Blog
Phase One Trade Agreement with China: Tariff Stability, at the Cost of Managed Trade
Phase One of a trade deal with China has enormous value as damage control against further tariffs, but it comes at a cost. The Trump…
News Release
Trump’s China Trade Deal Helps with Future Tariffs but Comes at a Big Cost
President Trump today signed an initial trade deal with China, defusing a spate of recent trade disputes with one of the world’s largest economies. CEI…
Blog
New Mexico Taxpayers Foot the Bill for Union Business
Study
CEI Achievement Report 2019
Comment
Testimony of Ben Lieberman Before House Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change
Chairman Tonko, Ranking Member Shimkus, and Members of this subcommittee, thank you for this invitation to speak today at this hearing on H.R. 5544, the…
Blog
Despite Naysayers, Consumer Finance Panelists are Uniquely Qualified to Tackle Barriers to Financial Inclusion
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection announced the membership of the newly created Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law, which will work to “harmonize and…
Blog
Minimum Wages Rise Across the Country
Twenty four states rang in 2020 with minimum wage increases. Most of the increases are modest, so the tradeoffs will be, too. But there was…
Products
CEI Letter to OMB: Petition for Rulemaking on Enforcement of the Information Quality Act
We are writing to you about the problem of the non-compliance by two agencies with OMB’s memorandum of April 24, 2019 on its Information Quality…
Comment
Comments on Proposed Rule Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”), we are pleased to provide the following comments on the Department of Commerce’s proposed regulation concerning the…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
The new year started off with a literal bang, though as of this writing the worst Iran scenario seems to have been avoided. The Senate…
Blog
EIA Projects Renewables Will be “Most Used” Energy Source in 2050—but …
“With the rapid growth of electricity generation, renewables—including solar, wind, and hydroelectric power—are the fastest-growing energy source between 2018 and 2050, surpassing petroleum and other…
Blog
Trump Administration Rewrites the Rules for the National Environmental Policy Act
President Trump on January 9 rolled out new rules to implement the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 (NEPA). NEPA was enacted in 1970, and…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter on FCC C-Band Proceeding
Dear Chairman Pai, and Commissioners O’Rielly, Rosenworcel, Carr, and Starks: We support the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) moving quickly to enable secondary market transactions in…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter on the L-Band
Dear Chairman Pai: We, the undersigned organizations, urge you to take decisive action to make additional mid-band spectrum available without delay. Such expansion will allow…
Blog
Brexit Update: Nigel Ashford and Iain Murray Offer Analysis
With the vote yesterday in the House of Commons to approve Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan for separating the United Kingdom from the European Union,…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter on Surprise Billing
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McConnell, Leader McCarthy, Leader Schumer, and Whip Scalise, The undersigned groups representing millions of taxpayers and consumers around the country urge…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Urging Finance Ministers to Oppose Global Digital Taxation
On behalf of billions of taxpayers and consumers around the globe, we, the undersigned, urge you to oppose international efforts to weaponize global conversations about…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter on Proposed Rule on Securing the ICTS Supply Chain
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, representing a diverse coalition of taxpayer and consumer advocacy groups, we write urging you to withdraw or significantly amend…
News Release
CEI Board Member Todd Zywicki to Head CFPB Task Force on Consumer Financial Law
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today announced that Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) board member and George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law Todd Zywicki…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter on Fixed Drug Pricing
Dear Republican Members of the House and Senate, We represent fiscal conservatives and free market activists from across the country, and we are concerned about…
News Release
NEPA Reforms a Big Step toward Correcting Worst Abuses of Environmental Permitting Process
The White House Council on Environmental Quality today released a proposed rule reforming the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Inside Sources
Federal Children’s Environmental Health Grants Used to Peddle Junk Science
For more than two decades, the federal government has doled out millions of dollars to fund university-based “children’s environmental health centers.” These centers operate under…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Opposing PRO Act
Dear Member of Congress, We are writing in opposition to the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Bobby Scott…
Letters
CEI Joins TPA Coalition Letter on Section 232
Dear Senator, On behalf of millions of taxpayers and consumers across the country, we, the undersigned, write to urge members of the Senate Finance Committee…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Opposing Extension of Electric Vehicle Tax Credits
Dear Majority Leader McConnell, We, the undersigned organizations, write to object to any deal that extends, expands, or enlarges the electric vehicle tax credit…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter on SEC Decision RE Consolidated Audit Trail Database
Dear Chairman Clayton, We, the undersigned organizations, write today to express our grave concerns with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision to require broker-dealers…
The Washington Examiner
Australian Wildfires Were Caused by Humans, Not Climate Change
Alarmists have been quick to blame climate change for the recent, horrific fires in Australia and California. Although human actions do bear a large share…
Forbes
Deepfakes and Beyond: Who Wins if Social Media Platforms are Regulated?
