Simon Lester

@simonlester.com

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

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

Videos

Political science 43%

Economics 28%

Posts Replies Media Videos

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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:...

Reposted by Trevon D. Logan, Simon Lester

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11h

Trump refuses to directly admit his administration granted the DC shooter asylum and then wraps up the press availability

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 11h

I'm really looking forward to eating leftover turkey tomorrow.

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 14h

Make Bluesky profile name a required field on applications!

Reposted by Simon Lester

Trade Diversion (Jonathan Dingel) @tradediversion.bsky.social · 14h

Spatial economics JMPs (2025-2026)
tradediversion.net/2025/11/27/s...

Spatial economics JMPs (2025-2026)

Here’s a list of job-market candidates whose job-market papers fall within spatial economics, as defined by me quickly skimming webpages and two dozen candidates who responded on Twitter. I’m sure …

tradediversion.net

Reposted by Simon Lester

Aaron Ross Powell ☸️ @aaronrosspowell.com · 16h

If you want to sneak away today and hide in some headphones, you won't do better than my conversation with @andycraig.bsky.social and @shikhadalmia.bsky.social of @theunpopulist.net about what comes after Trumpism. pod.link/1614436300/e...

094: A New American Reconstruction (w/ Andy Craig and Shikha Dalmia)

Listen to 094: A New American Reconstruction (w/ Andy Craig and Shikha Dalmia) from ReImagining Liberty wherever you get your podcasts!

pod.link

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 16h

Came here to say exactly this!

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 17h

May be too late for some of you, but I learned this trick by accident last year and it worked out well:

"Why You Should Cook Your Thanksgiving Turkey Upside Down—and How to Do It"

Why You Should Cook Your Thanksgiving Turkey Upside Down—and How to Do It

We make the case for cooking your turkey breast-side down and explain how to use this method, step by step.

www.marthastewart.com

Reposted by Simon Lester

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 19h

Suspect in US National Guard shooting worked with US military in Afghanistan on.ft.com/49O6Sv7

Suspect in US National Guard shooting worked with US military in Afghanistan

Two victims remain in critical condition with nationwide investigation into the gunman under way

on.ft.com

Reposted by Simon Lester

Pete Dempsey @petedempsey.bsky.social · 20h

peterdempseywrites.com/gpt-chats-pa...

GPT Chat’s Path to Profit: Advertising

Advertising is coming for GenAI consumer chatbots. In part 1, we looked at the parallels between web search and information retrieval with chatbots. Chatbots already have a rich collection of user dat...

peterdempseywrites.com

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 21h

Should check on how the long snappers feel too.

Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 21h

Turns out that when you describe how "the punters" feel about the economy, Americans think you're talking about blokes who kick footballs, rather than "the people." (Hilarity ensued.)

Reposted by Simon Lester

Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 21h

Turns out that when you describe how "the punters" feel about the economy, Americans think you're talking about blokes who kick footballs, rather than "the people." (Hilarity ensued.)

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 23h

I feel compelled to point out Cato's contribution to this debate/title competition from years ago.

Reign of Terroir: How to Resist Europe's Efforts to Control Common Food Names as Geographical Indications

www.cato.org

Reposted by Simon Lester

AwesomeAudrey @awesomeaudrey.com · 1d

Posting on Bluesky about my article about Bluesky in @techpolicypress.bsky.social

Composable Moderation decentralizes rule-setting, reducing pressure on any single platform and limiting attempts to “work the refs.” www.techpolicy.press/composable-m...

'Composable Moderation' May Protect Bluesky from Political Pressure | TechPolicy.Press

Shifting enforcement away from a single platform and into a distributed ecosystem should blunt interference by authoritarians, writes Audrey Hingle.

www.techpolicy.press

Reposted by Simon Lester

Graham Lanktree @glanktree.bsky.social · 1d

Top EU official accuses US of ‘blackmail’ in trade talks

www.politico.eu/article/top-...

Top EU official accuses US of ‘blackmail’ in trade talks

Renewed U.S. pressure for the EU to recalibrate its digital rules is unacceptable, says Teresa Ribera.

www.politico.eu

Reposted by Simon Lester

Open Future @openfuture.bsky.social · 1d

🇪🇺 Eurosky is building EU-hosted social media infrastructure on ATProtocol. Priorities: Commons for Content Moderation (CoCoMo), decentralized architecture, and reducing Big Tech dependency.
Public funding + civil society collaboration = digital sovereignty. openfuture.eu/blog/eurosky...

