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
Free trade or be scrapped: IPEF’s trade pillar
The Biden administration offered a major trade initiative aimed at expanding America’s trade partners and countering China’s economic influence over its neighbors. The Indo-Pacific Economic…
Blog
Biden says his steel tariffs totally different from Trump’s, speculates uncle was eaten by cannibals
President Joe Biden vowed Wednesday that he would get tough on China’s steel dumping by tripling tariffs on imports. He argued this was totally different…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Paying for organs with Pete Jaworski
In this week’s episode we cover the future of AI and employment, why we shouldn’t trust Chinese economic statistics, and how the…
Search Posts
China Daily
If China Wants Coal, the US Has Got Coal
ChinaDaily cited Marc Scribner on the influx in demand for US coal exports as the Chinese government has shut down many of its less productive…
Blog
Despite Trump Repudiation, Paris Climate Treaty Still Needs a Senate Vote
This week will mark the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s speech announcing that the United States would be withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement,…
News Release
CEI on Potential Auto Tariff: “Trump Tax” Is Deeply Troubling
This week, the Trump administration launched a probe to consider imposing tariffs on imported automobiles. CEI Senior Fellow Marc Scribner warned such a "Trump tax" would be bad…
News Release
CEI Report: Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation Costs Everyone, Provides Little
In a new Competitive Enterprise Institute report released today, CEI’s regulatory counsel and technology policy expert Ryan Radia argues that the EU’s new privacy rules…
Study
European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and Lessons for U.S. Privacy Policy
The European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which enters into effect on May 25, 2018, is the most significant policy change regarding data…
Blog
Red Tape Discourages Entrepreneurs, CEI Expert Explains in Fraser Institute Book
Today, the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank, released a new book on worldwide barriers to entrepreneurship, Demographics and Entrepreneurship: Mitigating the…
Natural Product Insider
‘Made in the USA’ Claims: Handle With Care
Natural Product Insider cited the Competitive Enterprise Institute on the financial benefits to businesses caused by deregulation during the Trump Administration so far. …
Fox Business
Trump’s China tariffs: Beijing could target US coal industry
Fox Business quoted Marc Scribner on the harmful market impact that a Chinese tarriff on U.S. coal exports would create given that the coal…
Blog
Steel and Aluminum Tariffs a Massive Net Loss for U.S. Economy
Following in George W. Bush’s footsteps, President Trump increased tariffs on foreign-made steel and aluminum by 25 percent in March. But he exempted U.S. allies…
Blog
Cato Institute Experts on NAFTA and the Trump Tariffs
While the administration has made great progress on issues like regulatory reform and energy policy, the current White House has also embraced policies that—and…
Blog
Peter Navarro’s Economic Ignorance on Trade
Trump economic advisor and Death by China author Peter Navarro’s recent column in The Wall Street Journal, “China’s Faux Comparative Advantage,” is a…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Urging President Trump to Support and Improved Trans-Pacific Partnership
View Full Document as PDF Dear President Trump: We agree with the 25 United States Senators who recently urged you to secure…
Blog
AI in the UK: Lords’ Report Makes Startups Less Competitive
The British House of Lords recently published a report on artificial intelligence, which includes policy recommendations that would hamper the development of AI domestically and…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Urging President Trump to Support an Improved Trans-Pacific Partnership
View Full Document as PDF Dear President Trump: We agree with the 25 United States Senators who recently urged you to…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Supporting Inclusion of REINS Act Language in NAFTA
View Full Document as PDF Mr. President: On behalf of millions of members and supporters of our organizations, we write in appreciation…
News Release
CEI on Possible Trade War with China
China is retaliating against the Trump administration's proposed tariffs on Chinese goods with $50 billion in new tariffs on 106 U.S. products, including vital American…
Blog
Commonwealth Nations Beating America on FinTech Regulation
While the United States continues to have healthy development of financial technologies—thanks predominately to unparalleled access to capital and technology—it is at risk of falling…
Blog
Outlook for Economy’s ‘Master Resource’ Bright
Yesterday my colleague Marlo Lewis and I sat down for a Facebook Live interview (archived here) on this week’s big event, Human…
News Release
Trump Tariffs Against China Will Backfire, CEI Warns
The White House on Thursday announced a plan for imposing tariffs on Chinese imports to the United States and curtailing Chinese investment in the U.S.
