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. We make the positive case for free trade. It updates and reframes Kent’s contribution to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 book, which appeared opposite Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro’s essay advocating for protectionist trade policies.

Navarro’s policies so far have raised consumer prices, shrunk GDP, crashed financial markets, damaged America’s foreign policy interests, and caused supply chain problems.

Where the original version was aimed at the executive branch, this new version is aimed at Congress. President Trump is not going to change his mind on tariffs. Last week’s announcement of a 50 percent tariff on EU goods and a 25 percent tariff on iPhones shows that even after trade agreements begin to flow, Trump will still keep implementing new tariffs.

Reform must come from Congress and the courts. We provide a roadmap, as well as intellectual ammunition.

Our two main themes are tariff relief and the separation of powers:

This paper seeks to counter the pessimism that dominates both parties, while providing a positive reform program rooted in American institutions such as the separation of powers and the principles of free trade. A decade of president-driven tariff hikes has failed and is about to again. Yet the president only has this power on Congress’ sufferance. It is time for Congress to reclaim its proper authority. Removing trade barriers can spark economic growth, improve living standards, provide good jobs, increase revenue, and advance America’s foreign policy interests. As with so much else in life, the only obstacle is politics.

Read the whole thing here.