Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The midterm elections finally happened. The good news is no more political ads for a while; the bad news is that a bunch of politicians…
Blog
What Do the Midterms Mean for Trade?
Trade was a highly contentious issue during President Trump’s first two years. He has doubled tariffs, other countries have enacted equivalent retaliatory tariffs, and tensions…
Blog
What Do the Midterms Mean for Regulatory Reform?
A divided Congress probably means the status quo will reign on regulation. This is a mixed bag from a free-market perspective. President Trump made…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Regulators were relatively quiet during the week before the midterm election, though CEI wasn’t, with our colleague Ted Frank arguing a case before the Supreme…
News Release
October Brought 250,000 New Jobs, Despite Bad Trade Restrictions
The American economy added 250,000 jobs in October, the U.S. Labor Department announced today. The unemployment rate was meanwhile unchanged from last month, at 3.7…
ABC News
The Trump Economy: Why New-Car Prices Are Approaching Record Highs
ABC News cited CEI’s Fellow Ryan Young on average price increase of vehicles. $250: The average price increase of a new car due to…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Lots of contentious issues are in the news, from the midterm election to immigration to a disturbing rash of bombs sent to politicians and media…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The fall 2018 edition of the semi-annual Unified Agenda was released on Wednesday. It lists upcoming regulations from every rulemaking agency. This marks the…
ABC News
Inside America: How Steelworkers View The Midterm Elections
ABC News cited CEI’s Fellow Ryan Young on the steel industry job market. Despite the deal with Canada and Mexico, the trade war…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
In a Columbus Day-shortened work week, agencies issued more than 50 new regulations from deregulated TVs in TV commercials to POSTNET.
The Heartland Institute
Research & Commentary: Two New Regulatory Reform Ideas For West Virginia
The Heartland Instituted cited CEI’s “Ten Thousand Commandments” annual survey and Fellow Ryan Young’s “REINing in Regulatory Overreach” article. “Ten Thousand Commandments” is the Competitive Enterprise…
The Heartland Institute
Trump Announces Trade Deal With Mexico
The Heartland Institute cited CEI’s Fellow Ryan Young on new NAFTA agreement. Ryan Young, an adjunct fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, says…
Morning Consult
Trump’s Trade War Isn’t Working Because Tariffs Hurt Americans
The Trump administration recently announced a trade agreement that will replace the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The new…
Blog
Tariffs Won’t Achieve America’s Goals
Over at Morning Consult, Iain Murray and I have an op-ed explaining why tariffs are ill-suited to achieving the Trump administration’s economic and foreign…
News Release
Trump Trade Tariffs Mean Layoffs and Lower Auto Sales for Ford
Ford Motor Company just announced layoffs in the midst of a reported $1 billion in tariff-related losses. Auto sales are down due to trade tariffs…
Blog
William Nordhaus, Paul Romer Win 2018 Economics Nobel Prize
Both of this year’s economics Nobel laureates have been on the short list for some time. Both are deserving, as David Henderson writes in…
Blogarama
6 Quick Takes On The New NAFTA (USMCA)
Blogarama cited CEI’s Fellow Ryan Young on new NAFTA deal. Ryan Young of the Competitive Enterprise Institute piles on: Given the Trump…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
In the news last week, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) got a new name (USMCA) that nobody will use, and President Trump…
Townhall Finance
How Much Has Trump Changed NAFTA?
Townhall Finace cited CEI’s Fellow Ryan Young on new NAFTA deal. Ryan Young of the Competitive Enterprise Institute piles on. Given…
Blog
New NAFTA Could Have Been Much Worse
The new USMC (United States-Mexico-Canada) trade agreement isn’t very different from the old NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), and that’s a good thing. Given…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
It was a busy week in the political world, from the bitter Supreme Court controversy to President Trump’s UN speech, to tariffs on $260…
Blog
Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Trade?