Wouldn’t it be great if everyone except you and people you agree with would just STFU? Attributed indirectly to Voltaire, the sentiment “I disapprove of…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Happy New Year, everyone. We’re doing a slightly different format this week, on account of the new year starting mid-week. With just two days’ worth…
Forbes
Trump White House Quietly Releases Overdue Regulatory Cost-Benefit Reports
The long-standing presumption that national top-down regulation of the economy from Washington brings substantial net benefits dominates public policy. But how much timely review…
The Hill
Why are Labor Union Reforms Only Necessary for Mexican Workers?
The primary purpose of free trade agreements is to break down barriers to the free flow of goods across borders so consumers have access to…
Reason
House-Passed Budget Deal Raises Age to Buy Cigarettes to 21
Reason cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on e-cigarettes. As Michelle Minton, a policy analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, pointed out in a…
The Daily Caller
BARR: The Fed Overreaches With Real-Time Payment Systems
The Daily Caller cites CEI on the 1980 Monetary Control Act. As the Competitive Enterprise Institute has pointed out, the 1980 Monetary Control…
Watts Up With That
Global Economic Conflict: A Nobel-Winning Alternative to the Paris Climate Agreement?
Every December brings the holiday season back into our lives, along with the lights, the decorations, and time with family and friends. December is also…
Fox News
Pelosi, Progressive Caucus Clash over Drug Pricing Legislation
Fox News cites Research Fellow Patrick Hedger on Nancy Pelosi’s proposed “Lower Drug Costs Now Act.” But according to the right-leaning Competitive Enterprise…
Inside Sources
Solar Gets Partial Reprieve from Tariffs on Imports
Inside Sources cites Senior Fellow Ryan Young on solar panels and tariffs: “China protects its solar makers,” said Ryan Young, a senior fellow…
Politico
Morning Transportation
Politico cites CEI’s coalition letter to Congress on the STB revenue adequacy hearing: A coalition of free market groups, led by the Competitive…
Townhall
The Black Market Is the Real Problem with Vaping
Townhall cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on e-cigarettes and the black market. But, as Michelle Minton of the Competitive Enterprise Institute stated after…
USA Today
Has Trump Fulfilled His Pledge to Turbocharge Job Growth, Revive Manufacturing? Many Say No
USA Today cites CEI on regulatory reform and the Trump administration: The Trump administration has scrapped dozens of environmental, labor, financial and other…
The Washington Examiner
Trump Faces Decision on Whether to Escalate Trade Wars Heading into 2020
The Washington Examiner cites Senior Fellow Ryan Young on tariffs: Ryan Young, a trade policy expert at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute, expects…
The Washington Times
Trump to ‘Restore’ Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum from Argentina and Brazil
The Washington Times cites Senior Fellow Ryan Young on tariffs. A trade specialist for the Competitive Enterprise Institute said new tariffs won’t help…
Inside Sources
Volkswagen — Smoke, Mirrors and Electric Cars
Volkswagen would like the world to know it plans to produce a million electric cars by 2022, likely leapfrogging (or maybe eliminating) competition like Tesla. The…
The Heartland Institute
Trump Administration Makes Paris Climate Agreement Pull-Out Official
The Heartland Institute cites Senior Fellow Patrick Michaels on the Paris Climate Agreement. The Paris Climate Agreement has loopholes that ensure it would…
The Daily Caller
More Than 50 Coal Companies Have Been Wiped Out Since Trump’s 2016 Victory
The Daily Caller cites Director for the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on the MATS rule: Some energy advocates say the…
Foreign Policy
Bid to Revive Export-Import Bank Runs Aground
Foreign Policy cites Senior Fellow Ryan Young on the Ex-Im bank: “It’s the ‘they do it, too’ fallacy,” said Ryan Young of the…
C-Span
VIDEO: Patrick Hedger Discusses Efforts to Regulate “Big Tech”
Research Fellow Patrick Hedger joins C-Span to discuss efforts to regulate “big tech” companies.