Blog
Human Achievement: The Shipping Container
One of the most underappreciated drivers of the modern global economy is the humble shipping container. Widely adopted internationally in the second half of the…
News Release
Facebook Is Well Within Its Rights to Ban Britain First
Today, Facebook announced it removed the pages of hate group Britain First and its leaders for violating Facebook’s community standards. Vice President for Strategy…
Blog
More Evidence of Growth in February Job Figures
Today’s jobs numbers shattered expectations—313,000 new jobs in February against an expectation of 200,000. The numbers provide yet more support to the…
Blog
Trump’s Recent Trade Decisions Could Spell Doom for the Economy
With President Trump’s announcement on steel and aluminum tariffs and his continued wrong-headed approach to trade policy, there are reasons to be concerned that a…
Blog
Tracking Public Opinion on Trump, Tariffs, and Trade
A Pew study noted that Republicans’ views on free trade shifted in a more negative way during the 2016 presidential campaign, while Democrats’ views…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter to President Trump Urging Reconsideration of Aluminum and Steel Tariffs
View Full Document as PDF Dear Mr. President: On behalf of the undersigned groups representing millions of taxpayers and consumers across the…
RealClearMarkets
Undoing President Obama’s Damage Will Take Time
RealClearMarkets quoted Daniel Press on banking regulations impact on the banking system. Ronald Reagan once said, “No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in…
Blog
Rep. Dave Brat’s Pro-Competitive Free to Fly Act Is a First Step in the Right Direction
The Free to Fly Act would eliminate a generations-old anti-competitive federal law governing domestic airline ownership.
Blog
Trump State of the Union Response: Double Down on Cutting Red Tape
Cutting red tape, so talented individuals can thrive, will help put the long-term roar back into the economy.
Bloomberg
Business Groups Attack ‘America First’ Merger Review Bill
Blog
Congress Should Repeal ‘Sore Loser’ Trade Law
Supporters of free trade ought to pressure Congress to repeal executive authority to unilaterally impose protectionist trade sanctions. …
The Washington Post
The Energy 202: The Conservative Backlash to Trump’s Solar Tariffs Begins
The Washington Post covers the Trump administration’s tariffs on solar panels. The U.S. solar industry was finally dealt a blow this week…
Reason
The Senate’s Rejection of Export-Import Bank Critic Shows How Entrenched Crony Capitalism Is in Washington
Reason covers the rejection of Export-Import bank nominee Scott Garrett. The Senate Banking Committee voted 10–13 yesterday to reject former New Jersey Rep. Scott Garrett…
Blog
Ex-Im Nominee Scott Garrett Rejected, Swamp Claims Another Victim
Appointing Scott Garret to lead the Export-Import Bank should have been an area of broad agreement between the parties.
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Urging Rejection of Tariffs on Washing Machines
VIEW FULL DOCUMENT AS PDF Dear Mr. President and Ambassador Lighthizer: On behalf of the undersigned organizations, representing millions of American taxpayers,…
The Daily Caller
Obama Mega Donor Financially Backed Solar Company Now Seeking Trade Tariffs
The Daily Caller covers new developments in a company advocating for trade tarrifs on solar panels, which CEI has opposed in a letter with the R…
The Daily Caller
Eco-Billionaire Tom Steyer Is Noticeably Absent from Fight Against Solar Tariff Push
The Daily Caller discusses solar tariffs. Billionaire green energy champion Tom Steyer has been strangely silent about a slew of trade tariffs analysts believe…
Forbes
Reflections on the Evolution of Trade Policy
The Trump administration’s renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could launch a trade war with our major trading partners,…
The Daily Caller
Solar Industry Prepares for Possible Upheaval as Trade Officials Move on Tariffs
The Daily Caller covers a coalition letter, signed by CEI, urging the Trump administration to not put tariffs on solar panels. The solar industry…
InsideSources
BICEP Companies, Including Nike and eBay, Urge ITC Not to Recommend Solar Tarriffs
InsideSources covers a coalition letter, signed by CEI, urging the Trump administration to reject a tarrif on solar panels. It’s almost Halloween and things…
The Washington Examiner
Ten Free-Market Groups Advise Trump to Reject Solar Tariffs
The Washington Examiner covers a coalition letter, signed by CEI, urging the Trump administration to reject a proposal to place tariffs on solar panel imports.
