Robert Wolfe
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bobwolfe.bsky.social
Robert Wolfe
@bobwolfe.bsky.social
1K followers 320 following 480 posts

Professor Emeritus of Policy Studies, Queen's University, Canada. Most posts on trade policy

personal website: rdwolfe.ca

Videos
Political science 44%
Economics 32%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Robert Wolfe

jonasnahm.com
Jonas Nahm @jonasnahm.com · 10h
This WSJ story about a Chinese auto-glass plant in Ohio is interesting less as a China story than as a window into the challenges of U.S. industrial policy going forward. 1/

www.wsj.com/business/tar...
The Chinese Factory That Opened in the U.S. and Clobbered Its Rivals
President Trump has pressured trading partners for investment in U.S. manufacturing plants. What if local industries can’t compete?
www.wsj.com

Reposted by Robert Wolfe, Simon Lester, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

financialtimes.com
Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 11h
A post-Trump restoration is still possible ft.trib.al/GX2fiqG
A post-Trump restoration is still possible
His presidency may eventually be seen as an aberration rather than a permanent shift
ft.trib.al

Reposted by Robert Wolfe

coppetainpu.bsky.social
Peter Ungphakorn @coppetainpu.bsky.social · 13h
WTO agriculture talks continue, amid zero public interest since they have not moved for years.

Two new papers landed in Jan, sadly circulated as secret by Indonesia and the African Group—not that anyone would look at them even if they were public. Another failure at next month’s big meeting? Maybe.
UPDATES: Timeline of the WTO agriculture negotiations from 2021
Timeline with links to some key documents and news.
tradebetablog.wordpress.com

Reposted by Robert Wolfe

thediplomat.com
The Diplomat @thediplomat.com · 13h
India has secured tariff-free access to the EU’s garment market, even as Bangladesh’s loss of preferential status looms. buff.ly/WmS2vFO

Reposted by Robert Wolfe, Stephen Ryan

ronfilipkowski.bsky.social
Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 1d
If Vance isn’t able to attend an Olympic event without an entourage of armored vehicles that looks like he just landed at Normandy in 1944, maybe he shouldn’t go.

Reposted by Steve Peers, Bessma Momani

bobwolfe.bsky.social
Robert Wolfe @bobwolfe.bsky.social · 4d
two things are obvious in this clip:
a) Kennedy is trying to describe USMCA
b) Bessent has no idea how USMCA works
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4d
KENNEDY: If Canada came to the US and said, 'We're going to 0 tariffs on the US, all of them are off,' would you and the president go to 0 tariffs and let Canadian companies and American companies compete on a level playing field?

BESSENT: Absolutely not

Reposted by Robert Wolfe

theomoudakis.bsky.social
Theo Moudakis @theomoudakis.bsky.social · 4d
Please enjoy my cartoon for Friday's Toronto Star

Reposted by Robert Wolfe

simonlester.com
Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 4d
Just going to do the obligatory quote post to say that we have never had anything close to "unfettered free trade."

cc @toddntucker.com
rooseveltinstitute.org Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 4d
The failure of these tariffs doesn’t mean a future administration should revert back to unfettered free trade.

Targeted protections can work, when paired with industrial policy, labor standards, and accountability. @toddntucker.com lays out what a progressive trade policy could be ⬇️
How Should Progressives Respond to Trump’s Tariff Threats? - Roosevelt Institute
Throughout his campaign and during his first few weeks in office, President Donald Trump has invoked the threat of tariffs on imported products more than perhaps any president in US history. And yet, ...
rooseveltinstitute.org

Reposted by Jennifer A. Richeson, Scott L. Greer, Mark D. White , and 12 more

bakerdphd.bsky.social
Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 4d
This is the Yale professor's explanation for why he described the physical attractiveness of a student in an email to Epstein. He explicitly says he regrets nothing about their association.

Again, I'm so happy Yale hired David Brooks to restore trust.

yaledailynews.com/articles/gel...
Screenshot of the article that includes a quote from the professor's explanation to the dean: “I was recommending her for a job I thought she'd like. When you do that--when you actually care about a rec letter--you keep the potential boss's habits in mind,” Gelernter wrote in the email to his colleagues, seemingly referring to Epstein. “This one was obsessed with girls (like every other unmarried billionaire in Manhattan; in fact, like every other heterosex male), and if I hadn't said what I did in that letter ten-odd years ago, he would certainly have called me & asked for a lot more aesthetic detail. (This is how men behave.)”

