Lori Wallach

t.cohttps://supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/live.aspx

7 Nov 2025

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the cases challenging Pres Trump's broad tariff authority. Catch up w/ highlights from the 2+ hour session & hints of where the SCrt may be headed in my thread👇This is a very consequential case. Tariff rates are the least of it!

Lori Wallach@wallachlori.bsky.social

Good morning - join me in getting ready for the 10 AM landmark Supreme Court oral arguments on the cases that will decide if Pres. Trump has constitutionally valid authority to impose his broadest tariffs. You can listen in live to the Court here 1/ www.supremecourt.gov/oral_argumen...

8 Dec 2025

This chart shows the results of China's mercantilist trade policy: distorted, maximilist exports levels and few imports. x.com/Brad_Setser/...

8 Dec 2025

It pairs w/ this @rethinktrade.bsky.social .bsky.social chart showing a handful of nations in chronic global trade surplus vs. 67 global deficit nations incl India, MX, Brazil w/ U.S: rethinktrade.org/wp-content/u...

10 Big Tech lobbyists here to defend special privileges & powers they got Trump to add to his 2020 US-Mexico-Canada Agt or USMCA - the Trump NAFTA update. Versus 2 witnesses against Big Tech’s “digital trade” attack at hearing on the 6-year USMCA review. Quite revealing… 1/

Another former USTR staffer, Jonathan McHale, who wrote USMCA’s “digital trade” rules Big Tech loves & now lobbies for the Computer & Communications Industry Assoc, couldn’t resist asking for more! New rules to limit AI oversight, back to uninspected de minimis imports etc. 8

Bottom line: Will the Trump admin remove USMCA digital trade rules that internationally preempt laws made since USMCA went into effect or let Big Tech hijack Trump’s NAFTA redo to undermine 8 US state right to repair laws, Tex & Montana child online safety/privacy laws, etc 9/9

The Consumer Technology Assoc. digital trade lobbyist, another revolving door former US Trade Representative staffer, had the vibe too: This is a review, NOT a renegotiation of USMCA. Do no harm (to USMCA’s extreme limits on common govt policies regulating Big Tech). Then… 6/

The witness from a group called The Internet Society (members include Amazon, Google, China Telecom) began saying they dont have a business stake & dont engage on trade & then literally mouthed Big Tech’s talking points defending the 5 USMCA terms limiting Big Tech regulation 7/

The Business Software Alliance witness didn’t discussing USMCA & instead “countered” dangerous “myths” about digital trade, which turned out to be a rhetorical poke at critiques documented in the body of analytical & research literature found at our rethinktrade.xn--org-l353b 4/

t.cohttps://rethinktrade.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/USTR_Rethink-Trade_USMCA.pdf

Wish I had not respected the 5-min limit when I spoke — see below for our comments. One of the many former US government trade officials now repping Big Tech at this USMCA 6-year review hearing just went on (unblissfully) for almost ten mins…5/ t.co/zN0ZuG4AKZ

The defensive “do no harm” call for no changes to USMCA shows Big Tech realizes many in Congress, unions, consumer/digital rights groups are on to their ploy of using closed door trade talks & wonky trade rules to forbid Congress & state legislatures from protecting us-meaning 2/

rethinktrade.orgREPORT: International Preemption by “Trade” Agreement: Big Tech’s PloyThis policy brief uses excerpts from 117th Congress bills and from administration policy documents to show the direct conflicts between prominent U.S. ...

“Us” is small biz, consumers, our privacy, our kids, our right to repair our stuff… The rules Big Tech got into USMCA use a form of international preemption. Ie “trade” agt rules simply forbid common policies governments use to counter Big Tech abuses 3/ rethinktrade.org/reports/inte...

youtube.comEurope’s Digital Rules Explained — Opening Segment (Full Episode Below)This video features the opening segment of our newest episode on digital governance, data flows, and EU–U.S. regulatory differences. Watch the opening discussion here, then listen to the full…

Commerce Sec. Lutnick said the Trump admin will trade away American manufacturing (steel tariffs) if Europe will gut law against Big Tech monopoly abuse. For a quick overview of EU digital regs Trump wants killed & the implications, check out my latest Rethinking Trade podcast.

Rethink Trade@rethinktrade.bsky.social

OUT NOW: the latest episode of Rethinking Trade: Is Trump Using Trade Talks to Gut Europe’s Digital Rules for Big Tech? youtu.be/1zPKcUfS2ho?...

3 Dec 2025

Because of the govt shutdown, we don’t have the latest Fed data on manufacturing construction investment. But in the first half of 2025, it was trending down monthly same as the manufacturing indexes described in this story. Opposite of what Trump promised working class voters.

25 Nov 2025

Explicitly trading away U.S. manufacturing (steel and aluminum tariffs) for Big-Tech-demanded rollbacks of European anti-monopoly and other digital safeguards is pretty much the opposite of what Trump promised working class voters in PA, WI, MI, etc. 😡

21 Nov 2025

Thank you @rokhanna.bsky.social for raising awareness about Trump’s lopsided America Last China “trade deal.” Yes to a Manhattan Project on rare earths. The minerals are not so rare as far as where they are located, but they require intense processing. We must improve/stand up that capacity.

Please share your theory: Why did Trump announce beef 🥩and tomato🍅tariff cuts when 99% of US🍅imports and 42% of🥩are from Mexico or Canada and ALREADY DUTY FREE under USMCA? Argentine beef is another 25% import share and ALREADY HAD TARIFFS CUT. So why cut PHANTOM TARIFFS? 1/

It seems POTUS is feeling pressure from the Democrats' "affordability" election sweep. So why not target the real cause of high beef prices -- 4 huge meatpackers controlling 85% of the US beef market! (Read @basel.bsky.social's great 9/24 report w/ FarmActionUS to learn more.) 4/

Absent action against price gouging, corp. concentration I bet we won’t get cheaper bananas, coffee, etc. ie. 3 corps have 80% of US banana sales, etc. Firms can use tariffs as cover to up prices even if exporters cover tariff costs or goods arent tariffed and never cut... 5/5

So, there should never have been tariffs on “tropical products” like coffee, cocoa, pineapple, mangoes etc. that we don’t produce here. The elimination of these tariffs now seems to be the unfortunate Trump “READY, FIRE, AIM!” general tariff chaos. But🤔on beef and tomatoes! 2/

Obviously announcing tariffs cuts on items w/o tariffs won't cut prices But tariff cuts on goods that do also won't likely cut prices @RethinkTrade tracked the consumer price index vs China tariff rate & corporate profits. Prices📈tracked corp profit trends not tariff levels 3/

13 Nov 2025

Larry Summers — not just wrong and immoral on economics and trade…