Letters
Open Letter to President Trump: Avoid Trade Restrictions on Solar Panels
VIEW FULL DOCUMENT AS PDF Dear President Trump, On behalf of the undersigned organizations, representing millions of Americans, we urge you to…
Blog
Will New Zealand Forget the Benefits of Economic Freedom?
As an Australian, there are two things I have always admired about New Zealand—their remarkable national rugby team and their stunning embrace of…
Blog
An Appreciation: Atlas Shrugged at 60
Sixty years ago this month, Ayn Rand’s monumental novel, Atlas Shrugged, was published. It helped a vast number of people around the world to become…
Blog
Financial Transactions Tax Not the Answer for Africa
French President Emmanuel Macron is advocating for a Europe-wide tax on financial transactions to fund more foreign aid for Africa.
Blog
Celebrate National Coffee Day
In the modern American workplace, many people see coffee as essential to productivity and for socializing around the coffee machine, which makes it unsurprising that…
Blog
Might Australian Financial Regulators Finally Embrace Greater Competition?
Over the past few weeks, I have been rather critical of the state of financial regulation in Australia. A banking scandal earlier this month revealed…
Blog
Human Freedom Is Key to African Prosperity
Earlier this week at a presentation to the Cato Institute, authors Greg Mills, Jeffrey Herbst, Olusegun Obasanjo, and Dickie Davis, discussed their new book…
Blog
Why Africa Needs Economic Freedom
That is the topic I presented earlier this week as part of the panel discussion, Perspectives on African Development, at the Department of State’s…
Blog
Why Economic Freedom Is the Best Weapon against Poverty
This blog post is adapted from a speech delivered to the Foreign Service Institute at the United States Department of State on August 29, 2017.
Washington Times
Federal Government Needs Major Overhaul to Cut Red Tape, Reduce Costs: Report
The Washington Times covers CEI’s latest publication Shrinking Government Bureaucracy. Shrinking the federal bureaucracy would spur economic growth and reduce costs to taxpayers,…
Washington Free Beacon
Report: Reducing Regulatory Agencies’ Authority Could Boost Economy, Increase Job Creation
The Washington Free Beacon covers CEI’s latest publication Shrinking Government Bureaucracy. Reducing some of government’s regulatory agencies’ authority could boost economic growth and…
Blog
Congress Should Confirm Export-Import Bank Nominee, End Corporate Welfare
The Export-Import Bank is one of the capital’s greatest boondoggles, handing out loans for large corporations at the taxpayer’s expense.
Bloomberg BNA
Trump Team Unlikely to Fight for NAFTA Worker Safety Rewrite
Bloomberg BNA discusses NAFTA with Marc Scribner Worker safety and labor advocates don’t see eye to eye with President Donald Trump on very…
Blog
Conservatives International Brings Pro-Liberty Activists Together
Our friends at Conservatives International published a great short video this week featuring CEI’s own Iain Murray.
Forbes
International Freedom Fighters Organize in Miami
Fans of free markets and limited government have a new place to seek allies. Recently Conservatives International, a new global advocacy organization, was launched…
The Conservative
Trade’s Real Enemy Is Regulation
Free trade has brought countless benefits over the past two centuries. It allows for specialisation among nations that has brought down the cost of living…
Blog
The Key to Prosperity in the Southern Hemisphere and around the World
We have the potential to put developing economies on a path to avoid the mistakes made in America and among our European friends.
Blog
Exiting Paris Should Weaken Carbon Tariff Threat
Will other nations attempt to punish President Trump for pulling out of the Paris Agreement by imposing “border taxes”—aka carbon tariffs—on U.S. exports?…
Blog
Let Private Markets Finance Aircraft Sales
There is no good reason to keep the Export-Import Bank —or its international brethren—around.