Reposted by Robert Wolfe

inumanak.bsky.social
Inu Manak @inumanak.bsky.social · 4d
Want to know what's in all of Trump's trade deals? We combed through all of them, so you don't have to. Our tracker will be updated as more texts are released.

Check it out here on @cfr.org:

www.cfr.org/articles/tra...
Tracking Trump's Trade Deals | Council on Foreign Relations
The president has set out to rewrite the rules of trade, one deal at a time.
www.cfr.org

Reposted by Steve Peers, Robert Wolfe, Simon Lester

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4d
KENNEDY: If Canada came to the US and said, 'We're going to 0 tariffs on the US, all of them are off,' would you and the president go to 0 tariffs and let Canadian companies and American companies compete on a level playing field?

BESSENT: Absolutely not

Reposted by Robert Wolfe, Bessma Momani

nvondarza.bsky.social
Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 4d
Fascinating graph based on UN General Assembly votes showing the growing distance from the EU and other Western allies to the US under Trump.

Note especially the movement of Canada and the UK. A symbol of soft power loss.
patrickjfl.bsky.social Patrick Flynn @patrickjfl.bsky.social · 4d
The geopolitical centre of gravity is shifting towards China, driven primarily by Europe's increased distance from the US under the Trump II era.

We analysed decades of UN voting data to create a new US-China axis, and found the US advantage is at its lowest level this century.

Reposted by Caroline Krafft, Linda Martín Alcoff, David R. Miller , and 2 more

carlquintanilla.bsky.social
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 4d
* US Companies Announce Most Job Cuts for Any January Since 2009

@bloomberg.com

Reposted by Steve Peers, Robert Wolfe, Bessma Momani , and 1 more

patrickjfl.bsky.social
Patrick Flynn @patrickjfl.bsky.social · 4d
The geopolitical centre of gravity is shifting towards China, driven primarily by Europe's increased distance from the US under the Trump II era.

We analysed decades of UN voting data to create a new US-China axis, and found the US advantage is at its lowest level this century.

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Lawrence Freedman, Christian Odendahl , and 45 more

lalahaenzy.com
Omg. WTF is Happening? @lalahaenzy.com · 4d
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue

Reposted by Robert Wolfe

alanbeattie.bsky.social
Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 4d
Today's Trade Secrets. A year of Trump. A fierce tariff campaign. And yet globalisation, at least goods and services trade, is....fine? And the campaign has...probably peaked? And companies...aren't much worried any more? Medium-to-long term risks, absolutely. But we've weathered the initial storm.
There are good reasons to be cheerful about global trade
[FREE TO READ] Donald Trump’s inept tariff campaign hasn’t yet derailed globalisation
as.ft.com

Reposted by Steve Peers, Iikka Korhonen, Robert Wolfe

mattsteinglass.bsky.social
Matt Steinglass @mattsteinglass.bsky.social · 4d
The Trump administration has a lot of awful policies but I’m not sure anything is more idiotic in every possible way than punishing businesses, starving people of power, and shrinking GDP just because you’re obsessed with harming the climate faster to own the libs www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/c...
A Trump ‘Blockade’ Is Stalling Hundreds of Wind and Solar Projects Nationwide
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Timothy Snyder, Anna Nagurney, Robert Wolfe , and 2 more

avalaina.bsky.social
Oleksandra Matviichuk @avalaina.bsky.social · 5d
I am a Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. I have a question.

Why has Trump's year of negotiations been the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion? The number of deaths and injuries has increased by 31 percent compared to the previous year.

Reposted by Robert Wolfe

ethanlou.bsky.social
Ethan Lou @ethanlou.bsky.social · 5d
Bank of Canada has too rosy a view of the world

The latest from the Globe's business commentary, by Don Drummond: www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...
Opinion: Bank of Canada has too rosy a view of the world
Trade uncertainty and geopolitical risks are not reflected in the central bank’s economic projection
www.theglobeandmail.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Robert Wolfe

nessanichasaide.bsky.social
Nessa Ní Chasaide @nessanichasaide.bsky.social · 6d
Yep.

"The bottom line is that acting as a predatory hegemon will weaken the networks of power and influence on which the United States has long relied and which created the leverage that Trump is now trying to exploit."

by @stephenwalt.bsky.social

www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
The Predatory Hegemon
Ever since Donald Trump first became U.S. president, in 2017, commentators have searched for an adequate label to describe his approach to U.S. foreign relations. Writing in these pages, the political...
www.foreignaffairs.com

Reposted by Robert Wolfe

stephenwalt.bsky.social
Stephen Walt @stephenwalt.bsky.social · 6d
If #Trump does a nuclear deal with Iran, I hope it is better than the phony peace deal he claimed to have reached in Israel-Palestine.