The Hill
Trump Admin Moves Ahead with Plans to Weaken Efficiency Standards for Quick Dishwashers
The Hill cites General Counsel Sam Kazman on CEI’s dishwasher petition. “The current dishwasher rules are a royal pain for huge numbers of…
NewsMax
Report: Energy Dept. Seeks to Permit Faster Dishwashers
Newsmax cites CEI’s dishwasher petition. The proposal follows a petition by Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a libertarian think tank, per the report.
Breitbart
Latest CEI Ad Shows How Green New Deal Effects Thanksgiving
Breitbart cites President Kent Lassman on the Green New Deal and CEI’s latest ad. A new advertisement from the Competitive Enterprise Institute displays how…
The Washington Times
‘Green New Deal Thanksgiving’ Ad Aims to Ruffle Democratic Feathers
The Washington Times cites CEI President Kent Lassman on the Green New Deal. “Since Washington politicians are asking the American people to support…
Daily Caller
Inside The Media Conspiracy To Hype Greta Thunberg
The Daily Caller cites Director of the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on media reporting and climate change. “Large parts of…
Blog
Proposed iHeart Media Acquisition Threatened by Antitrust Regulation
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Liberty Media Corp, which already owns Sirius XM satellite radio, including its Pandora streaming service, and 33% of…
News Release
Trump’s E-Cigarette Flavor Ban Will Jeopardize Public Health
Today the Trump FDA announced a ban on flavored vape products, except for menthol or tobacco flavors. Manufacturers will have 30 days to cease making…
The Washington Examiner
Unconstitutionality Index: Swamp Imposed 20 Regulations for Every Law over Decade
The Washington Examiner cites Vice President for Policy Clyde Wayne Crews on the “Unconstitutionality Index.” In detailing his “Unconstitutionality Index,” Clyde…
Forbes
Trump’ Year In Regulation, 2019
Today, Tuesday, December 31, 2019, is the last federal workday of the year. This presents an opportunity to review the heft of the Federal Register and its…
Blog
Mitt Romney Made Millions off Cigarettes, Now He Wants to Kill its Competition
Though they (probably) aren’t car surfing or eating Tide pods, lawmakers and government bureaucrats are as susceptible to passing fads as bored teenagers. For government…
Forbes
The 2020 Unconstitutionality Index: 28 Federal Rules And Regulations For Every Law Congress Passes
Even in a presidential administration bent on cutting regulation (see my 2019 overview), the number of rules from hundreds of federal agencies …
Blog
Best Books of 2019: Year of Vindication for Mother of George Washington
August 25 of this past year was the 230th anniversary of the death of Mary Ball Washington, the mother of the first president of the…
Blog
How Much Federal Regulation Was There in 2019?