Blog
President Trump Should Ignore Advice of Obama Administration Officials on Paris Agreement
Trump’s greatest contribution to American democracy and international energy policy would be to repudiate the politics of plunder, starting with its most grandiose embodiment—the Paris…
Washington Examiner
Conservative Groups Urge Lighthizer to Leave NAFTA Alone
Washington Examiner covers a coalition letter signed by CEI urging U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to stay in NAFTA. A coalition of conservative and…
Blog
Paris Agreement: Carbon Tax Elders Offer More Bad Advice
The same GOP elders who have been pushing what American Enterprise Institute economist Ben Zycher charitably calls “The Deeply Flawed Case for a Carbon Tax”…
Blog
The Paris Agreement and the Imperial Presidency: My Response to David Bookbinder
The Paris Agreement thus casts a long dark shadow not only on U.S. energy producers but our future as a self-governing polity.
Blog
Misdirected Paris Agreement Debate Fixates on Meaning of ‘May’
This being Washington, D.C., the world capital of misdirection, debate on whether President Trump should keep his campaign promise to “cancel” America’s participation in the…
Blog
Paris Agreement: Why Trump Should Ignore Obama Officials’ Legal Counsel
President Trump is expected to decide soon whether he will keep his campaign promise to “cancel” America’s participation in the Paris Agreement.
Study
Polluted Logic Taints WHO Reports on Children’s Health
View Full Document as PDF The world has been getting wealthier in recent decades. That economic growth has enabled millions of people…
Blog
European Populism Is Nationalist Conservatism
As European conservative governments deploy authority and ignore economic forces, it is likely that the problems facing their nations will intensify rather than decrease.
The Spectator Australia
“Buy Ethical” Will Only Harm the World’s Poorest
For the past four years, Baptist World Aid Australia have been releasing their annual Behind the Barcode report into the working conditions of…
Forbes
Reform Bill Trades Foreign Aid For Corporate Welfare
A new foreign aid bill soon to be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives looks to substitute U.S. development assistance in favor of private…
Blog
The Future of Liberty and Democracy in Europe
The classical liberal tradition calls for respecting the liberty of individuals and of conscience, the freedom to trade goods and services, and even the mobility…
Investor's Business Daily
World Bank And IMF Get African Development Wrong, Again
It’s springtime in Washington D.C., which, for the uninitiated, means not only cherry blossoms and Nationals’ baseball, but the spectacle of the World Bank’s and…
CapX
Only Economic Freedom Will Keep Africa Growing
Ever since African nations began to gain independence in the 1960s, Western countries have looked to assist their economic development. While the nature of this…
The Huffington Post
Africa’s Economy Needs to Come out of the Shadows
Westerners used to call sub-Saharan Africa “the Dark Continent.” That epithet reflected a willful ignorance of the continent’s civilizations, cultures, and history, and helped justify…
Blog
African Development Requires Economic and Legal Reforms, Affordable Energy
If the African continent is to achieve the prosperity it deserves, then African policy makers and non-governmental organizations alike should strive to implement pro-growth policies.
Blog
White House Should Drop Support for Cronyism of Export-Import Bank
With the Trump administration’s early emphasis on deregulation, there was hope that cronyist agencies such as the Export-Import Bank, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and Economic…
News Release
Trump Trade Nominee a Poor Choice to Lead U.S. Negotiations
The United States Senate Committee on Finance is expected to soon vote on the confirmation of Robert Lighthizer to be United States Trade Representative. CEI Senior…
National Review
‘The Greatest Deregulatory Endeavor’
National Review highlights Iain Murray’s study on the United Kingdom’s split from the European Union. Iain Murray, co-author of “Cutting the Gordian Knot”…
Blog
Lessons from a Humble Pencil about Economics and the World
On National Pencil Day, we salute this marvel of capitalism and Leonard Read’s classic story about an everyday object.
