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
Blog
Tariffs and inflation: Response to latest CPI release
On February 13th, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent CPI release showed a 0.2 percent month-to-month increase for January and a 2.4 percent…
Blog
Trump’s State of the Union: A closer look at the claims
Last night, President Trump delivered a State of the Union address filled with optimism, applause lines, and bold claims about the country’s direction. There…
News Release
Supreme Court curtails runaway presidential tariff powers: CEI comment
The Supreme Court today ruled today in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize the president to impose…
Search Posts
Op-Eds
The Catch-22 of Immigration Reform
The SAVE Act and the New Employment Verification Act pose threats to American workers and to nationsl security.
Op-Eds
No right to impose carbon tariffs
A new argument has emerged among policymakers, economists and trade activists seeking regulatory or direct taxes on Canadians in the name of "global warming." The…
Blog
How Al Gore Fostered Famine, Food Riots, and Rising Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Ethanol subsidies have led to hunger and food riots across the world, by diverting critical farmland from food production to fuel production. While in…
Blog
Food Riots Spread in Haiti, and Across the World, Fueled by Ethanol Mandates
Food rioting has spread in Haiti, endangering the government of its “U.S.-backed president.” “A desperate appeal from the president Wednesday failed to restore order…
Newsletter
Global Health Threats, Foreclosure Relief and Food Riots
Members of Congress hear testimony on whether global warming will become a threat to human health. Senators agree on a foreclosure relief plan for mortgage…
Newsletter
China Under Fire, Free Trade and High Gas Prices
Demonstrators disrupt the Olympic torch ceremony in Paris to protest China’s human rights record. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi objects to the U.S.-Colombia trade agreement negotiated…
Newsletter
Al Gore’s Ads, Cultural Diversity and the Farm Bill
Al Gore launches a $300 million ad campaign to promote his global warming agenda. The Maryland legislature moves to mandate “cultural diversity” programs at all…
Blog
Crazy Immigration Rules Revisited
Earlier, I wrote about how immigration authorities were poised to deport Saman Kareem Ahmad because he belonged to a group that rose up against Iraqi dictator Saddam…
Blog
Some things are supposed to be private….
Anti-biotechnology activists managed to leverage sunshine laws in Europe to get the EU government to release research information that was supposed to be confidential.
Newsletter
Recession, Trade and Home Ownership
White House advisors cite the slowing economy as part of their call for tighter regulation of mortgage lenders. U.S. exports…
Blog
Danish Government Pays Scientists to Dispute Lomborg
The Danish Energy Department paid a researcher to promote their climate policy strategy in debates with Bjørn Lomborg. Peter Laut billed about 500 hours…
Blog
Britain Cares for Animals Better than Humans
Britain’s National Health System is notoriously underfunded. The government makes ends meet by denying service. The elderly don’t get transplants. People pull their own teeth.
News Release
Supreme Court Rulings Good for Investors
Washington, D.C., February 20, 2008—The Supreme Court this session has made two important decisions that will greatly benefit investors. Both today’s ruling in LaRue v.
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. INTERNATIONAL President Bush receives praise for public health aid from crowds on his trip to Africa. CEI Expert Available…
Blog
Eco-Terrorism leading Britain to decrease transparency
Repeated sabotage attacks by eco-terrorists in Britain have ruined several years’ worth of field trials of plants bred with molecular plant breeding methods. Now the…
Op-Eds
Stay Poor
It's bad enough when European and American politicians desperate to "do something" about global warming appear willing to sacrifice economic growth in their own…
Op-Eds
Transforming Korean Peninsula
The Bush administration’s attention is focused on the Middle East, but the Korean Peninsula also requires attention. The impending inauguration of conservative Lee Myung-bak,…
Op-Eds
Trade Makes Intellectual Pursuits Possible
Many opponents of free trade like to appeal to a higher ideal. They see material progress as vapid and unimportant. But what about intellectual…
Op-Eds
What Race to the Bottom?
