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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦

@jrobson.bsky.social
5.4K followers 929 following 1.7K posts

Assoc. Prof. MPM @Carleton; parent; gardener & sometime tradesperson; social & tax policy; worried about details

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Reposted by Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦
The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 3h
Artificial intelligence agents tried to hack into a Canadian government site, researchers said, adding to the growing list of incidents in which AI agents probed or hacked corporate and government computer systems without being told to do so.
washingtonpost.com
AI agents tried to hack a Canadian government website, researchers say
The finding follows OpenAI’s confirmation that its misbehaving AI agents probed U.S. government websites and hacked an Australian government site.
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 3h
Tonight’s reading list: 1) What Politico EU reports as leaked draft text of the Canada-EU agreement to be finalized and released at the summit next month: www.politico.eu/wp-content/u... Some things that sound pretty promising (payments, competition, ++), some faffy. And (🙄) $0 in taxes to EU.
politico.eu
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 18h
Congratulations to the Cleveland Cliffs/ Stelco execs who bet on reducing capacity in Canada to expand in the U.S.
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
USTR is carrying some heavy buckets of water these days. Recall (per USTR), only 2 countries retaliated against Trump tariffs: 1) China; 2) Canada. This presser suggests USD$30B in forthcoming tariff relief for imports from China. On Tuesday, ~$1B in booze from Canada will banned from import by US
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
She served 2.3 Trusses or just over 10 Scaramuccis
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Well, now the private sector really doesn’t have much excuse for sitting on dead money. I will look forward to seeing what they do.If THIS tax change doesn’t “enable” or “unleash” that capex, (on top of public $$, on top of regulatory waivers, on top of concierge service), what the hell will?
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Reposted by Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦
Mauricio Drelichman @mdrelichman.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Does anyone have a contact in or otherwise know something about Universidad Mayor de San Andrés in Bolivia? I have been trying to reach their librarians/archivists/historians about a manuscript preserved there. I have emailed every address I could find, to no response. Any leads apprciated!
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Money for votes
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Fascinating short article 👇 suggesting that half of effect of US tariff policy on US importers is via sheer confusion, not the rate itself. 1/2 cepr.org/voxeu/column...
cepr.org
Tariff confusion
The year 2025 was unprecedented in the frequency, complexity, and volatility of US trade policy interventions. This column uses a new database tracking US tariff announcements during the year to show ...
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Have had a long day. Met the new MPM cohort & caught up w/ many alumni. Good start to the academic year. Now reading Trump’s latest proclamations banning Canadian motorcycles, near-beer, molasses, whey, and much booze but modifying the list of goods subjected to the s338 tariffs. 1/2
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Reposted by Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦
John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 08/09/2026
Two extraordinary charts from today’s PISA test results: 1) School test scores continue to collapse internationally, underscoring how this is no longer a Covid effect but sustained decline. Those falls in reading and maths are equivalent to about two years of lost schooling.
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I have to imagine it may also come as a surprise to the Department of War (Defence) to learn that the HADES project cannot go ahead since it is based on the Bombardier Global 6500: thedefensepost.com/2026/05/02/h....
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Reposted by Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦
La Presse @lapresse.ca · 05/09/2026
lapresse.ca
Le grand plan d’Ottawa pour son usine de micropuces
Elle est presque inconnue du grand public. Et pourtant, au cœur de la pandémie, en plein confinement, c’est l’une des premières usines à avoir rouvert ses portes au pays. Incursion au cœur d’une fonderie de micropuces unique en Amérique du Nord, que le gouvernement Carney s’apprête à privatiser en partie. Le tout dans l’espoir de renforcer la souveraineté du pays. Un dossier de Vincent Larin
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Reposted by Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦
Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Here is my letter to the MacDonald Laurier Institute on the subject of their appalling research. Use as you will. I recommend sending something of your own, though. And if you know anyone associated with MLI - and Board directors, say - send it to them, too.
docs.google.com
Alex Usher email to Brian Lee Crowley
(text of an email sent to Brian Lee Crowley of the MacDonald Laurier Institute on September 2, 2026) Dear Brian, I am writing to you and your board with respect to the publication “The equity excelle...
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Reposted by Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦
Stephanie Carvin @stephaniecarvin.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
More of us should be listening to @vassb.bsky.social talk about digital sovereignty.
