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Rare earths and China: Choose deregulation, not price controls
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened to implement price controls on unspecified goods if China continues to restrict rare earth mineral exports. Over at the…
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The week in regulations, shutdown edition: Visa fees and regional haze
President Trump demanded that the Justice Department pay him $230 million. He also cut off all trade negotiations with Canada because of a tv commercial…
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The week in regulations, shutdown edition: Mackerel and helicopters
The continuing shutdown made for another slow week in the Federal Register. The four-day week’s total of five proposed regulations, six proposed regulations, and 131…
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A Nobel for human progress
This year’s economics Nobel Prize went to three students of the two most important questions in economics: Why have living standards in rich countries improved…
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The week in regulations, shutdown edition: Pot gear and hot air fuel
Venezuelan democracy activist Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize. The partial federal shutdown meant there were no proposed regulations and five new regulations…
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The week in regulations: Poultry improvement and painful scars
The federal government shut down on Wednesday. Thursday’s Federal Register had 60 final regulations; normal is about 10. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew in hundreds…
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The week in regulations: Airplane seats and Irish potatoes
President Trump signed an executive order to effectively end the H-1B visa category for high-skilled immigrants. He also raised tariffs on pharmaceuticals, argued without evidence…
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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 take…
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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 air…
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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 climbed…
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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 for…
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The week in regulations: Deepwater ports and ASCII relays
A court ruled President Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs unconstitutional. The case now moves to the Supreme Court. Countries around the world stopped shipping parcels to…
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The week in regulations: Bird hunting and food coloring
The Federal Register’s website became less transparent about rule counts and other data. President Trump threatened to send the military into a third city. The…
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The week in regulations: Import paperwork and postal possession
The 2025 Federal Register topped 40,000 pages. President Trump met with Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The Producer Price index rose at its fastest level since…
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July CPI: Inflation still above target, politicized clouds on the horizon
Today’s CPI report is not apocalyptic, but still concerning. This is in line with expectations. The CPI rose 0.2 percent during July, and 2.7…
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The week in regulations: Blue food coloring and pipeline recordkeeping
The Liberation Day tariffs took effect on August 7. The president continues to announce new tariffs on pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and more. Republicans are proposing gerrymandering…
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The week in regulations: Nuclear coolant and medical food
President Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs are set to take effect on August 7 for countries he did not strike deals with. He is also ending…
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Rail merger does not create monopoly
Union Pacific has proposed buying Norfolk Southern in what would be the largest railroad merger in history. Regulators have not yet approved the merger. The…
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EU tariff agreement could be worse, still not the final word
In January, Americans paid an average tariff of under 5 percent on European products. Similar to his recent Japan agreement, President Trump’s new agreement…
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The week in regulations: Cable TV and paper straws
Ozzy Osbourne, Hulk Hogan, and Chuck Mangione passed away. President Trump issued an Executive Order on artificial intelligence and announced a tariff deal with Japan.
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New bill would repeal the Jones Act
Over at the National Interest, Paige Lambermont and I take a look at the Open America’s Waters Act from Sen. Mike Lee…
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The week in regulations: Subsistence fishing and electric borrowers
Regulators focused on cleaning up mining regulations this week, with more than 20 rules revised or rescinded. Inflation crept upward as tariff-related price increases worked…
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The week in regulations: Deep seabed mining and recreational gulf gag
A massive flood in Texas killed at least 120 people. President Trump announced new 50 percent copper tariffs which will take effect on August 1.
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The week in regulations: Farmer training and approving fireworks
Tuesday’s Federal Register contained 105 proposed regulations and 86 final regulations. Much of it was regulatory cleanup for railroads, pipelines, and mining. The reconciliation bill…
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The week in regulations: Nuclear fees and unintentional otter injuries
The possible war with Iran did not escalate. The reconciliation bill debate continued, as did presidential pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower rates. U.S.
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The week in regulations: FAA ethics and Postal Service justice
Social Security will go bust in 2033. War with Iran is a real possibility. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, as expected. It is…
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The week in regulations: CAFE standards and Christmas tree promotions
Israel launched a military strike against Iran. US Senator Alex Padilla was detained for trying to ask a question at a Department of Homeland Security…
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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. On…
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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 Trump’s…
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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 common.
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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 War.
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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 issued…
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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 Liberation…
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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 tariffs…
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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, this…
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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 separation…
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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 of recession…
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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 new…
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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 the…
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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 country…
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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 2025…
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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 Garden…
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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 ranging…
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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 been…
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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 from…
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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 exemption’s…
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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 issued…
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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 probably…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Helicopter hoists and migrant children
President Trump announced new auto tariffs that will take effect next week, raising the price of average-priced new cars from $3,000 to $10,000. Agencies issued…
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This week in ridiculous regulations: Helicopter hoists and migrant children
President Trump announced new auto tariffs that will take effect next week, raising the price of average-priced new cars from $3,000 to $10,000. Agencies issued…