Todd Tucker

Disney says its theme parks generate $67 billion in annual U.S. economic impact Disney's economic impact report arrives on the heels of its announcement of a new theme park in Abu Dhabi and the opening of rival Universal's Epic Universe.

And responsible for a huge chunk of Florida jobs
www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/06/...

Weird move for the former senator from Disney World, one of the US' biggest service exports

GOP senators place holds on Treasury nominees over solar, wind credits The actions follow a so-far unsuccessful effort by a handful of moderate Senate Republicans to meet with the Treasury Department to discuss forthcoming guidance.

Grassley and Curtis "have escalated their pressure on the Trump administration in recent days to back off its efforts to strangle new solar and wind energy projects, warning that potential cancellations would make it harder to meet growing power demand."
www.politico.com/news/2025/08...

Denmark zoo asks people to donate their small pets as food for captive predators A zoo in Denmark is asking for people to donate small pets as food for its predators. The Aalborg zoo says it is trying to mimic the natural food chain of the animals housed there and offers assurance...

Parks and Recreation, but as reality TV.

Colombia’s ex-president Álvaro Uribe sentenced to 12 years of house arrest Judgment follows conviction for witness tampering and bribery in case that has divided the country

US Latin America policy: rule of law is bad.

"The US, which backed Uribe’s war on rebel groups, has also defended the former president. Secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Monday that the conviction was a “weaponisation of Colombia’s judicial branch by radical judges”.
www.ft.com/content/f4b7...

Late to the party on this one, but a very good analysis from @toddntucker.com

A graph of manufacturing growth broken down by subsector

America has lost 116k manufacturing jobs over the last year—that's the fastest pace of job loss since the early COVID era and worse than any period from 2011-2019.

Big drops in the transportation (-49k) & electronics (-32k) industries drive most of the decline

"Molly Worthen, a historian at the University of North Carolina, argues that the presence of charismatic leaders in today’s US is proof that, despite secularisation, “Americans’ spiritual impulse did not fade away”. The heart of charisma... is “the act of unveiling a hidden narrative”.

So far, the EU and UK have been successful at resisting US demands on "non tariff barriers," but at the expense of some pretty asymmetric tariff concessions.

There is a growing debate along the line of "was the US ever neoliberal." The fact that the below description of a business model was assumed to be a) viable, and b) unassailable goes in the "yea" column.

Interior Order Chokes Off Permits for Solar and Wind on Federal Lands The department creates a seemingly impossible new permitting criteria for renewable energy.

HUGE: The Trump administration will no longer permit any solar or wind projects on federal lands unless they produce more energy-per-acre than coal, gas or nuclear power plants.

Solar and wind literally produce less energy per acre, so simply this may just kill off any project on federal lands.

Donald Trump reignites global trade war with sweeping tariff regime Trading partners from Taiwan to Canada hit with steep new levies

"This is a new system of trade,” said a senior administration official to @aimewilliams.bsky.social . “We’re moving from a system where the core principle was kind of efficiency at all costs . . . to one where the core principle is fair and balanced trade.”
www.ft.com/content/f9ce...

In the final round, Zohran won *all but one* of the universe's progressive precincts we'd IDed months prior.

The most left-wing group of precincts had:
> The highest turnout / increase
> The most first-time primary voters
> A staggering 72%(!) for Zohran in R1 (87% at the end!!)

The Political Economy of Steel Decarbonization: Prospects and Challenges of a Green Steel Transition in Dearborn, Michigan - Roosevelt Institute In a new Roosevelt Institute analysis, authors Isabel Estevez, Hebah Kassem, Yong Kwon, and Iliana Paul explore the reasons why the transition to greener steel production in the US has stalled in comparison to European competitors, by delving into the economic, technological, and political forces at play in the case study of Michigan’s Dearborn Works.

More on the stakes if this debate here
rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

As Dearborn Works Idles, New Poll Upends Assumptions About Pollution, Clean Manufacturing Opinions in Wayne County WAYNE COUNTY, MI - As Cleveland Cliffs temporarily suspends steelmaking operations at its Dearborn Works Mill, Sierra Club is releasing a new poll showing that public sentiments relating to pollution,...

"A strong majority of registered Wayne County voters (77%) support investing in clean steel manufacturing technologies with 72% of them believing that it is possible to create good-paying union jobs in Michigan while also reducing toxic pollution."
www.sierraclub.org/press-releas...

About to get positively Argentinian up in here

Even the Obit Writers Are Jumping Ship at The Washington Post RIP for DC’s chroniclers of the dead.

