As a result, CEI experts have encouraged and supported trade-enhancing policies and treaties over the years, including “fast-track” Trade Promotion Authority, specific trade deals, and multilateral efforts such as the Doha round of the World Trade Organization. We have opposed increased tariffs, attempts to increase regulation through trade deal language, and the trend toward bilateral rather than multilateral deals. CEI continues to make the case for free trade in the face of increased bipartisan hostility to the idea.
CEI’s experts also work with like-minded colleagues abroad to oppose harmful initiatives, such as working with British colleagues to stop that country’s competition agency from blocking mergers between American firms based on speculative reasoning.
Featured Posts

News Release
Fed keeps interest rates steady, uncertainty over tariffs still looms: CEI analysis
The Federal Reserve has decided to keep interest rates steady in its goal to lower overall inflation. While there have been fewer shakeups in…

Blog
Matt Ridley’s wisdom on trust and trade
In 1834, Charles Darwin encountered a group of natives in Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of South America. Although both parties were unable…

Blog
Africa (and America) need free trade and deregulation, not generosity
Here is a letter I recently wrote to the Wall Street Journal. Africa (and America) need Free Trade and Deregulation, not…
Search Posts
Blog
Price signals and virtue signals
It’s a divisive election year, but all of us still have some things in common. Since the pandemic began, inflation has devalued the dollar by…
Blog
Americans are open to trade
Politicians win elections by telling voters what they want to hear. Right now, both parties think voters are angry about foreign trade. But when you…
Op-Eds
Tariffs Don’t Protect Jobs
Many Americans, including it seems the presidential and vice presidential nominees of the Republican Party, worry that trade costs jobs. This helps to explain why…
Comment
Request for Comment on Proposed Modifications and Exclusion Process in Section 301 Investigation
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we respectfully submit the following comments in response to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Modifications and…
Blog
USTR inconsistent in their application of new tariffs
I recently made comments on the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) latest Section 301 tariffs, specifically those imposed on facemasks and steel and…
The Hill
Biden clings to Trump’s trade policy, preventing the US from overtaking China
The U.S. has retreated from global trade leadership. China has taken its place as the foremost player in international trade. As…