Blog
Congress gives Trump new tariff powers
The power to tax is one of Congress’ most important responsibilities. But it keeps looking for and finding ways to dodge it. The most…
Blog
The pointless trade war against Canada
Starting a trade war with Canada is one of the strangest decisions of Donald Trump’s presidency. Over at the Daily Wire, I try to…
Blog
The week in regulations: Waters of the United States and ASCII formatting
The country reflected on the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. President Trump promised a $5,000 check to every American adult…
Blog
9/11 and presidential power
America is a complicated country, founded on a simple idea: no kings. Even so, nearly every president since at least John Adams has grown…
Blog
The week in regulations: Honey taxes and airline delays
August’s job numbers were better than expected. President Trump threatened to cut off trade to all nations that export more to America than they…
Blog
The week in regulations: Voting by mail and $100,000 visas
The number of new final regulations in 2026 topped the 2,000 mark. President Trump escalated his trade war against Canada and issued an executive…
Blog
The week in regulations: Roadless areas and squid quotas
The national debt topped $40 trillion. Vice President JD Vance argued for ending the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency. The Treasury Department…
Blog
The week in regulations: Fresh produce guidance and naval weapon storage
Inflation remained above target for a 64th consecutive month. President Trump signed an executive order to revise vaccine recommendations. Agencies issued new regulations ranging…
Blog
The week in regulations: Professional fireworks and farmer training
The 2026 Federal Register topped 50,000 pages and is on track to exceed 85,000 pages for the year. The economy lost 23,000 jobs, yet…
Blog
The week in regulations: Peach diversion programs and nuclear packages
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates the same, and an increase may be on the way. Economic growth remained below average, and inflation remained…
Blog
The forced labor fig leaf
The cardinal rule of President Trump’s trade policy is that he just likes tariffs. Any intellectual justification is just rationalizing his gut feelings.
Blog
The week in regulations: Carbon nanotubes and colored sausage casings
President Trump enacted new tariffs against more than 60 countries. Some of the Canada tariffs invoke a never-used statute from the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff…
Blog
The week in regulations: Razorback suckers and conflict of interest requirements
Congress is considering honoring the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) by passing a counterproductive Russia sanctions and tariffs bill. Inflation numbers for June…
Blog
Sanctioning Russia Act: Tariffs won’t change Putin’s mind
When Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) passed away last week, he left behind a bill called the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026. Congress is…
Blog
The week in regulations: Plywood emissions and squid specifications
President Trump’s war with Iran heated back up. ICE agents killed at least one more person. Senate candidate Graham Platner ended his campaign after…
Blog
The week in regulations: Supersonic flight and circuit board acquisition
America turned 250 years old on July 4. The Unified Agenda, which lists all upcoming regulations, came out in the July 3 holiday weekend…
Blog
CEI and the minimum wage
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) recently proposed a bill to increase the federal minimum wage to $25. Listed below are 18 arguments against raising the…
Blog
The week in regulations: Blacksmith shops and airman certificates
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan passed away. Neither the Reflecting Pool debacle nor its algae have faded away. PCE inflation is over 4…
Blog
Remembering Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan passed away this week. National Review was kind enough to run my remembrance of him: There…
Blog
The week in regulations: Radiology software and foreign atomic energy assistance
No new regulations were issued on Friday in honor of Juneteenth, the most classically liberal holiday there is. President Trump signed an agreement…
Blog
The week in regulations: Cyber sanctions and tinnitus relief devices
Inflation is now more than double the Federal Reserve’s target. The Iran war heated up again. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from vending stands…
Blog
Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations at 250
Last week I participated in a National Association of Scholars event on the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations. The…
Blog
The week in regulations: Bone void filler and halibut action
May’s job numbers were strong for the third month in a row, though job growth since Liberation Day remains under 100,000, for a labor…
Blog
The week in regulations: Onion marketing and refrigerator leaks
PCE inflation, which the Federal Reserve uses for its interest rate decisions, rose to 3.8 percent, nearly double the Fed’s 2.0 percent target. President…
Blog
Solving the tariff problem
Over at National Review, I summarize my recent paper making three arguments against tariffs. These are the knowledge problem, the incentive problem,…
Blog
The week in regulations: Black boxes and weather reports
The 2026 Federal Register topped 30,000 pages. President Trump’s Justice Department is poised to give him a $1.776 billion fund he can use to…
Blog
New CEI paper: Three arguments against tariffs
I have a new paper out today that explores three arguments against tariffs. They are the knowledge problem, the incentive problem, and the…
Blog
The week in regulations: Date taxes and microreactors
It was nearly a 3,000-page week in the Federal Register, roughly double the usual pace. Year-over-year inflation jumped to 3.8 percent, the worst reading…
Blog
The week in regulations: Fluid milk options and battleship safety zones
The Court of International Trade struck down President Trump’s Section 122 tariffs. The labor force shrank by 92,000 people over the last year. Agencies…
Blog
The week in regulations: Marine terminal fires and marijuana rescheduling
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, and outgoing Chairman Jerome Powell will remain on the Fed’s Board of Governors when Kevin Warsh takes…
Blog
The week in regulations: Pipeline safety and NFL Draft security
Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Warsh had his confirmation hearing, and President Trump dropped his criminal investigation into Jerome Powell. The government is poised…
Blog
The week in regulations: Drone settlements and gambling losses
The 2026 Federal Register topped 20,000 pages. President Trump got into a feud with the Pope. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from mail standards…
Blog
The week in regulations: Spinach proteins and seat belt reminders
The Artemis II mission landed safely after orbiting the moon. Inflation took a huge jump in March from the Iran war’s effects on energy…
Blog
Ten Thousand Commandments 2026 is out now