Eurosky dawns: Building Infrastructure for Sovereign Social Media – Open Future

The Eurosky initiative is building European social media infrastructure on the ATProtocol, representing a new step in Europe's digital sovereignty agenda as policymakers seek alternatives to Big Tech ...

openfuture.eu

Reposted by Simon Lester

Patrick G. Eddington @pgeddington.com · 1d

The #NationalGuardShooting suspect has been identified as an Afghan male national named Rahmanullah Lakanwal,who entered the U.S. in 2021 according to multiple media outlets.

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 1d

"The Trump administration often uses the term 'sovereignty' to describe its efforts to get other countries to allow in fewer foreign citizens and harden their borders — even as it tries to impose policies on sovereign nations."

[You keep using that word.gif]

Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 1d

It's not just that the United States has stopped trying to promote liberal democratic ideas internationally. It's that the United States is actively trying to promote the contrary. It's trying to turn more countries into Hungary.

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...

U.S. to Press Europe and Other Allies on ‘Mass Migration,’ Document Says

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Mark D. White, Daniel W. Drezner, Robert C. Richards , and 6 more Mark D. White, Daniel W. Drezner, Robert C. Richards, Tom Griffin, Michael Jones‐Correa, Kate Starbird, Brooke Harrington, Simon Lester, Christina Pagel

Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 1d

U.S. to Press Europe and Other Allies on ‘Mass Migration,’ Document Says

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Simon Lester

The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 1d

Exclusive: After speaking with China's Xi, Trump called Japan’s prime minister and advised her not to provoke Beijing over Taiwan.

Exclusive | Trump, After Call With China’s Xi, Told Japan to Lower the Volume on Taiwan

Japan, a U.S. ally that has angered China on Taiwan, found the message worrying.

on.wsj.com

Reposted by Simon Lester

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 1d

“.. Japanese officials said the message was worrying: the president didn’t want friction over Taiwan to endanger a detente reached last month with Xi, which includes a promise to buy more agricultural products from American farmers ..”

@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/world/china/...

Reposted by Simon Lester

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 1d

publishing your greatest professional and ethical failures in a series of paywalled blog posts is certainly a choice.

Reposted by David R. Miller, Simon Lester, Élisabeth Vallet

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

very odd that the Post would write up someone’s speciation as if it’s news. What are we doing here

Laura Loomer, the far-right political activist known for her virulently anti-Muslim views, was quick to speculate about the shooter’s background on X, where she has 1.8 million followers.
“Communist, Muslim, Trans terrorist, Furry, or ANTIFA?” she asked.
Loomer also posted a photo of a bearded man being carried into an ambulance, though The Washington Post could not immediately verify that the image came from Wednesday’s crime scene.
“I’m just going to say. That’s a very Mohammedan looking beard,” she wrote. “I’ll wait for more details. But the beard with no mustache the night before a Western holiday is not lost on me.”

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 1d

Things are only going to get worse:

"Consumer-facing GPT chatbots will inevitably start to monetize their products."

Pete Dempsey @petedempsey.bsky.social · 1d

peterdempseywrites.com/gpt-chats-pa...

GPT Chat’s Path to Profit: Web Search

Consumer-facing GPT chatbots will inevitably start to monetize their products. Cost pressures from burning through cash and the high costs of inference may accelerate this change. But even without the...

peterdempseywrites.com

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 1d

Great, thanks! (I searched but must have missed it somehow)

Reposted by Simon Lester

Pete Dempsey @petedempsey.bsky.social · 1d

peterdempseywrites.com/gpt-chats-pa...

GPT Chat’s Path to Profit: Web Search

peterdempseywrites.com

Reposted by David R. Miller, Simon Lester

Dave Karpf @davekarpf.bsky.social · 1d

So Olivia Nuzzi is clearly a piece of shit who can never work in journalism again after this.

And, also, Ryan Lizza is clearly a piece of shit who should never work in journalism again after this either.

We're all agree on that, right?

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 1d

You think Canada will invoke the security exceptions the way the US has? Yikes.

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 1d

Will be interesting to see how Canada defends these measures against complaints from trading partners that they violate WTO/FTAs.

Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 1d

"Prime Minister Carney announces new measures to protect and transform Canada’s steel and lumber industries"

One item on the list:

"Canada will impose a global 25% tariff on targeted imported steel-derivative products such as wind towers, prefabricated buildings, fasteners, and wires."