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Reposted by Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦
Tyler Meredith @tylermeredith.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Since we are in for the long fight with Trump, what’s the economic strategy that comes next? @jrobson.bsky.social Ginny Roth and I, tackle this great Q in 90 minutes of deep policy nerd-dom. On this week’s @airquotesmedia.bsky.social Herle Burly youtu.be/QdzRoICHz6A?... #cdnpoli #cdnecon
youtu.be
Canada's Policy Path Forward with Meredith, Robson, and Roth | The Herle Burly
YouTube video by Air Quotes Media
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
One of the better takes on the Can/US trade war, why it needs to stop, and how the US needs to take a first step. The Real Winner of the Trade War With Canada www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Real Winner of the Trade War With Canada
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Reposted by Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦
FedResearch @fedresearch.federalreserve.gov · 27/08/2026
We analyze 125,000 US households' transactions to measure how the 2025 tariffs affected spending. Tariffs passed through 15-20% to retail prices, raising affected-good prices 1-2%. But households cut spending by 4%, three to four times the price increase. (1/3) www.federalreserve.gov/econres/feds...
federalreserve.gov
Paying More and Buying Less: 2025 Tariffs and U.S. Household Spending
The Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington DC.
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
These are the EI changes that have been announced today. Some of them address some of the more common reasons for otherwise eligible claims to be delayed (ie: separation pay) or denied (a voluntary separation before a layoff). These are long-standing. Source: www.canada.ca/en/departmen... 1/n
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Reposted by Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦
Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Trump is promising to boost the U.S. economy by making it harder for Americans to trade with the rest of the world. He is also promising to destroy Iran's economy by making it harder for Iranians to trade with the rest of the world.
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Given Vance’s effusive praise the other day about being so helpful, and given what we now know was being demanded by the USTR/Lutnick, I can’t be the only one wondering exactly what Jivani was saying and to whom.
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Reposted by Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦
Matt Blair @mjmbca.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
I really can’t get over what a rookie mistake it is to look the Government of Canada in the eye and say “We’re gonna need you to piss off Quebec.”
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Reposted by Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦
Kevin Milligan @kevinmilligan.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
I wonder if President Zelensky had some advisors saying "sir, we cannot hurt Russian GDP more than they hurt ours, therefore we should submit to all demands". Maybe, but they sure weren't in this picture. He didn't listen to such nonsense. We haven't been invaded. But we are under attack....
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Yeah, limits on other trade deals as a sovereign country, sovereign policy on language and culture, those are hard red lines.
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
nothing for workers??
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Tuesday after Labour Day is a little more than 2 weeks from now for Canadian counter-tariffs. Details TBD. I would not hold my breath that negotiations resume in that time. It’s possible, but I like breathing.
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
I blogged. open.substack.com/pub/robsonj/...
open.substack.com
Next steps…
Trade talks are off.
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
“Shortly before Mr. Greer’s statement to the press, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection sent out guidance for importers saying that any of the Canadian products that the president had identified would face tariffs after 12:01 a.m.”
nytimes.com
Canada-U.S. Trade Talks Collapse; Washington Imposes New Tariffs
Mark Carney suspended talks and will take out retaliatory tariffs against the United States after days of negotiations to stave off new levies by the Trump administration ended in an impasse.
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Lutnick - bad Cabinet member or worst? Please tell me someone is asking what’s in it it for him/his pockets/his firm to sewer this?
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
well x.com/josh_wingrov...
x.com
Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) on X
The US-Canada trade war is threatening to spiral. Carney is threatening to match tonight's tariffs dollar-for-dollar; if he does that, a US official is saying Trump will be given options to retaliate ...
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I’m on radio interview 17 of 18 today on the shelf ban as a concession in the trade talks. Here’s a link w/ more of the trade data I’m leaning on: substack.com/@jenniferrob...
substack.com
If the U.S. booze goes back on the shelves, will Canadians drink it?
The White House appears to feel some pressure to show that they have made progress, as Senator Blackburn (R., Tennessee) put it in July, to “get the Canadians to put Jack Daniels back on their shelves...
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
🔔🔔ding ding ding!!!🔔🔔
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
A 3 day delay. Ok. This is an interesting tell. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/w...
nytimes.com
Tariffs on Hold as Trump Claims Deal With Canada Is Near
President Trump announced a three-day delay on imposing 50 percent tariffs in a social media post on Tuesday night, roughly 90 minutes before the 12:01 a.m. deadline.
