News Release
Trump’s trade negotiations with China put US at disadvantage
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is immersed in trade talks with China in London this week, hoping for a resolution to conflicts over restrictions…
Blog
The week in regulations: Paper packaging promotion and bridge conditions
President Trump ordered National Guard troops to deploy against American citizens. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from hot air balloons to authorizing ski areas.
News Release
Economy adds 139,000 jobs in May, labor market growth slows: CEI analysis
May added 139,000 jobs to the economy, with the unemployment rate staying unchanged at 4.2 percent. Trump’s policies, namely his mission to shrink…
Blog
The week in regulations: Low-moisture human foods and grass promotion
Lots of transportation-related regulatory cleanup this week. Friday alone had 47 proposed rules, most of them to repeal obsolete regulations. Two courts struck down…
Blog
Life is made of trade
If I hadn’t become an economist, I might have found happiness as an evolutionary biologist. The two ways of thinking have a lot in…
News Release
Trump’s IEEPA tariffs overturned by international court, setting up Congress to reclaim taxing powers: CEI analysis
Last night, the Court of International Trade overturned the tariffs that President Trump implemented under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). CEI senior…
News Release
Report offers trade reform blueprint for Congress
President Trump’s Liberation Day trade tariff policies are failing, just as economists predicted. What can stop the tariff-imposed pain of higher prices, fewer choices,…
Blog
New CEI paper: How to break the trade blockade
Today is release day for a new CEI paper by Kent Lassman, Iain Murray, and me, Trade Under Blockade: Navigating a Global Trade…
Blog
The week in regulations: Postage prices and outdoor burning
Former President Joe Biden announced a cancer diagnosis. The House passed a big spending bill. A political activist murdered a young Jewish couple. Agencies…
Study
Trade Under Blockade
Introduction President Donald Trump threw the world trading system into disarray with his “Liberation Day” announcement on April 2, 2025. The principles behind the…
News Release
Newly announced tariffs on EU and Apple will harm U.S. economy, raise costs for consumers
This morning, President Trump announced a 50 percent tariff on the European Union starting on June 1 and a 25 percent tariff on…
Blog
Tariffs and the anchor heuristic
It feels like President Trump is cutting tariffs. He has agreed to tariff deals with China and the UK, and he paused his biggest…
National Review
The Tariff Roller Coaster Is Playing Tricks on You
It sure feels like President Trump has reduced tariffs. The recent China deal cut tariff rates from 145 percent to 30 percent, and de minimis…
Blog
The week in regulations: Flight safety and organic pet food
Qatar’s government gave Trump a $400 million jumbo jet that he can use after leaving office. The US and China agreed to lower their…
News Release
Consumer sentiment down nearly 30 percent, tariffs and inflation to blame: CEI analysis
Consumer sentiment is down nearly 30 percent according to an April survey conducted by the University of Michigan. CEI senior economist Ryan…
News Release
Producer Price Index fell by 0.5 percent in April, price increases and lower demand likely cause: CEI analysis
The Producer Price Index for April shows the seasonally adjusted final demand fell by 0.5 percent. CEI senior economist Ryan Young says…
Blog
Record tariff revenue is no match for record spending
Tariffs raised a record $16.3 billion of tax revenue in April, according to the Wall Street Journal. Averaged out over a whole year,…
Newsweek
Did Donald Trump Lose China Trade War? 10 Experts Weigh In
Newsweek quoted CEI’s expert on the trade war Ryan Young, Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) Young, a senior economist with the CEI, told Newsweek that the…
News Release
Inflation gentler than expected in April, Trump’s tariff drawbacks helpful in easing costs: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index report for April shows inflation increased 0.2 percent across all sectors, a less severe rise than many economists anticipated.
Reason
Why DOGE Failed
Reason quoted CEI’s expert on DOGE Misunderstanding How the Federal Budget Works “DOGE failed because they got the order of operations wrong,” said Ryan…
Blog
Regulatory reform takes all three branches
Over at The Hill, Wayne Crews and I argue that regulatory reform requires all three branches of government. Not only is a healthy…
Blog
US-China tariff pause is good news, needs context
The Trump administration and the Chinese government announced a 90-day tariff reduction. While this is good news, it deserves context. The risk…
Blog
The week in regulations: Medical devices and tuna
President Trump proposed a 100 percent tariff on foreign movies, and reopening Alcatraz. The US and UK announced a trade deal. The Vatican named a…
News Release
Trump’s US/UK Trade Framework: One Cheer
President Trump today announced a framework for a US-UK trade deal, in a lengthy Oval Office press event. CEI trade policy expert Ryan…
News Release
Interest rates hold steady for now, markets still spooked by tariff troubles: CEI analysis
The Federal Reserve has decided once again to keep interest rates steady, likely in response to President Trump’s flurry of tariff policies. CEI…
Fox Business
US trade deficit hits record high in March
Fox Business cited CEI’s expert on trade deficits “Trump’s trade deficit fixation is a mistake,” said Competitive Enterprise Institute senior economist Ryan Young.
