Simon Lester
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simonlester.com
Simon Lester
@simonlester.com
7.2K followers 720 following 7.3K posts

Founded WorldTradeLaw.net & ChinaTradeMonitor.com Non-Resident Fellow @bakerinstitute.bsky.social

Trade Policy feed: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:xqzu2eazvxb5fohoc4nap33y/feed/aaab5ctu4u4fc

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simonlester.com
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:...

Reposted by Simon Lester

stevenchase.bsky.social
Steven Chase @stevenchase.bsky.social · 4h
Canada-China talks on reducing canola tariffs have been fruitful, Anand says

www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
Canada-China talks on reducing canola tariffs have been fruitful, Anand says
Ottawa’s levies on EVs a major irritant between the two countries, with China imposing retaliatory tariffs
www.theglobeandmail.com

Reposted by Simon Lester

nickkodama.bsky.social
Nick Kodama @nickkodama.bsky.social · 5h
Seems like a possible offramp re: Greenland is that Trump takes credit for the tripwire force and frames it as the Europeans finally stepping up on security and he moves on to the next shiny thing that catches his attention

Reposted by Simon Lester

mattpeterson.bsky.social
Matt Peterson @mattpeterson.bsky.social · 5h
“The President also imposed a 25% tariff on certain advanced computing chips, such as the NVIDIA H200 and AMD MI325X.”

A White House fact sheet confirms our interpretation.

Would it have killed you guys to have this ready *before* the president announced it?

www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Takes Action on Certain Advanced Computing Chips to Protect America’s Economic and National Security
SUPPORTING AMERICA’S SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a Proclamation invoking Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of
www.whitehouse.gov

simonlester.com
Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 5h
Seems like a bit much.

Reposted by Simon Lester

mattpeterson.bsky.social
Matt Peterson @mattpeterson.bsky.social · 5h
The annex to Trump’s executive order includes this wall of text which appears to precisely describe Nvidia’s H200 chip.

Trump appears to have found a way to avoid the ban on export taxes by imposing a tax on Nvidia’s inputs.

(EO may do more, too. We’re still figuring it out.)
フプとし、し、よ、 (b) For the purposes of this note, "semiconductor articles" refers to imported products meeting certain technical parameters and that are classifiable in the provisions of the HTSUS enumerated in this subdivision: 8471.50 8471.80 8473.30 To be included within the definition of semiconductor articles, the imported products must be a logic integrated circuit, or an article that contains a logic integrated circuit, that meets the technical parameters of having: (1) a total processing performance greater than 14,000 and less than 17,500, and a total DRAM bandwidth greater than 4,500 GB/s and less than 5,000 GB/s; (2) a total processing performance greater than 20,800 and less than 21,100, and total DRAM bandwidth greater than 5,800 GB/s and less than 6,200 GB/s. For the purposes of this note, total processing performance (TPP) is 2 × "MacTOPS" × "bit length of the operation," aggregated over all processing units on the integrated circuit. "MacTOPS" is the theoretical peak number of Tera (1012) operations per second for multiply-accumulate computation (D = A × B + C). The 2 in the TPP formula is based on the industry convention of counting one multiply-accumulate computation (D = A × B + C) as two operations for purpose of product datasheets. Therefore, 2 × "MacTOPS" may correspond to the reported TOPS or FLOPS on a product datasheet. The "bit length of the operation" for a multiply-accumulate computation is the largest bit-length of the inputs to the multiply operation. The TPP for the imported product is determined by aggregating the TPP for each processing unit on the integrated circuit: TPP = TPPI + TPP2 + ... + TPPn (where n is the number of processing units on the integrated circuit). The rate of "Mac TOPS" is to be calculated at its maximum value theoretically possible. The rate of "MacTOPS" is assumed to be the highest value the manufacturer claims in annual or brochure for the integrated circuit. For example, a "PP" threshold of 4800 can be met with 60…

Reposted by Woodrow Hartzog, Simon Lester

hypervisible.blacksky.app
Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 6h
“…the endgame is to record and analyze everything in your life, and that's not hyperbole.”
CES 2026 laid out a Black Mirror future of wearable AI that's always listening, watching, ready to help, and 'knows everything about you.' I'm not enthusiastic
With new AI assistants like Lenovo's Qira, tech brands are laying out the helpful-surveillance endgame that started with smart glasses.
www.androidcentral.com

simonlester.com
Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 6h
The lack of clarity in media/political conversations about "inflation coming down" vs. "prices coming down" is making me crazy.