A common argument for free trade is that fewer trade barriers mean more trade. That argument is mostly true—there are a lot of deals people…
Blog
A New Front in the Trade War: Overseas Private Investment
Tariffs get most of the press in today’s trade debate, and for good reason. Tariff rates under Trump have roughly doubled in less than two…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Hurricane Florence, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s sexual assault allegation, and a ten percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods dominated the news. Meanwhile,…
Blog
Tariffs and Opportunity Costs
Today’s unsubtle trade debate largely ignores a subtle, but vitally important concept: opportunity costs. Direct harms from tariffs are easy enough to point out. Steel…
Blog
Trade Goings-On: U.S.-UK Draft Agreement, New Book, and Peter Navarro’s Conversion
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is not the only group making a principled case for free trade. The UK-based Initiative for Free Trade, headed…
Blog
Common Myths and Facts about Trade
There are a lot of confusions on both sides of the trade debate. A short CEI WebMemo, published today, seeks to clear up three…
Study
Common Myths and Facts about Trade
International trade, usually a low-key issue, has sparked a heated debate under the current administration. As with any hot issue, several common misperceptions afflict the…
Blog
New China Tariffs Coming Soon
Less than a week after signing a bill to reduce some tariffs, the administration is moving to raise others. As soon as today, the…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
It was a slow week for substantive news, aside from President Trump’s surprise signing of the Miscellaneous Tariff Act, which reduces tariffs on about 1,700…
Blog
President Trump Signs Miscellaneous Tariff Act
In a surprise move, President Trump signed the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act into law on Thursday. The bill will reduce tariffs on roughly 1,700 goods…
Blog
Free Trade Challenges: Tariffs, Concentrated Benefits, and Diffused Costs
Tariffs hurt more people than they help. So why do those outnumbered few keep winning so many political victories at the majority’s expense? The answer…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
After a short Labor Day breather, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s hearings and White House intrigue made for a lively four-day week. Meanwhile, agencies issued…
Blog
August Brought 201,000 New Jobs, but Future Gains Threatened by Trade Restrictions
The U.S. economy added 201,000 jobs in August, the U.S. Labor Department announced today. Good news, but impending trade restrictions could put a damper…
Blog
Tariffs Invite Corruption
The Commerce Department is offering exemptions to President Trump’s recent steel and aluminum tariffs. More than 2,000 companies have applied. That means that there…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
August ended with a bang, leaving the 2018 Federal Register on the brink of the 45,000-page mark going into the Labor Day holiday. Agencies passed…
Blog
Trade Is as Old as Humanity
Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of long-distance trade going as far back as 200,000 years ago. The artifacts are mainly things such as obsidian tools…
Blog
Trade Restrictions Will Not Improve National Security
One of the most persuasive arguments trade protectionists use is the national security argument. It serves as a “get out of jail free” card with…
News Release
Trump Trade Announcement with Mexico Belies Trump Trade Barriers
This morning, the White House announced a new “understanding” with Mexico, related to ongoing talks about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Competitive Enterprise…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Lawyers are having a field day in Washington, and not just in cases involving associates of a certain member of the executive branch. Over at…
Politico
A NAFTA Deal in the Making
Politico cited CEI’s paper, Traders of the Lost Ark by Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray and Fellow Ryan Young. The U.S.
Politico
How Infrastructure Went Wrong
Politico cited CEI’s report, Traders of the Lost Ark by Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray and Fellow Ryan Young. The Competitive…
Blog
Trade Made Renaissance Art Possible
Trade and specialization make all kinds of life-enriching innovations possible. In fact, Italian Renaissance art was one of them, a gift that continues to inspire…
Blog
‘Infant Industry’ Argument Does Not Justify Trade Barriers
Most startups fail. The conventional wisdom is that about 90 percent of businesses fail within five years of their founding. For companies making new types…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
It was a slow news week on the policy front, though quite busy on the drama/soap opera front. The House was in recess, and while…
Blog
Protectionism Keeps People Poor
Why do people trade with each other at all? Because it makes them better off. As Iain Murray’s and my paper “Traders of the…
News Release
Trade Cannot Be Fair Unless it is Free
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today released a report on the urgent need to return to free trade policies at a time when tariffs and tensions…
Study
Traders of the Lost Ark
View Full Document as PDF With contributions by Fred L. Smith Jr., Marc Scribner, Daniel Press, and Ryan Khurana Profiles in Capitalism August…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The number of new final regulations for the year passed the 2,000 mark, with new rules ranging from cell walls to harpoon fishing.
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The big regulatory news is a proposed loosening of fuel economy standards for cars. This will likely improve safety; lighter cars don’t hold up…