Free trade creates new opportunities, jobs, and value for consumers. Now will someone please tell Congress? As it begins its new session, Congress’s agenda…
Op-Eds
Discontinue Subsidies
Regarding “Family farming Ladue” (Jan. 14): U.S. farm subsidies are so corrupt, so distorting and so harmful to poor Americans that they should be…
Op-Eds
Fix H1-B Visa Program
The Dec. 11 story “Immigrants wait years for green cards” accurately describes a tragic situation compounded by anfractuous immigration laws and bad public policy.
Blog
The Cuddly Europeans Threaten Climate Penalties
The Europeans may harp on climate change, but the U.S. actually has done better at slowing emissions growth without ratifying the Kyoto protocol. No matter.
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. INTERNATIONAL The budget of the United Nations is expected to grow by 25% in one year.
Op-Eds
An Industry Worth Its Weight in Gold
Originally published in Spanish in the Sunday, December 16, 2007 edition of El Comercio newspaper, Quito, Ecuador. Translated by Ecuador Mining News…
News Release
Senate Passes Farm Bill
Washington, D.C., December 14, 2007—Yesterday the Senate passed the 2007 farm bill, the first major revision of agricultural policy in five years. "The $286…
Products
CEI Planet: November – December 2007
Full Document Available in PDF The Tiger at a…
Blog
Gordon Brown hopes “Fool in the Rain” isn’t about him
In anticipation of the incredibly overhyped Led Zeppelin reunion tomorrow in London, a UK Telegraph article on the band's legacy invites a…
Blog
Marrying to Fight Global Warming
What to do about global warming? The usual ideologues and activists are busy at the latest international conclave in Bali. Needless to say, there are…
Blog
Since When Has Hugo Liked Democracy?
Ivan, Like you I was happy to see that Hugo Chavez lost the referendum that would have, more or less, made him a “president…
News Release
New Video: Cheers to Repeal Day!
Washington, D.C., December 4, 2007—The Bureaucrash Activist Network is releasing a new video just in time to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition…
Blog
NO to Chavez “reforms”
Venezuelan voters narrowly defeated Hugo Chavez’s effort to expand his presidential powers and abolish presidential term limits, the country’s electoral council announced just…
Op-Eds
A More Competitive Europe
Your article “EU to identify lagging economic sectors” (Nov. 20) discussed a European conference where 23 sectors of the European economy were identified as…
Op-Eds
US barring import of brilliant minds
Sir, Gideon Rachman's article “Hearts, minds and immigration” (November 13) wonderfully describes the current political arguments concerning immigration policy. But while discussing the US,…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. BUSINESS Congress considers legislation to “solve” the shake-up in subprime mortgages. CEI Expert Available to Comment:…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT International aid agencies continue to criticize the expanded use of biofuels as harmful to the environment and the…
Op-Eds
Federal Ethanol Mandates Will Plow Us All Under
Holman W. Jenkins Jr.'s column “Cheap Shot at Toyota,” (editorial page, Oct. 24) rightly points out the significant negative consequences of the ethanol “cornrush”…
Op-Eds
Why America Doesn’t Ratify Treaties
One of the leading sources of anti-Americanism relates to America's supposed arrogance in failing to sign or ratify international treaties that the rest of…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ECONOMICS Taxpayers advocates highlight the amount of public money doled out to the owners of professional sports franchises. …
News Release
U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement Necessary
Contact: Jody Clarke, 202.331.2252 Washington, D.C., October 15, 2007—As Congress considers bilateral trade agreements with several countries, a new study from the…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TRADE Prominent Democrats come out in favor of pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama…
Study
The Law of the Sea Treaty
The genesis of the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), widely known as the “constitution of the oceans,” runs back more than 60 years. The…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. INTERNATIONAL Microsoft suffers a legal setback in Europe where it has been accused of anti-competitive practices.
Study
A Village’s Travail
Full Document Available in PDF Rosia Montana, a poor mining town in the Transylvanian…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENERGY & AGRICULTURE The “UN warns of unrest as food price inflation hits developing countries,” pointing the finger…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TELECOM Some colleges are ditching expensive landline phones in dorms, since students all have cell phones, anyway. (…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. POLITICS The DC Examiner editorializes on the aggressive tactics labor unions are using to recruit public…
Op-Eds
Congress’ Energy Legislation Would Impair Alabama
Major industrial firms like <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Toyota and Boeing continue to pour investment into Alabama, which now boasts…
Blog
Heritage to Congress: Ratify FTA with Colombia
Over at The Heritage Foundation, James M. Roberts, in a paper titled “The U.S.—Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement: Don’t Let Progress Fall Victim to D.C.