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Reposted by Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦
Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Seems relevant: Canada is creating jobs at a rate that is roughly 4x that in the United States.
Line chart titled "The pace of job growth in Canada has outpaced job growth in the United States" showing cumulative percent change in employment since December 2024 for Canada and the United States. Canada's employment has grown 1.34% while US employment has increased just 0.34%, meaning Canadian job growth has outpaced the United States by nearly four to one. Canada's employment growth accelerated sharply from 0.98% in June 2026 to 1.34% in July 2026, the highest rate in the period shown, while US employment growth has remained relatively stable between 0.3% and 0.36% from April through July 2026.
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
static.klipy.com
Fantastic Mr Fox
ALT: Fantastic Mr Fox
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Over on substack, I blogged a bit about Monday’s s.338 threatened tariffs on Canada. open.substack.com/pub/robsonj/...
open.substack.com
Rule 1: The world is a mess. Rule 2: What is truth? Rule 3: Always claim victory.
Let me try to bring together a few different threads I’ve been pulling on in making sense of the July 20th tariff declarations from the White House.
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Between meetings I've been playing with the US trade data again. Lining up their list of goods to be tariffed under s 338 (in 28 days), I find 40 goods where there were $0 worth of imports by US consumers in either 2024, 2025 or both years (most recent full annual data available).
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
New tariff thread. I'm picking items from the three lists of goods the White House has IDd for 338 tariffs and looking at where in Canada they'll hit: HST 0409.00.00, Natural Honey: 40% of Canadian production is in Alberta agriculture.canada.ca/en/sector/ho...
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Code has finished re-running! I get a total, across all 3 lists of about ~5.3% of annual Canadian imports into the US for US consumption (ie: not to be exported on elsewhere) using 2025 data or ~USD$20B, which will now cost US consumers up to USD$10B more if these come into effect in 30 days. 1/n
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
While I wait for my code to rerun, if you missed out on this interview with Greer this AM, it's worth a listen, especially if you are here in Canada. Especially today. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/p...
nytimes.com
More Trump Tariffs Are Coming
Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, tells a Times reporter why he thinks that the administration’s tariff policy is working as intended.
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
I deleted my earlier estimate after finding an error in the code. The long list (18 pages) of affected goods is equivalent to just under 5% of Canadian goods imported into the US for consumption. That's not nothing, but it's not everything. Source for USTR data: dataweb.usitc.gov/trade/search...
dataweb.usitc.gov
DataWeb
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
So, once again, rest of the world, what is the value of a "deal" if the White House decides it has a feeling and invokes 338 on items, regardless of trade agreements? Canada is again being used as the test case.
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Useful background reading on s 338: www.cfr.org/articles/how... -- while threatened against Germany in 1935 (yep.. that era), it's never been used and so jurisdiction isn't tested. So.... time to litigate.
cfr.org
How Trump’s Tariffs Could Survive the Supreme Court Ruling | Council on Foreign Relations
The Supreme Court has ruled against Trump’s use of tariffs, but the president has other methods and authorities available to him that could keep his trade agenda alive.
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
50% tariffs JFC "regardless of USMCA" www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...
whitehouse.gov
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Imposes Additional Tariffs on Canada
DEFENDING AMERICAN WORKERS AND ENSURING FAIR TRADE: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed three Proclamations pursuant to Section 338 of the Tariff
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Ben DuBose @bendubose.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Well, this will be fun in a few minutes
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
A data-driven response to Trump on Canadian wildfires. 👇 Also, since when is MAGA in favour of emissions pricing??
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Reposted by Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦
Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 01/07/2026
And just like that, Fable/Mythos access is back with no restrictions.
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Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Look, it’s not a gold bar, or a plane, or an MOU with some fictional FDI commitment. So as far as props go, this is modest, but maybe effective.
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Just in time to mark the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum with a seventh Prime Minister in that time. Whoever took back control, it wasn't the occupant of 10 Downing Street.
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Reposted by Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦
Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
In the eight months since Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill passed, SNAP enrollment has declined by 4.7 million, according to USDA data. In states where demographic data are available, about half the decline comes from kids losing food aid. The Trump administration describes this as a success story
open.substack.com
Trump’s One Big Beautiful Hunger Crisis
His solution to the food affordability crisis is to cut programs that help people afford food.
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