Happy New Year, everyone. Now that 2019 is in the books, we have some data on how much new regulation hit the books. Note that…
Blog
Best Books of 2019: In Defense of Openness
Most policy proposals for fighting poverty are zero-sum. The best way to help the poor, the argument goes, is to take from the rich. Van…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Federal workers got a three-day week as a Christmas present this year. Agencies still put out 323 notices, 50 proposed regulations, and 1,342 Federal Register…
Blog
Best Books of 2019: Alienated America by Tim Carney
Tim Carney’s new book on social alienation and U.S. politics, Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse, raises the bar for Trump-era political…
Blog
California’s New Privacy Law Will Harm Consumers and Innovation
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) goes into effect January 1, 2020. The law requires companies of a certain size that collect information on customers…
Blog
Best Books of 2019: Big Business by Tyler Cowen
Cowen argues that most people underestimate the amount of good that big businesses do. They make possible affordable communications, books, culture and art (and the…
Blog
Year in Review 2019: Climate Policy
The Trump administration this year continued to dismantle key components of President Obama’s climate policy “legacy.”…
Blog
Best Books of 2019: Humanomics by Vernon Smith and Bart Wilson
Smith and Wilson combine insights from their experimental economics research with insights about human character from Adam Smith’s "Wealth of Nations" and especially his 1759 book "The Theory…
Blog
Best Books of 2019: Expert Failure by Roger Koppl
Koppl uses the role of experts to explain the difference between approaching social problems from the top down versus from the bottom up. Koppl defines an…
Blog
Best Books of 2019: Legal Systems Very Different from Ours
Many years ago at a Mont Pelerin Society conference in Reykjavik, I saw David Friedman give a talk on Icelandic law during the Free State…
Blog
Weighing Bad Capitalism and Good Socialism
Recently economics professor Walter Block of Loyola University New Orleans wrote a great op-ed for The Wall Street Journal titled “Bad Capitalism and Good Socialism.”…
Blog
Year in Review 2019: Supreme Court
The nature of the term ending in June 2019 was set at the end of 2018 when the cases were selected. When the term opened…
Blog
Best Books of 2019: The Enlightened Capitalists by James O’Toole
James O’Toole, a professor emeritus at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, has assembled an impressive collective history of dozens of innovative—and…
Blog
Year in Review 2019: Transportation
The Competitive Enterprise Institute had a busy year in the transportation policy trenches. We worked at the federal, state, and local levels on a variety…
Blog
2019: A Great Year for Light Bulb Freedom
Whatever else one may say about 2019, it was a banner year for consumer choice when it comes to light bulbs, culminating in the December…
The Washington Examiner
Beware ‘Eco-Friendly’ Christmas Gifts that Are No Such Thing
If you are looking to find some eco-friendly holiday gifts and decorations this year, be careful what advice you follow. Intentional or not, many suggestions…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Congress finished the year with a bang. In a two day span the House impeached the president and passed the USMCA trade agreement. Both chambers…
News Release
CEI’s Consistent Opposition to Government Regulation Protects Consumers
Last night, television entertainer Tucker Carlson aired a segment attacking CEI and other free-market groups for opposition to using government power to intervene in markets…
Blog
Year in Review 2019: Labor and Employment
The Competitive Enterprise Institute had a busy year in the labor and employment space. Much of the work focused on expanding worker freedom, ending wasteful…
Blog
Best Books of 2019: The Anarchy by William Dalrymple
How did a joint stock company founded in Elizabethan England come to replace the glorious Mughal Empire of India, ruling that great land for a…
Blog
UN Climate Conference in Madrid Fails to Set Rules for Carbon Trading Market
The twenty-fifth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-25) was supposed to wrap up one issue remaining from last…
Blog
Free-Market Coalition Opposes Transportation and Climate Initiative
Eleven Northeast states plus the District of Columbia on December 17th released a draft memorandum of understanding this week on how to implement their Transportation and…
Blog
Dutch Supreme Court Upholds Climate Lawsuit against Government