Today is release day for this year’s edition of Wayne Crews’ Ten Thousand Commandments. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of CEI’s…
Blog
The week in regulations: Lead paint and mailing firearms
Gas prices topped $4.00 per gallon. The one-year anniversary of President Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs was solemnly observed. Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Blog
One year of Liberation Day
Today marks one year since President Trump’s Liberation Day press conference in the White House Rose Garden. Trump declared a national emergency because Americans…
Blog
The week in regulations: Resettling refugees and sea otter casualties
TSA lines reached their longest-ever wait times, bolstering the case for privatizing airport security. President Trump’s signature will appear on US currency starting later…
Blog
The week in regulations: Library pictures and aerobatic airplanes
The Iran war entered its fourth week. ICE agents might be reassigned to airport security. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. President Trump…
Blog
Idaho’s successful regulatory reform
Over at National Review, my colleague Hayden Stolzenberg and I examine some of Idaho’s recent regulatory reforms, as outlined in a recent CEI…
Blog
The week in regulations: Music royalties and avocado maturity
The Iran war continued to raise oil prices. The Trump administration took steps to raise tariffs under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act,…
Blog
Good and bad trade news: Jones Act suspension, but more tariffs on the way
Two conflicting bits of trade news came out yesterday. The good news is that the Trump administration is considering temporarily suspending the Jones…
Blog
The week in regulations: Shellfish inclusion and paper manifest sunsets
The labor force shrank by 92,000 jobs in January. Oil prices spiked. Twenty-two state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against President Trump’s Section 122…
Blog
The week in regulations: Fusion machines and suspicious health care
President Trump launched a preemptive war with Iran, leading many to question the true worth of the FIFA Peace Prize. The 2026 Federal Register…
Blog
The week in regulations: Grandfathered driver vision and socializing dogs
The Supreme Court declared President Trump’s IEEPA tariffs unconstitutional. The White House responded by enacting a 15 percent global tariff under a different statute.
Blog
The week in regulations: Beet food coloring and crab housekeeping
Culture warriors got upset over the Super Bowl halftime show. A mini-shutdown over ICE funding delayed some labor market indicators. Agencies issued new regulations…
Blog
The week in regulations: Reimagining education and underground mines
Kevin Warsh is President Trump’s nominee for the next Federal Reserve chairman. The Fed held interest rates steady at its most recent…
Blog
The week in regulations: Homework gaps and cannabimimetic agents
At Davos, President Trump withdrew his threats to invade Greenland and tariff European countries. The Supreme Court appeared skeptical about his attempt to fire…
Blog
The week in regulations: Neck floats and glazed bus portals
President Trump opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He also proposed capping credit card interest rates at 10 percent, effective…
Blog
The week in regulations: Taconite and label shapes
President Trump deposed Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and embarked on a nation-building project. ICE agents killed an American citizen in Minnesota. Agencies issued new…
Blog
Politicians need to think beyond stage one on credit card price controls
President Trump, in a Friday news dump on social media, proposed price controls on credit card interest rates. He wants to cap annual…
Blog
New CEI study: Zero-based regulations
A new CEI study by Alex Adams looks at a regulatory reform approach that succeeded in Idaho: zero-based regulation. The idea is similar…
Blog
The week in regulations: 2025 year-end special
Happy New Year, everyone. The final numbers for 2025’s regulations are in. The first half of this post summarizes those numbers and compares them…
Blog
Best books of 2025: Johan Norberg’s Peak Human
Johan Norberg’s latest book, Peak Human, is a history of golden ages. After starting in Ancient Greece and then Rome, Norberg tours the…
Blog
The week in regulations: Neck floats and stablecoins
Unemployment went slightly up, and inflation went slightly down. President Trump gave a primetime speech, and earlier in the week commented on Rob Reiner…
Blog
Time to end the Christmas tree tax
Fun holiday fact: the federal government has a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. It works a bit like a trade association does in…
Blog
The week in regulations: Fuel casks and water beads
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates. President Trump proposed $12 billion in giveaways to farmers harmed by his tariffs. Agencies issued new regulations ranging…
Blog
The week in regulations: Cable television rates and estate sales
President Trump announced an easing of vehicle fuel economy standards. Netflix struck a deal to buy Warner Bros. and HBO. The Defense Secretary is…
Blog
The week in regulations: From postal possession to foreign atomic energy
It was a four-day week due to Thanksgiving. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from postage pricing to non-endangered woodpeckers. On to the data:…
Blog
The week in regulations: Airport fees and pesticide fragrances
September’s jobs report came out after a shutdown-related delay. The FTC lost its antitrust case against Meta. Agencies issued new regulations ranging from postage…
Blog
Shutdown lesson: Depend less on DC
The record-length shutdown showed how dependent many Americans are on Washington. This is one of the biggest flaws in the ongoing nationalization of politics.
Blog
The week in regulations, the final shutdown edition: Manifest mailing and broken trash incinerators
The federal shutdown is over. Since the Federal Register has a few days’ lag time for publishing agency documents, it will likely take until…
Blog
Swiss trade deal could be a good start towards mutual recognition
Switzerland’s government announced today that it reached an agreement on a trade framework with the United States. America’s Liberation Day tariff rate on…
Blog
The week in regulations, shutdown edition: Medicare payments and arms trafficking.
The Supreme Court held oral hearings for the V.O.S. Spirits tariff case. Former Vice President Dick Cheney passed away. Democrats had a very good…
Blog
The week in regulations, shutdown edition: Student loans and foreigners’ biometric data
President Trump announced a trade deal with China. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates. The continued federal shutdown meant another slow week in the…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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.
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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.
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
Blog
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.
Blog
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…
Blog
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…