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
The National News Desk
Inflation surges as Iran war drives prices higher across economy
CEI’s Jeremy Nighohossian was quoted in The National News Desk regarding CPI figures from September 2026. Core prices, which exclude food and energy,…
Blog
Can a country trade its way to independence?
Protectionists often say that tariffs are a way to achieve economic independence. They argue that raising the prices of foreign goods can bring production…
Blog
Tinplate tariffs are a microcosm of larger harm
Most of the talk about tariffs raising the cost of living is pretty abstract. In an op-ed syndicated by InsideSources, I look at…
Search Posts
News Release
Interest rates hold steady for now, markets still spooked by tariff troubles: CEI analysis
The Federal Reserve has decided once again to keep interest rates steady, likely in response to President Trump’s flurry of tariff policies. CEI…
Fox Business
US trade deficit hits record high in March
Fox Business cited CEI’s expert on trade deficits “Trump’s trade deficit fixation is a mistake,” said Competitive Enterprise Institute senior economist Ryan Young.
Blog
Farm subsidies, car interest deduction show tariffs’ triple harms
Tariffs are a three-in-one tool for economic self-harm. The first harm comes from the tariffs themselves, which raise producer costs and consumer prices in…
News Release
Trade deficit grew in March, tariff effects just beginning: CEI analysis
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the US trade deficit grew by 14 percent in March ahead of President Trump’s broad tariff…
Blog
Why do so many countries have tariffs?
Over at the Center Square, Iain Murray and I ask an overlooked question: If tariffs are so bad, then why does nearly every…
Center Square Opinion
Why do so many countries have tariffs?
If tariffs are so bad, then why does nearly every country have them? It’s a fair question, and many Trump tariff defenders are asking…