Blog
“Political pandering” on trade
The Denver Post yesterday ran an excellent editorial about the negative climate for free trade, with a focus on “election-year political pandering.” Here are…
Blog
Fund on Mine Your Own Business
Today in OpinionJournal.com, John Fund looks at the environmentalist-led campaign against a proposed mine in Rosia Montana, Romania, documented in the film Mine…
Blog
Peru’s Post-Earthquake Prospects
The horrendous devastation of the recent earthquake in Peru could only have been exacerbated by government incompetence. That's my conclusion after reading Ian Vazquez's…
Blog
In Brazil, a Moment of Silence against State Incompetence and Corruption
Tomorrow, Friday August 17, at 1:00 pm (local time), our friends at Brazil’s Instituto Liberdade will participate in the campaign “Worn Out,” (Cansei)…
Blog
Foreign Aid Kills
Foreign food aid often causes, rather than alleviates, hunger, by destroying the basis of the farm economy in the country that receives the aid, as…
Blog
Nicaragua Objects to U.S. Cigar Tax Increase
Nicaragua’s legislature has objected to proposed increases in U.S. cigar taxes, which would raise the tax on some premium cigars from 5 cents…
Blog
UN Group Rejects Precautionary Principle
The Codex Alimentarius Commission, a joint UN Food and Agricultural Organization-World Health Organization food safety standard-setting body, has apparently agreed to exclude the…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. LEGAL The Federalist Society hosts a forum on state attorney general activism. …
Study
Ethanol is a Budget Buster
Full Document Available in PDF News story after news story highlights the impact of ethanol…
Op-Eds
Pork Farm
Congress is beginning debate on the new farm bill, which is, as usual, larded with subsidies and pork. So now is a good time…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONGRESS Lawmakers prepare to vote on a major new farm bill. CEI Expert Available to…
Blog
“Fisher Price mining tools”
Pundits discuss the merits of preserving traditional cultures….well, not really — from the Onion News Network, strategies for making poor Africans feel good about…
Op-Eds
Free trade agreements win-win for U.S.
Support for free trade long has transcended party politics in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />America. But that era officially ended with…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. CONGRESS Lawmakers prepare to vote on a major new farm bill. CEI Expert Available to…
Op-Eds
The Biofuel Fad
William Saletan argued in favor of biofuels on humanitarian and environmental grounds [“A Corny Cold War,” Outlook, July 8]. He was wrong on both…
Op-Eds
Kyoto Anniversary: What it Means Today
Ten years ago today the U.S. Senate did something that at the time seemed significant and now seems remarkably foresightful. By a vote of…
News Release
Global Warming Resolution Marks 10th Anniversary
Washington, D.C., July 25, 2007—Today marks the 10th anniversary of an important and prescient vote in the U.S. Senate. As global warming treaty negotiations in…
Blog
One Out of Two Ain’t Bad
I’m pleased to report that Al Gore is innocent of charges of hypocrisy related to serving Chilean Sea Bass at his daughter’s wedding celebrations. The…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. LEGAL The city of Washington, D.C. asks the Supreme Court to review a recent federal court verdict…
News Release
Public Interest Groups Oppose Sugar Subsidies
Washington, D.C., July 17, 2007—As members of the House Agriculture Committee consider the 2007 farm bill, several public interest groups are urging committee members to…
Letters
Letter to Members of the House Agriculture Committee Regarding the 2007 Farm Bill
To: Members of the House Agriculture Committee We, as representatives of consumer, taxpayer, public policy, and humanitarian groups, are writing to express…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. ENVIRONMENT Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. makes waves by calling global warming skeptics “traitors.” CEI Expert Available…
News Release
Congress Poised to Prop Up Sugar Regime
Washington, D.C., July 16, 2007—Americans have been paying for sugar at two to three times the world price over the past 25 years, thanks…
Blog
Price signals don’t lie
And today in Nigeria they bring some needed, and rare, good news in an otherwise dismal situation: The price of machetes has halved…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. Trade Four international trade agreements await action in Congress. CEI Expert…
Blog
AEI Panel Discussion about the bipartisan trade deal – Continued
Kimberly Ann Elliot, senior fellow with the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics, contended that labor and environmental standards do have role to play,…
Blog
AEI panel discussion about FTAs in the aftermath of the bipartisan deal
In the aftermath of the bipartisan deal between the Democrats and the Bush Administration, the question is whether the new enforceable environmental and ILO labor…
Blog
Progressives engage in globalization debate
The Democratic Leadership Council — home to progressive Democrats — last week announced a new Global Economy Project, whose mission is — . .
