Truth on the Market
“The Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Amazon”
Dan Gilman with the International Center for Law & Economics discusses the FTC’s $2.5 billion settlement with Amazon.
Truth on the Market
“Antitrust at the Agencies: Happy New Year 5786 Edition”
Dan Gilman provides an initial read on how the FTC is considering issues involving AI and privacy.
Blog
New tariffs for pharmaceuticals, furniture, and trucks
On the night of September 25, after markets closed, the Trump administration announced on social media that a new bevy of tariffs will…
Blog
The White House’s new visa fee is another tariff
President Trump’s announcement that H1-B visas will now require a payment of $100,000 is best understood as an extension of…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Emergent abundance with Alex Trembath
In this week’s episode we cover the future of financial regulation, the end of the left vs. right distinction in politics,…
Blog
HSR hibernation: Will the FTC PNO see its shadow during government shutdown?
It’s time for DC to find a real groundhog that can assist in determining if the government will shut down to replace the…
Blog
Trump 401(k) EO helps equalize access to alternative assets
For more than a decade at CEI, I have argued that holders of 401(k)s and other defined-contribution plans should have maximum choice in the…
Blog
Conservative radio and the risks of FCC pressure on broadcast licensees
Conservative radio is one of the most potent forces in American politics. It emerged from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) deregulation that fostered free speech…
Blog
Is regulation killing American innovation?
The federal government micromanages American businesses and citizens through excessive and costly regulations. These rules stifle innovation, limit competitiveness, and hinder job creation, while…
Comment
CEI comments on the Justice Department and National Economic Council’s Request for Information Regarding State Laws with Extraterritorial Economic Impacts OLP182; Docket No. DOJ-OLP-2025-0169
News Release
Trump’s views on Tylenol shouldn’t supersede doctor advice
President Trump railed against Tylenol (acetaminophen) in a press conference this week, imploring, in particular, pregnant women and babies to not take (or be…
The Hill
The Movement: Erika Kirk, Trump showcase clashing messages about conservativism’s soul
The Hill cited CEI’s annual Julian L Simon Dinner The regulatory-reform-focused Competitive Enterprise Institute’s president, Kent Lassman, made a pointed joke about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at its…
Blog
A provisional look at the Trump 2.0 deregulation record
Early in his first term, Donald Trump ordered agencies to eliminate at least two rules for every “significant” one added – rules generally carrying…
Comment
CEI Comments on EPA Proposed Rule “Reconsideration of 2009 Endangerment Finding and Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Standards”
Dear Mr. Stout: On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we appreciate this opportunity to provide comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s…
News Release
Affordable transportation should be celebrated over “World Car-Free Day”
September 22 is associated with “World Car-Free Day”, an occasion aimed at prodding people to find alternative ways to travel around that day. CEI…
SCOTUSblog
“Supreme Court Allows Trump to Fire FTC Commissioner”
Amy Howe with SCOTUSblog provides the latest on the firing of Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter.
Citation
Playbook PM: The shutdown countdown begins
Politico cited CEI’s annual Julian L Simon Dinner. The Competitive Enterprise Institute hosted its annual Julian L. Simon Memorial Award Dinner at the…
Blog
The week in regulations: Sausage colors and patriotic education
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates. Attorney General Pam Bondi threatened to prosecute hate speech. ABC pulled late night host Jimmy Kimmel off the…
Fox Business
Social media giants scramble to control Charlie Kirk assassination videos after Utah shooting
The Daily Economy
Why the Old Left–Right Divide No Longer Works
A century ago, Michael Oakeshott, Britain’s great skeptic of politics, a grand project, diagnosed a sickness that now afflicts every Western democracy: the confusion…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Empowering patients with Vance Ginn
In this week’s episode we cover potential changes to quarterly reporting for public companies, state-level AI regulations, spiking gas prices…
Wall Street Journal
“FTC Sues Ticketmaster Alleging Illegal Ticket Resale Tactics”
The Wall Street Journal reports on the FTC’s suit against Ticketmaster.
