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
One lesson protectionists forgot: Trade interventions backfire
It’s not just tariffs that backfire in trade policy. The government has a long history of similar failures. Between 1934 and 1941, the Treasury…
Blog
Section 338-tariff uncertainty highlights the knowledge problem
Last month, the Trump administration invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose new 50 percent tariffs against Canada. A…
Blog
Protectionism in North America? Not again
Well before its ratification in 1993, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was scorned by its critics as a dangerous, unfair deal. CEI,…
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Blog
Latin America Should be on Washington’s Agenda
Yesterday, Nelson Cunningham, one of the panelists at a Hudson Institute conference on Latin America's “Radical Populism Challenge” commented that it is better that the…
Blog
The Wonders of Socialized Health Care, Number 8,977
Ameirca’s health care system is messed up. Agreed. It is a bizarre amalgam of public and private, with government spending and tax policy creating counterproductive…
Blog
Neither carrots nor sticks II
Further to my earlier post on Latin America, The Wall Street Journal‘s Mary O’Grady points to a good way for the U.S. to…
Blog
Neither carrots nor sticks
Few things are as exasperating as watching two sides argue — and neither rise above being half-right, at best. Still, the resulting exchange in this…
Blog
NHS Reform: A Few More Brits Might Survive
Great Britain’s Vaunted National Health Insurance won’t pay for necessary drugs to its patients, but it has refused to allow them to contribute their own…
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Socialized Health Care Feels Like it is … Socialized!
Want to nationalize American health care? Just compare what it’s like to be treated in America and in Britain. Writes F. Brinley Bruton: A…
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Eurocrats Push European Consolidation
Nothing horrifies the New Class of bureaucrats, intellectuals, politicians, and activists than an aroused public dedicated to defeating their plans. The Irish vote against the…
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Blame Canada (arts funding)
In any list of programs that could be easily cut without much disruption -- except to a small rent-seeking elite -- is arts funding. It…
Blog
South Park’s “signs of extremist activity”
Few people have validated Saul Alinksy’s “Rule” that “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon” better than South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt…
Blog
Europe: The PC Paradise
People have a lot to say about advertising, much of it bad. Many ads are stupid, insulting, silly, nonsensical, counterproductive, etc., etc. Some are even…
Products
CEI Planet: September – October 2008
View the new Montly Planet by downloading the PDF of the issue. Below you’ll find previews of the articles in this issue:…
Blog
Loose Money Follies
The Federal Reserve has been keeping interest rates low and inflating the currency, to bail out irresponsible people who’ve borrowed more than they can afford, and encourage…
Blog
War in Georgia Goes Cyber
A follow-up to Hans Bader’s informative post on the Russia-Georgia war: Ars reports that the war is going on in cyberspace as well.
Op-Eds
The U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Deserves a Vote
Free trade is in trouble, as protectionist politicians in the U.S. and elsewhere demagogue against it. Especially egregious is the U.S. Congress’s decision to delay—indefinitely—voting…
Blog
Is Green Fanaticism on its Way Out?
Maybe so. At least, that’s what Alice Thomson argues in the Times of London: Julie Burchill can’t stand them. According to her new book,…
Newsletter
Whole Foods Merger, Ethanol’s Impact and Health Savings Accounts
A federal court calls into question the recent merger of Whole Foods and Wild Oats natural food stores. South Asian leaders meet to discuss food…
Newsletter
Ethanol’s Sins, Menthol Cigarettes and Property Rights
USA Today details the troubling side effects of using corn-based ethanol as an auto fuel. Legislation to give the Food and Drug Administration authority over…
Op-Eds
Bailing Out Kelo
Of all the unintended consequences of the housing bill that passed the House on Wednesday, the most ironic and far-reaching may be this:…
Newsletter
Online Gambling, Fannie Mae Bailout and WTO
Congressman Barney Frank sponsors legislation to legalize online gambling. President Bush endorses the taxpayer bailout of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. India raises…
Blog
Smoking: A Religious Rite?
It’s a sign of the times. To get around indoor smoking bans, Dutch smokers are joining “The Only and Universal Smokers Church of God,”…
Newsletter
Expensive Regulations, Fannie Mae Bailout and Baseball Stadiums
Americans for Tax Reform marks the annual “Cost of Government Day.” Plans to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to rescue mortgage companies Fannie Mae and…
Citation
The $50 Billion Bipartisan AIDS Boondoggle
Newsletter
Banking Crisis, Globalization and Internet Poker
Federal officials charge that a letter from Sen. Chuck Schumer sparked the run on deposits that triggered the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history this…
Blog
Free Trade Brings Hope and Prosperity, Transforms Lives
There’s a story in the Washington Post today about how freer trade lifted millions of people out of poverty in Colombia, especially in the…
Citation
the Benefits of the Columbian Free Trade Agreement
News Release
Free Trade with Colombia Deserves a Vote
Congress should stop stalling and move quickly to approve the pending free trade agreement between the United States and Colombia, according to a…
Study
The United States-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Deserves a Vote
Sound trade and foreign policy is being held hostage to politics.
Newsletter
Global Warming, Farm Protests and Homelessness
The Senate debates global warming legislation sponsored by Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John Warner (R-VA). The Argentinian government faces widespread protests from farmers. The…
Op-Eds
Science benefits from attracting more skilled foreign workers
Sir, Bob Greifeld (“America cannot afford to drive away talent”, May 30) articulates many economic reasons for increasing the number of annually issued H-1B…
Newsletter
Vaclav Klaus, Fingerprint Registration and Free Trade
The Competitive Enterprise Institute publishes a new book by Czech president Václav Klaus on the future of environmental policy. The Senate Banking Committee approves a…
News Release
Farm Bill Deserves a Veto
The Competitive Enterprise Institute applauds Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer’s announcement yesterday that President Bush will veto the Farm Bill that the House-Senate conference…
Newsletter
Net Neutrality, Poultry Wars and Disaster Insurance
The House Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee holds a hearing on proposed rules for “net neutrality.” The European Union refuses to lift a ban on the…
Newsletter
Bush’s Climate Plan, Carcinogens in Plastic and Free Trade
President Bush outlines a new plan for national climate policy. A new study raises concerns about a connection between plastics and cancer. Democratic leaders in…
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…