Blog
United Kingdom Invokes Article 50 to Leave the European Union
In a historic moment, British Prime Minister Theresa May today invoked Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, which formally starts the process…
Blog
Time to Repeal the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
FATCA amounts to a fine levied by the U.S. on any of its citizens who have the temerity to live abroad.
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter to Repeal Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
View Full Document as PDF As free-market and taxpayer protection organizations representing millions of Americans, we urge that repeal of the Foreign…
Blog
Federal Budget Must Demand Value for Taxpayer Dollars
Competitive Enterprise Institute Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray responded to President Trump’s budget proposal today.
Blog
Let Africa Power Its Future with Affordable Energy
Economic development in Africa needs affordable, reliable fossil fuels, not expensive, intermittent renewables, as some Western environmentalists demand.
Blog
Trump Should Keep Promise, Withdraw U.S. from Paris Climate Treaty
President Trump should keep his campaign promise and rescind or otherwise withdraw the United States from President Obama’s purported commitment to the Paris climate pact…
Washington Post
Last night, conservatives gave up on conservatism
The Washington Post discusses President Trump’s policy proposals from his address to a joint session of Congress with CEI President Kent Lassman. The…
Blog
Gates Foundation Should Credit Market Reforms for Poverty Reduction
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation should give greater credit to the proven economic reforms that have spurred development throughout the world.
Blog
Failure to Renounce Paris Climate Deal Would Create Major White House Policy Conflict
On the campaign trail, presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would “cancel” U.S. participation in the Paris Agreement. He now appears to be back-pedaling.
Blog
Economic Freedom in the U.S. Fell Last Year Due to Rising Regulatory and Tax Burdens
The United States recently slipped to its lowest level yet in world rankings of economic freedom compiled by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall…
Blog
Trump May Suspend Obama-era Rules on Conflict Minerals
The Dodd-Frank Act’s conflict-minerals rules backfired, and caused malnutrition, misery, and violence in the eastern Congo.
Blog
Response to Mercatus Center’s Dan Griswold on Trade Policy
Fred Smith and Marc Scribner respond to the Mercatus Center's Dan Griswold on the free market approach to trade policy.
Blog
Deregulate to Speed Recovery from ‘Creative Destruction’ of Trade and Innovation
Government regulation limits the ability of individuals and businesses to recover from normal economic setbacks.
Blog
Financial Regulation Executive Order a Step in the Right Direction
A new White House executive order aims to redesign how financial institutions are regulated by the federal government.
Independent Journal Review
I’ve Had A Green Card Since 1999 – Trump’s Executive Order Shows The Overreach Of Presidential Power
Green card holders like me received an unwelcome present from the Trump administration this weekend. In the course of the fiasco surrounding the president’s executive…
Cleveland.com
Ohio lost 120,000+ jobs due to U.S. trade deficit with China: EPI
Cleveland.com discusses with Iain Murray a report that claims Ohio lost 121,500 jobs due to the United States’ trade deficit with China. Iain Murray…
Blog
Congress Should Eliminate SEC Rule that Discloses Company Information to Foreign Governments
Congress should pass a joint resolution of disapproval and block the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rule relating to ‘‘Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers.”…
Fox Business
A Trade Policy to Boost American Competitiveness
President Donald Trump’s early actions on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, North American Free Trade Agreement, and the nomination of avowed protectionists to key roles have shaken…
National Review
The UK Supreme Court’s Brexit Decision: Probably Right and Yet So Unnecessary
The UK’s Supreme Court has ruled that Parliament must agree to make Britain’s exit from the European Union, which the British people voted for…
Blog
Trump Moves on Trade: TPP and NAFTA
The decisions to end the failed TPP experiment and perhaps pull the plug on NAFTA may not be the disaster for free trade they seem…
News Release
Statement by CEI Expert on Why Trade Deals Got a Bad Reputation
In response to President Trump’s plans to sign an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the negotiating process of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Competitive Enterprise Institute…
Daily Signal
Trump’s Opening Shot on Trade, Abortion, Federal Employees
The Daily Signal discusses President Trump’s executive action to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement with Iain Murray. Rather than breaking down…