Squawk Pod: Canada’s side of tariffs, DoD drones, & the bond market speaks - 08/25/26 | Audio Only

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  August 25, 2026 at 17:55  |  41:06  |  CNBC
Speakers
Stanley Druckenmiller — Founder, Duquesne Family Office
Eunice Yoon — CNBC Correspondent
Emil Michael — Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
Joe Kernen — Co-Anchor, Squawk Box
Dominic LeBlanc — Canadian Minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade

Summary

This episode covers Stanley Druckenmiller's op-ed rebuking the Treasury's expanded debt buybacks as market price management, warning that only fiscal discipline can durably lower long-term yields. It also examines Operation Economic Outcast against Iran, including China's rare-earth leverage and oil-trade role, and Canada's collapsed trade talks and potential retaliation. Finally, Pentagon CTO Emil Michael argues the DoD is shifting toward autonomous systems, domestic drone manufacturing, and robotics.

  • Druckenmiller says Treasury buybacks are price management and artificial yield suppression; fiscal discipline is needed.
  • US sanctions on Iran raise questions about China, which takes 90% of Iranian oil exports and may use rare earth leverage.
  • Canada-US trade talks collapsed; Canada signals retaliatory tariffs and trade diversification.
  • The Pentagon is stimulating domestic drone component production and using DARPA challenges to create demand signals.
  • Defense procurement is shifting from Cold War systems to AI-driven autonomous systems; robotics is the next priority.
Ideas
Eunice Yoon CNBC Correspondent 8:00
China may weaponize rare earths again.
China views rare earths as key leverage and could renew rare-earth export curbs if the US cracks down on Beijing over its support for Iran, even though both sides are working to renew the rare-earth truce. This creates an event-driven risk that rare earth supply gets restricted.
REMX MED
Stanley Druckenmiller Founder, Duquesne Family Office 11:11
Buybacks cannot durably suppress Treasury yields.
Druckenmiller argues the Treasury's expanded debt buybacks are price management rather than liquidity management and artificially suppress long-term Treasury yields. He warns that markets aggregate information no committee possesses and that the bond market had only begun to clear its throat before Treasury moved to quiet it. Without fiscal discipline and entitlement reform, buybacks cannot durably lower long-term yields, making long-term Treasuries unattractive and vulnerable to higher yields.
TLT HIGH
Emil Michael Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering 32:22
Defense spending shifting to autonomous systems.
The Pentagon is undergoing a mix shift from expensive Cold War-era exquisite systems toward modern, mass-attritable autonomous systems driven by AI. This shift is moving dollars and demand toward autonomous defense technologies, which the Department of Defense sees as better suited to modern robot-on-robot warfare.
Autonomous defense systems HIGH
Emil Michael Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering 33:51
Pentagon funding aims to boost domestic drones.
The DoD is intentionally building a domestic drone manufacturing supply chain to reduce reliance on Chinese components. It has loaned $1.8 billion to Performance Drone Works for components, is running the $1.1 billion DARPA drone dominance challenge with objective performance ratings and orders, and is trying to crowd private capital into US drone makers so the military can surge domestic production.
US drone manufacturers and suppliers HIGH
Emil Michael Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering 38:12
Robotics is next big defense investment.
Robotics is the next big defense technology priority after drones. The Office of Strategic Capital will invest in robotics companies and the components that go into robots because the US cannot afford to fall behind China in robotics.
Robotics companies and components HIGH
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This CNBC video, published August 25, 2026, features Eunice Yoon, Stanley Druckenmiller, Emil Michael discussing REMX, TLT, Autonomous defense systems, US drone manufacturers and suppliers, Robotics companies and components. 5 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Eunice Yoon, Stanley Druckenmiller, Emil Michael  · Tickers: REMX, TLT, Autonomous defense systems, US drone manufacturers and suppliers, Robotics companies and components