The Dutch Supreme Court on December 20th rejected an appeal by the Dutch government to overturn an appellate court’s October 2018 decision to uphold a lower…
Blog
White House Blocks Most Green Energy Tax Credits in Final Spending Bill
The spending packages to fund the federal government through the end of the 2020 fiscal year ending on October 1st, which were passed by the…
Blog
Blame Anti-Tobacco Advocates for Youth Vaping “Epidemic”
Like most teenage crazes, youth interest in e-cigarettes once seemed a passing fad. In the early years youth vaping skyrocketed, but by 2016 began to…
The Wall Street Journal
Another California Job Buster
The Wall Street Journal cites CEI’s study on A.B. 5 by Research Fellow Ryan Radia: Bloggers will be able to apply for full-time…
Blog
Best Books of 2019: The Narrow Corridor
Predatory governments with high corruption, that don’t respect political and economic freedoms, are extractive. Countries with these sorts of institutions tend to be both poor…
The Epoch Times
US Formally Announces Withdrawal From Paris Climate Deal, Pompeo Says
The Epoch Times cites Director of the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on the Paris climate deal: Myron Ebell, director at the…
The Heartland Institute
Report: Project Labor Agreements Have Cost New Jersey Taxpayers Half a Billion Dollars Since 2002
The Heartland Institute cites Policy Analyst Trey Kovacs on PLAs: PLAs put unionized workers in a privileged position, says Trey Kovacs, a policy…
Blog
Best Books of 2019: A Republic, If You Can Keep It
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch explains in vivid detail the purpose of the separation of powers in his 2019 book "A Republic, If You Can…
Blog
Sugarplums or Lumps of Coal? White House’s 192 Big Rules in Pipeline Herald More Regulation than Deregulation
No matter the presidential administration, every year there are thousands of federal rules and regulations compared to a relative handful of laws passed by Congress.
Blog
Flex-Fuel Vehicles and Ethanol No Panacea for Energy Independence
Back in September, I posted a rebuttal to pollster Frank Luntz, who advised President Trump on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News program to promote E85—motor fuel…
Blog
Department of Justice Wrong to Block Sabre Acquisition of Farelogix
On January 27th, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) will attempt to block travel technology company Sabre Corporation from purchasing communications protocol innovator Farelogix, Inc. This will be the…
Citation
CEI Urges Congress to Hold Line on Energy Tax Breaks for Special Interests
Congressional negotiators recently announced a resolution to questions about the “tax extenders” package under consideration for inclusion in the end of year spending deal. According…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter on Mid-Band Spectrum
Dear Chairman Pai: We, the undersigned organizations, urge you to take decisive action to make additional mid-band spectrum available without delay. Such expansion will allow…
Blog
USMCA Won’t Protect Tech from Trudeau
A point of contention in the debate over the new U.S., Mexico, Canada (USMCA) trade agreement has been whether or not the final deal will…
Blog
What Regulations Did Trump Administration Add in 2019?
The Trump administration recently issued “Regulatory Reform Results for Fiscal Year 2019.” This is its fiscal year 2019 status update on the one-in, two-out directive initiated in Executive…
News Release
Report: California A.B. 5 Labor Law Will Mean Huge Costs for Rideshare Companies, Drivers, Consumers
A Competitive Enterprise Institute report crunches numbers on California’s new law imposing massive costs and impediments for rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft, along with…
Study
California Ride Share Contracting Legislation Is a Solution in Search of a Problem
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5 (A.B. 5) into law on September 18, 2019.[1] The legislation, which generally takes effect…
Blog
This Week in Ridiculous Regulations
Britain held a major election, and the U.S. House of Representatives is set to impeach President Trump. At the same time, Trump is poised for…
Blog
National Labor Relations Board Attack on McDonald’s Finally Over
A major holdover case from the Obama-era National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which acted as the litigation arm of organized labor, is finally resolved. On…
Blog
Congress Racing To Extend and Expand Electric Vehicle, Wind, and Solar Tax Credits
It would be comforting to think that the House’s impeachment proceedings have so poisoned relations between Democrats and Republicans that the Congress won’t be able…