Blog
California’s climate disclosure laws will devastate interstate commerce
This week, on behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I submitted a public comment to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) notice for…
News Release
Fed independence is the real story in Wednesday’s interest rate decision: CEI analysis
Today, the Federal Reserve announced it is cutting interest rates by 25 basis points, the first cut in nine months. CEI senior economist…
Blog
Progressive states plan end run around federal labor law
The five-member National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the main federal labor law enforcement agency, is currently down to just one member and therefore…
Blog
GOOD Act markup: The first step in illuminating regulatory dark matter
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) is soon expected to mark up the Guidance Out of Darkness (GOOD) Act, an important…
The Washington Post
The wine industry doesn’t work the way Washington thinks it does
Owning a vineyard in Napa Valley sounds fancy, but the wine business is, in reality, pretty gritty: It is a low-margin agricultural and food-processing…
Comment
CEI is in Support of the GOOD Act: Bringing Federal Guidance Out of the Shadows
Dear Members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, We write to you today ahead of markup of the Guidance…
Blog
Some minimum requirements for a proper WOTUS rule
In the coming weeks, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Army Corps of Engineers are expected to release a proposed rule defining…
Blog
House subcommittee to discuss important Clean Air Act bills
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Environment will be holding a hearing today entitled “From Gridlock to Growth: Permitting Reform Under…
News Release
Trump’s call to end corporate quarterly reporting mandates would boost competitiveness, end onerous regulation
President Trump today used a social media post to call on the SEC to end quarterly reporting mandates for publicly traded companies and instead…
Comment
CEI’S Request for Federal Intervention on State Climate Disclosure Laws That Adversely Affect Interstate Commerce and Violate Constitutional Limits
Request for Information on State Laws Having Significant Adverse Effects on the National Economy or Significant Adverse Effects on Interstate Commerce Dear Mr. Schilling,…
Blog
The week in regulations: Date taxes and manifest mailing
Political commentator Charlie Kirk was killed while speaking at an event. While the Producer Price Index went down in August, the Consumer Price Index…
National Law Review
“Rule Abandoned, Crackdown Continues: The Federal Trade Commission’s New Non-compete Strategy”
Attorneys with Squire Patton Boggs LLP discuss the FTC’s new strategy on employee non-compete agreements.
News Release
Inflation increased 0.4 percent in August, all eyes on the Fed’s next move: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index report for August showed a 0.4 percent increase in inflation across all sectors. With Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs being…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Tariffs and economic freedom with Matt Mitchell
In this week’s episode we cover the latest jobs numbers, the emergent community of abundance fans, the limits to taxing…
Letters
CEI partners with AFP & Urges Congress to Modernize Labor Laws with Pro-Worker Employee Rights Act
Dear Member of Congress: On behalf of the following organizations, we ask for your full support and co-sponsorship of H.R. 4154, the Employee…
Blog
Trump’s Intel stake and the Peronist precedent of Obama’s auto bailouts
President Trump’s decision to take a 10-percent ownership stake in chipmaker Intel has been described by many commentators as “socialism.” Others…
Blog
Putting an end to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
The immortality of federal programs no longer seems to be a certainty. A particularly welcome instance of a federal program drawing to a close…
Testimony
CEI’s Ben Lieberman testifies on Reforming Appliance Efficiency Standards: Restoring Consumer Choice and Ending Regulatory Overreach
I. Summary The Department of Energy’s appliance efficiency standards program is decades old, and most major home appliances have been subjected to multiple rounds of…
News Release
New downward revision for jobs numbers not surprising: CEI analysis
Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that there were 911,000 fewer jobs between March 2024 and March 2025 than previously reported. While…
Letters
CEI Joins CFIF in Coalition Letter Urging FCC to Preserve Free Market in Broadcast Negotiations
Dear Chairman Carr: We, the undersigned conservative, free-market and pro-innovation organizations, write in support of your efforts to reduce government regulation and involvement…
Letters
CEI joins coalition with TPA in Opposition to Increasing FDIC Deposit Insurance Limits
Dear Chairs Scott and Hill, and Ranking Members Warren and Waters, We, the undersigned organizations, representing millions of taxpayers and consumers nationwide, write…
News Release
Report urges ending the unauthorized Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today released a report supporting the dismantling of a legally dubious office within the U.S. Department of Labor: the Office…
Study
‘Contradictory to Our Country’s Laws’
Introduction In the first days of the second Trump administration, elusive aspirations of confining agencies of the federal government to their legitimate functions suddenly…
Comment
CEI’s comment on FLRA’s Proposed AFCA Regulations: Constitutional Concerns and the Right to a Jury Trial
Dear Mr. Tso: The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) has proposed procedural regulations for the Administrative False Claims Act (AFCA). Implementation of the…
Blog
Trump’s Unified Agenda of deconstruction: Writing rules to erase rules
“It is the policy of my Administration to focus the executive branch’s limited enforcement resources on regulations squarely authorized…
Blog
The week in regulations: Coachella air quality and yogurt vitamins
The Federal Register, which tracks daily regulatory activity, has become less transparent. Jobs numbers for August were disappointing and actually shrank in June…
Forbes
Diary Of Deconstruction: Trump Releases Unified Agenda Of Federal Regulations
As the leaves begin to fall, the Trump administration has at last released Spring 2025 edition of the semiannual “Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory…
Politico
How AI could fuel a boom in carbon capture
Politico cited CEI’s expert on temporary regulations “Many of the ‘rules’ that have been issued under Trump aren’t new mandates at all, but…