Reposted by Christian Odendahl, Robert Wolfe

nks.bsky.social
Nicolas Köhler-Suzuki @nks.bsky.social · 7d
My 2c on the US-India ‘deal’ in the FT:

“It seems highly doubtful that India has agreed to reduce tariffs to zero, particularly on agricultural goods, given India’s long-standing approach to trade negotiations going right back to the Doha Round"

www.ft.com/content/72f1...
Trump to slash India tariffs after Modi ‘agrees’ to stop buying Russian oil
Levies will drop from 50% to 18% as US president claims New Delhi will buy more than $500bn of American goods
www.ft.com

bobwolfe.bsky.social
Robert Wolfe @bobwolfe.bsky.social · 7d
a good analysis with a classic @alanbeattie.bsky.social quip: "If a trade deal doesn’t cause riots in France you have to wonder what the point of it is.”
alanbeattie.bsky.social Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 7d
My Trade Secrets today. The EU's India trade deal is a lot about geopolitics, but not in an impressive way. Brussels got it done by compromising principles and signing a weak deal.

So sure, it's sending a geopolitical signal, but not expending enough political capital to make it really credible.
EU’s geopolitical gesture is too cheap to be credible
[FREE TO READ] Brussels sacrificed its own principles when signing a trade deal with India
as.ft.com

Reposted by Daniel W. Drezner, Robert Wolfe

thebulwark.com
The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 7d
CDC Deputy Director Ralph Abraham thinks measles outbreaks are the “cost of doing business” in a world of global travel. Because travel didn't exist during the last 20 years, when we had effectively eliminated the disease. lnk.thebulwark.com/4tv9aXt

Reposted by Robert Wolfe

simonlester.com
Simon Lester @simonlester.com · 7d
"Canada is resuming beef exports to China after a years-long ban that shut down a major overseas market"
Canada resumes beef exports to China, cattle supply remains low
Canada is resuming beef exports to China after a years-long ban that shut down a major overseas market, a move some Alberta producers say comes at a critical time as national cattle supplies remain lo...
www.ctvnews.ca

Reposted by Iikka Korhonen, Robert Wolfe

alanbeattie.bsky.social
Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 7d
My Trade Secrets today. The EU's India trade deal is a lot about geopolitics, but not in an impressive way. Brussels got it done by compromising principles and signing a weak deal.

So sure, it's sending a geopolitical signal, but not expending enough political capital to make it really credible.
EU’s geopolitical gesture is too cheap to be credible
[FREE TO READ] Brussels sacrificed its own principles when signing a trade deal with India
as.ft.com

Reposted by Robert Wolfe

monapaulsen.bsky.social
Mona Paulsen @monapaulsen.bsky.social · 8d
“General Motors announced Thursday it will eliminate approximately 500 jobs at its Oshawa plant …GM rep Wright denied any connection to US tariffs—and the associated persistent threats by President Donald Trump against Canada.”

www.automotiveworld.com/news/gm-cuts...
GM cuts 500 Canada jobs, moves production back to US | Automotive World
GM has rejected any connection between the cuts and US trade policy, even as production gets moved back into the US. By Stewart Burnett
www.automotiveworld.com

Reposted by Robert Wolfe

aaronwherry.bsky.social
Aaron Wherry @aaronwherry.bsky.social · 9d
New from me. On the criticism and second-guessing of Carney's Davos speech.

www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
ANALYSIS | Was Mark Carney's Davos speech a mistake if it upset Trump? | CBC News
It's not unreasonable to think about how any action by a Canadian government might impact relations with Canada's largest trading partner. At the same time, allowing the American president's potential...
www.cbc.ca

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Robert Wolfe, McKenzie Wark , and 4 more

maris.bsky.social
Maris Kreizman @maris.bsky.social · 9d
I keep thinking again, in light of the latest Epstein files dump, about how MeToo “went too far.”

Reposted by Robert Wolfe, Gerald Friedman, Stacy D. VanDeveer , and 5 more

joncooper-us.bsky.social
Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 9d
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche admits that the DOJ excluded all images showing “death, physical abuse, or injury” from yesterday’s Epstein files release.

WHAT ELSE ARE THEY HIDING???