RIP RIP

"Unlike beat reporters, full-time obituary writers don’t have to worry about whether including unsavory details about the dearly departed will offend the grieving sources they still need to cultivate. Getting rid of them is a recipe for toothless pieces."
www.politico.com/news/magazin...

BOEM Rescinds All Offshore Wind Energy Areas in Major Policy Reversal The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced yesterday it has rescinded all designated Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, effectively ending the federal designatio...

RIP US offshore wind. US Bureau of Offshore Energy Management rescinds ALL areas designated for offshore wind energy development in federal waters.
gcaptain.com/boem-rescind... 🔌💡

Green industrial policy under financial constraints: Insights from India’s state-led decarbonization State financing in different forms is the core of green industrial policy. In spite of severe domestic and international financial constraints, India’…

New article out in World Development: 'Green industrial policy under financial constraints: Insights from India’s state-led decarbonization'

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

In Constitutional Clash Between Trump and Courts on Tariffs, Risks Ahead for Progressive Policies - Roosevelt Institute Today, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard oral arguments in two lawsuits brought against the Trump administration’s chaotic deployment of tariffs. To some observers, these cases may seem like arcane, boring trade law in a federal court that few have heard of. To others, the lawsuits represent an opportunity to resist Trump and fight his overreach on tariff hikes that are already starting to pinch consumers’ wallets. But it’s important to step back and look at some less obvious stakes in these disputes: Namely, what kind of powers do or should presidents have in the future to deal with economic emergencies?

A new blog post by Director of Industrial Policy and Trade @toddntucker.com breaks down what’s really at stake from the tariff court hearing—and why the outcome could shape economic policymaking for years.

Read more 📄 rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/c...

BMW says industry reaction to Trump tariffs is ‘way exaggerated’ German carmaker maintains its annual guidance despite a 32% decline in second quarter net profits

Heterodox take from BMW - can't tell if they're just trying to curry favor with the administration.

Claims tariff fallout is "way exaggerated," and won't matter much if the products you make are attractive enough.

Also sees unilateral tariff lowering by EU as helpful.
www.ft.com/content/1130...

"While Arkansas has a small population, its battle with the pharmacy companies has broad consequences. Trump has repeatedly criticised the “middlemen” in the healthcare ecosystem, alleging they drive up drug prices. Norway’s oil fund and UBS are top 11 shareholders in CVS and UnitedHealth."

Brazil vows to defend supreme court against Donald Trump’s onslaught Americas’ two biggest nations at loggerheads after Lula refuses to negotiate on ‘unacceptable’ Trump demands

Continuing the Bannon project of globalization of exclusionary nationalism.

"The US, a senior Brazilian official complained, “is attacking the biggest democracy in Latin America for having defended itself against an attempted military coup. This is unprecedented”."
www.ft.com/content/e31b...

Canadian fentanyl is the new Iraqi WMDs.

The fact that we can't find the Canadian fentanyl is proof that Saddam is hiding the Canadian fentanyl from us.

Trade not war: A new approach to counternarcotics supply-side policy - Niskanen Center This white paper proposes an alternative approach to international supply-side counternarcotics policy designed to reduce fentanyl-related overdose deaths.

Just published, new from me:

An alternative to the drug war,

& an exit strategy from a ruinous trade war

www.niskanencenter.org/trade-not-wa...

In Constitutional Clash Between Trump and Courts on Tariffs, Risks Ahead for Progressive Policies - Roosevelt Institute Today, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard oral arguments in two lawsuits brought against the Trump administration’s chaotic deployment of tariffs. To some observers, these cases may...

NEW from me @rooseveltinstitute.org: In Constitutional Clash Between Trump and Courts on Tariffs, Risks Ahead for Progressive Policies.

🧵and post on today's oral arguments on Trump's tariffs...
rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/constit...

A bit more detail from yesterday's hearing here: bsky.app/profile/todd...

The tl;dr: I don't see a good outcome to these tariff lawsuits, and almost any outcome deepens the constitutional crisis in one way or another.

Happy Thursday!

There is a middle path that the courts could pursue, and it really is/should be up to Congress to step up if they think Trump's policies are economically unwise.

As @mayasen.bsky.social and others have said, the courts won't save us.

Whatever one thinks of the merits of Trump's trade war, the legal teams here were playing with fire.

Past progressive presidents like FDR used some of the authorities delegated by Congress for good ends, and future ones could again. (Indeed, may need to.)