wrong. These aren’t posts by real diplomats. The posts are from hardline MAGAs placed over the real diplomats.

Of course, the demented tyrant was just joking. The same as his “jokes” about Iran, Venezuela, unarmed boats at sea, and tariffs. So very funny our special boy is.

Another fine example of the orange tyrant genuflecting to his owner. He is either Putin’s ignorant pawn or an actual Russian asset.

Note for the ancient and declining tyrant: This is the LOWEST CONSUMER SENTIMENT EVER! Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Moderation has gone missing in American politics. We need to lead a charge to the center.

I understand why the Trump tyranny thinks we can’t grow “coffee, pineapples and mangoes” in the United States. We grow each of them in Hawaii! But we can’t grow them at the necessary scale and Hawaii is a small blue state with a majority non-white population.

The orange tyranny will do anything to keep black or brown people out of the country.

Further evidence that the orange tyrant thinks trade wars should be eternal.

So the $1.776 billion giveaway was merely a disposable distraction from the prime goal: protecting the Trump family from future tax audits. Money for the Trumps is always the primary objective.

America’s capacity for future diplomacy is now largely destroyed.

The Trump tyranny really is afraid of anyone who might know what they are talking about. FSOs have a nasty habit of actually using facts and paying attention to reality.

I was at the Embassy in Bonn during the 1991 RAF evening attack. I had left my office and was riding my 🚲 home beside the Rhine, when all our Marine guards raced towards the Embassy on their bikes. I missed the bullets, but they took out one monitor in the econ section and set fire to some drapes.

Hawaii used to ship its cattle to Vancouver, where it was transshipped to the Lower 48, all to avoid the added costs of the Jones Act.

You really, really don’t want to get into crypto. Some crypto evangelists call buying it an investment. It isn’t. Crypto isn’t backed by anything and has only two real uses: speculation/gambling that another fool will buy it from you at a higher price - and criminal money laundering. Stay away.

It’s easier for our petulant tyrant to build his imaginary “reality” if you don’t have inconvenient knowledge intruding on his whims. Somebody once told him that knowledge is power, so he is trying to take knowledge away from you. After all, science and facts are famous for their liberal bias.

I worked on some of the early 301 cases, all of which were closely targeted on specific practices by specific countries. The new 301s launched by the petulant toddler are broad-brush perversions of the law and the intent of its drafters.

The orange tyrant and his stooges really don’t want anyone around who might know more than they do. It will take at least two decades for US diplomacy to recover its expertise.

Hawaii leads opposition to the Citizens United decision!

If you believe this, perhaps I could interest you in investing in a ballroom?

Hey, little Donnie, the Dallas Fed says you’re wrong about who ends up paying your tariffs. Was that another lie or are you just ignorant?

Hawaii’s legislature has sent SB2471 to Governor Green for his signature. The bill that would redefine the activities of corporations and artificial persons to exclude financial activity in elections. States control incorporation and set standards for company behavior, not the federal government.

“For now, my message to Europeans is that you’re much stronger than you seem to believe. Act accordingly.”

We knew this was coming, but let’s celebrate anyway! Ta-rah-rah-boom-de-ay!

How do you make diplomacy safe for MAGA amateurs? First you get rid of anyone who knows anything.

Trump’s MAGA-loyal State Department continues to destroy any expertise and experience in American diplomacy.

Customs only knows how much importers of record paid and doesn’t know who the tariff was passed to, though we know it was passed. Few consumers can prove how much they paid in Trump’s illegal tariffs. We must rely on moral suasion and companies like DHL and Costco to treat their customers morally.

The orange toddler has no concept of diplomacy.

Early experience with Trump’s waiver of the Jones Act shows that Hawaii can do just fine without the protectionist law. Proponents argued that foreign ships wouldn’t stop in Hawaii, but at least 18 foreign flag, foreign built, vessels have come calling. Time to get rid of the Jones Act forever.

Once upon a time, we ancient negotiators strove for agreements that created frameworks of rules that created consistency and reduced uncertainty. “Deals” were left to the companies that stood to benefit from them. Trump has no concept of consistency and certainty, only profit from his “deals”.

Expertise and competence optional, loyalty to the wicked tyrant is mandatory.

The Trump tyranny is now forcing asylum seekers to lie when they apply for U.S. visas. The demented tyrant must want more liars in the United States. You know, more people like him.

A new recruiting ad for the Foreign So urges Americans to “navigate great-power rivalries, defuse global crises, and protect Americans and their interests across the globe”. Despite the fact that the Trump tyranny has hamstrung the ability of the Foreign Service to do any of those things.

Insider trading on a colossal scale. Like nobody has ever seen before.

Oh c’mon, Congress! Federal employees face the same Trump-induced price rises as everyone else. The tyranny has destroyed much of the professional Federal workforce already, and Congress is going to kick them again.

There are Habsburgs available, though I doubt they will be asked to return to power. One wonders, too, if Austria has gotten over its pre-EU fears that Hungarians would swarm across the border to live in Austria. Hungarians didn’t and they won’t.

“Trump lacks skills essential in high-stakes negotiation (grasp of details, understanding of what his opponent needs, appreciation of his opponent’s leverage, awareness of his limited military options, and patience).” Seems about right.

This is a must read, or watch, for those of you following events in Hungary. I used to live next door so I have been paying attention, but this goes far deeper than you might find in the world press. Magyar’s victory is wonderful, but the excitement isn’t over.

These aren’t negotiators. They only know bluster and intimidation, will only accept total surrender to their wishes, and deny any need for expertise or doing their homework. They aren’t aware that they will likely be dealing with the other side’s negotiators for years to come.

“Trump is too lazy and arrogant to learn about important issues and systematically eliminated anyone who might know better and have the temerity to go toe-to-toe with him to avert disasters. … Trump will never admit errors, so blunders pile on top of each other, making bad situations even worse.”