Blog
Farm subsidies, car interest deduction show tariffs’ triple harms
Tariffs are a three-in-one tool for economic self-harm. The first harm comes from the tariffs themselves, which raise producer costs and consumer prices in…
News Release
Trade deficit grew in March, tariff effects just beginning: CEI analysis
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the US trade deficit grew by 14 percent in March ahead of President Trump’s broad tariff…
Blog
Why do so many countries have tariffs?
Over at the Center Square, Iain Murray and I ask an overlooked question: If tariffs are so bad, then why does nearly every…
Center Square Opinion
Why do so many countries have tariffs?
If tariffs are so bad, then why does nearly every country have them? It’s a fair question, and many Trump tariff defenders are asking…
Blog
The week in regulations: Steel tariff inclusions and policies for arresting journalists
The 2025 edition of Wayne Crews’s Ten Thousand Commandments is out now. The economy shrank 0.3 percent in the first quarter of…
News Release
April adds 177,000 jobs to economy, tariff policies yet to majorly shakeup labor market: CEI analysis
The job numbers for April show 177,000 jobs were added to the economy, with the unemployment rate staying steady at 4.2 percent. While job…
CNN
America’s economy may actually be even weaker than it appears
CNN cited CEI’s expert on the financial state of the economy “People are stockpiling now. That’s helping the economy now — and…
Yahoo Finance
Trump decries ‘Biden’s Stock Market’ after capping worst 100-day market performance in decades
Yahoo Finance cited CEI’s expert on the newest GDP report The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free-market-focused think tank in Washington, D.C., was one…
Blog
That didn’t take long: Tariffs shrink economy in just two months
The US is halfway to a self-imposed recession, and tariffs are to blame. A healthy economy started shrinking even before President Trump’s Rose…
Newsweek
US Industrial Output To Be Worst Hit Globally by Trump Tariffs
Newsweek cited CEI’s expert on tariffs Ryan Young, senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, previously told Newsweek: “Tariff-related shipping slowdowns will cause a…
News Release
Economy shrinks following Trump tariffs: CEI analysis
America’s GDP shrank during the first quarter of 2025 following President Trump’s spate of trade tariffs imposed on various countries in his first…
Washington Examiner
Trump 100-day report card: Tariff rollout ‘the biggest unforced error in American economic history’
The Washington Examiner cited CEI’s expert on tariffs In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Ryan Young, a senior economist at the Competitive…
Blog
The week in regulations: Taconite plans and ante-mortem horse inspections
Markets went down when President Trump threatened to fire Fed chair Jerome Powell and went up when he backed off. Agencies issued new regulations…
Blog
Ten Thousand Commandments 2025 is out now
The 2025 edition of CEI’s flagship report, Ten Thousand Commandments, is out today. For more than 30 years, my colleague Wayne Crews has…
News Release
Escalating trade war with China won’t fix the need for reform: CEI analysis
On Monday, China vowed to retaliate against nations that corporate with President Trump’s tariffs against Beijing, putting potential trade deals between the US and…
Blog
The week in regulations: Wildfire appraisals and portable spas
President Trump and El Salvador president Nayib Bukele confirmed that they would continue to imprison people without due process. Agencies issued new regulations ranging…
News Release
Decision in Google antitrust case a major blow for online competitiveness: CEI analysis
On Thursday, a federal court ruled that Google violated antitrust law by maintaining a monopoly over online advertising. CEI experts caution about the precedent…
The National News Desk
Federal Reserve chair sees growing risk of stagflation as Trump pushes rate cuts
The National News Desk quoted CEI’s expert on tariffs. “It’s a realistic fear,” said Ryan Young, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise…
Citation
Happy Hour May No Longer Be So Happy
The American Spectator cited CEI’s expert tariffs Economists aren’t surprised that the alcohol industry is talking about price hikes. “Tariffs are…
Blog
Definitely maybe tariff relief on electronics
Smartphone and laptop buyers got some good news over the weekend with a lower tariff on Chinese-made electronics, at least for now. The…
Blog
The week in regulations: Pool ladders and helicopters
President Trump paused his Liberation Day tariffs after financial markets crashed. Even with the pause, America’s tariffs are still among the world’s highest. Agencies…
Blog
What happened to never-needed regulations
CEI led a never-needed campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea was simple: if a regulation was causing harm in good times, it was…
Cato Institute
The Fate of ‘Never Needed’ Regulations
Parking lots and parking garages have served for decades as venues for clandestine meetings in the movies and often in reality. In the early…
News Release
Inflation decreases in March, tariff turmoil yet to have an effect: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index for March shows a 0.1 percent decrease across all sectors, deviating from previous months. CEI senior economist Ryan…