Reposted by Simon Lester

mattpeterson.bsky.social
Matt Peterson @mattpeterson.bsky.social · 6h
Our best understanding of this semiconductor tariff executive order is that it is the president creating the mechanism to take 25% of certain Nvidia chip exports.

simonlester.com
Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 6h
We don't need any sort of Greenland takeover to prevent Russia or China from going in (not that this even seems likely). We have everything we need right now from our allies to deal with it.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 7h
Q: Are Greenland's limits going to be respected?

TRUMP: Well we're gonna see what happens with Greenland. We need Greenland for national security. If we don't go in Russia is gonna go in & China is gonna go in. And there's not a thing that Denmark can do about it. But we can do everything about it

Reposted by Simon Lester

mattpeterson.bsky.social
Matt Peterson @mattpeterson.bsky.social · 7h
Pool: "Trump signed two executive orders before pool entered. EOs direct Section 232 trade actions on semiconductors and critical minerals."

Reposted by Simon Lester

tonyromm.bsky.social
tony romm @tonyromm.bsky.social · 7h
We're still awaiting full details, but the president announced new tariff orders today in the realm of semiconductors and critical minerals.

We'll see what the orders -- once released -- actually say. There was not much discussion on it because Trump convened this event to talk about whole milk

Reposted by Simon Lester

minakimes.bsky.social
Mina Kimes @minakimes.bsky.social · 7h
NFL fans...a few accounts on here I've followed recently that you may enjoy:

Seahawks clips/scheme: @alexcastrofilho.bsky.social

Saints news and analysis: @nickunderhill.bsky.social

General NFL chat: @trainisland.bsky.social

Reposted by Simon Lester

hilltimes.com
The Hill Times @hilltimes.com · 8h
Carney faces a “delicate” test with this week’s China trip coming months ahead of a looming CUSMA review, says one former diplomat, who warns Canada should be “very careful” about dropping tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

www.hilltimes.com/story/2026/0...
China trip a ‘test’ for Carney, with EV tariffs the ‘elephant in the room,’ say former envoys
Canada should be ‘very careful’ about dropping its 100-per-cent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in exchange for Beijing removing its tariffs on Canadian canola, says former diplomat Stewart Beck.
www.hilltimes.com

Reposted by Ben Tonra, Simon Lester, Markus W. Gehring

stevepeers.bsky.social
Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 8h
EU/Mercosur free trade agreement to be signed Saturday 17 January - www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/pre...
EU-Mercosur: President Costa to travel to Brazil and Paraguay
The President of the European Council, António Costa, together with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will attend the EU-Mercosur signature ceremony in Asunción, Paraguay...
www.consilium.europa.eu

Reposted by Simon Lester

robfranciseu.bsky.social
Rob Francis @robfranciseu.bsky.social · 11h
No agreement today to postpone the vote in the European Parliament’s trade committee on lowering tariffs on US goods. Another meeting will take place next Wednesday. But feelings are running high amid the Greenland saga. More by me here borderlex.net/2026/01/14/e...
EU-US tariff deal faces delay as Trump's Greenland threats anger lawmakers - Borderlex - European trade policy
Leading lawmakers in the European Parliament's trade committee are considering postponing a vote on legislation to eliminate tariffs on US industrial goods and establish import quotas for certain agri...
borderlex.net

Reposted by Simon Lester

tpgroberts.bsky.social
Tom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · 11h
I have a colleague who uses LLMs religiously and I'm not saying he's a key lesson in "what not to do" but our boss has now delegated me to edit his work to make it look slightly less obviously AI generated.

simonlester.com
Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 12h
OK, just making sure!