Blog
Sarkocialism
The ONLY good thing about the EU in my opinion has been its commitment to a single market and attacks on state aid. The harmonization…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. Congress The Senate passes an energy bill, including efficiency, alternative fuel and anti-price gouging sections.
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. Congress Energy legislation appears to be stalling out in the Senate. CEI Expert Available…
Letters
A Joint Letter to the U. S. Senate on S. 1419, the Making Energy Less Affordable Act
Washington, D. C. 14th June 2007 Dear Senator: The undersigned organizations are writing to share our concerns about S. 1419,…
Op-Eds
Food Before Fuel
Feel like you’re getting squeezed by prices at the gas pump? Get ready to experience that same feeling at the grocery store. As ABC News…
Study
Corn-Based Ethanol
A boom in ethanol production is taking place today for variety of reasons. Undoubtedly, the most significant factor is government support and subsidies for biofuel…
Op-Eds
Letter to the Editor: EU talk no match for US action on emissions
Sir, Your editorial “A big step forward on climate change” (June 9) uncharacteristically falls into the typical chattering class mistake…
Op-Eds
The Church of Rachel Carson
One hundred years after her birth in May of 1907, it’s difficult to underestimate Rachel Carson’s influence. Unfortunately, it’s all bad. That hasn’t stopped…
Study
Why Price Gouging Doesn’t Exist
Full Document Available in PDF One Sunday in 2005, soon after…
Newsletter
CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. Environment Rolling Stone magazine switches to “carbon neutral” paper, but still receives attacks from…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Tuesday, June 5, 2007 Issues in the News 1. MEDIAA federal appeals court strikes down Federal Communications Commission’s rules for…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. TRADE Congress votes to attach labor provisions to new trade agreements. CEI Expert…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /> Issues in the News 1. LEGAL…
News Release
DC Rally to “Free Kareem” and Support Free Speech and Human Rights
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, D.C., April 27, 2007—The Bureaucrash Activist Network and allies are urging Egyptian officials to…
News Release
Poor Countries Need Open Access to Rich Countries’ Markets, Say Nonprofits
Contact: Richard Morrison, 202-331-2273 Washington, D.C., April 16, 2007—The poorest countries of the world should have duty-free, quota-free access to rich countries’ markets, stated…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
1. ENVIRONMENT Al Gore is forced to move his global warming-themed “Live Earth” concert from Washington, D.C. to New Jersey.
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. REGULATION Maryland lawmakers approve a statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants.
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
1. ENVIRONMENT The United Nations prepares to officially release its latest report on the predicted effects of global warming. CEI Experts Available to Comment: Senior…
Study
A Free Market Agenda for the 110th Congress
Washington, D.C., January 10, 2007—Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute releases its policy recommendations for the new leadership on Capitol Hill: This Liberal Congress Went to…
Study
This Liberal Congress Went to Market: a Bipartisan Policy Agenda for the 110th Congress
DO…
News Release
A Free Market Agenda for the 110th Congress
Contact: Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273 Washington, D.C., January 10, 2007—Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute releases its policy recommendations for the new leadership…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. SCIENCE Researchers suggest a link between climate change and increased rates of malaria infection…
Newsletter
The Competitive Enterprise Institute Daily Update
Issues in the News 1. INTERNATIONAL The European Union approves a new law, known as “REACH,” regulating the manufacture…
Op-Eds
Unleash the media
With a stop-off in Nashville on Dec. 11, the Federal Communications Commission continues a series of hearings debating government's role in determining the…