Reposted by Simon Lester

ericcolumbus.bsky.social
Eric Columbus @ericcolumbus.bsky.social · 12h
The Greenland meeting hosted by Vance is about to start and let’s just say I don’t feel great about it

simonlester.com
Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 12h
You see the tag at the end?

simonlester.com
Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 12h
It's cool that we could be watching for a tariff ruling like this all the way up to June. This is great fun. [/s]
peark.es George Pearkes @peark.es · 12h
Opinions over, no tariff ruling today.

Reposted by Simon Lester

peark.es
George Pearkes @peark.es · 12h
Opinions over, no tariff ruling today.

Reposted by Simon Lester

crampell.bsky.social
Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 12h
Trade balances are not actually a sign of "winning" or "losing." They reflect a lot of complex factors including savings rates and capital flows.
That is not how Trump sees things, of course. In his taxonomy of the world, today's stat would probably mean we're "losing"

Reposted by Simon Lester

rajakorman.bsky.social
Karthik Sankaran @rajakorman.bsky.social · 13h
Very excited to announce that on January 21, at 10 AM EST, I'll be talking with @explaintrade.com about his book. quincyinst.org/events/book-...
Book Talk | Why Politicians Lie About Trade
Join a conversation with Dmitry Grozoubinski.
quincyinst.org

Reposted by Simon Lester, David Darmofal

polltracker.bsky.social
Poll Tracker 📊 @polltracker.bsky.social · 13h
Detroit News poll: US Senate Michigan

🟥Mike Rogers 44%
🟦Haley Stevens 44%
Don’t know/refused 11.9%

🟥Mike Rogers 46%
🟦Mallory McMorrow 42%

🟥Mike Rogers 48%
🟦Abdul El-Sayed 42%

( 1/2-1/6 LV)

www.detroitnews.com/story/news/p...
Rogers, Stevens tied in Michigan U.S. Senate matchup, poll finds
Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Haley Stevens are statistically tied in the race for Michigan's Senate seat, a new Detroit News-WDIV poll shows.
www.detroitnews.com

simonlester.com
Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 15h
"A persistent divide has emerged however, between Democrats who hope to draw an aggressive gerrymander that could deliver them 10 of the state’s 11 congressional seats ... and those who want to take a more subtle approach to offsetting GOP gerrymanders elsewhere."

(It's currently 6 Ds and 5 Rs)

Reposted by Simon Lester

vanjackson.bsky.social
Van Jackson @vanjackson.bsky.social · 20h
A new form of settler colonialism is emerging, and it carries with it the potential for world war www.un-diplomatic.com/p/greenland-...
Greenland and the New Settler Colonialism: Network-State Geopolitics
When Trump administration officials say that the US fixation on Greenland is an extension of the Monroe Doctrine—imperialism in Latin America—they’re fundamentally correct.
www.un-diplomatic.com

Reposted by Daniel Kuehn, Simon Lester

politico.com
Politico @politico.com · 1d
Virginia Democrats look to decimate GOP seats in redistricting effort
Virginia Democrats look to decimate GOP seats in redistricting effort
But some Democrats warn that the effort may be more difficult than it looks.
dlvr.it

Reposted by David H. Kaye, Jonathan H. Adler, Julian Webb , and 3 more

becingber.bsky.social
Rebecca Ingber @becingber.bsky.social · 1d
DOJ just published a redacted version of the OLC memo justifying the Administration’s campaign/attacks in Venezuela and capture of Maduro:
www.justice.gov

simonlester.com
Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 1d
We need to make @douglasirwin.bsky.social's books required reading for schoolchildren and presidents.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
Trump: "After that you had a depression but that was a long time. That was in, like, 1913 you had the tariff switched into income tax. And then in 19-- and they like to blame tariffs. You ever notice? They brought tariffs back in 1932 to try to save the sucker. But it was in 1929."

Reposted by Fabián Muniesa, Cameron Campbell, R. M. Wilson , and 6 more

paleofuture.bsky.social
Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 1d
"We want to make Star Trek real," said Elon Musk.

"We want to make Starfleet Academy real so that it's not always science fiction, but one day the science fiction turns to science fact."