How Tariffs Could Cause Shortages in American Stores
A sharp decline in ocean freight from China during April is a sign of the supply chain issues that will begin hitting in May.
Protectionism
Over 1,500 Economists Agree: Trump's Tariffs Are Terrible
Reason interviewed five signatories of the Anti-Tariff Declaration to learn why they oppose tariffs and support free trade.
150 Economists Sign Letter Opposing Trump's Protectionist Agenda
Only time will tell if America heeds their clarion call.
New 21% Tariff Will Make Fresh Tomatoes More Expensive
Trump hopes you like tomato sauce!
Do Americans Really Want To Bring Back Manufacturing?
If lots of Americans wanted factory jobs, the domestic labor market would look very different.
Even on Pause, Trump's Trade War Runs Up a Big Price Tag
Predictions vary as to the ultimate cost, but there’s no doubt that tariffs create economic pain.
Free Trade Expert Takes Down the Best Arguments for Tariffs
Daniel Hannan argues that protectionism never works, but that's a lesson that politicians and voters seemingly have to relearn repeatedly.
Tariffs Failed in the Middle East—America Shouldn't Make the Same Mistake
Protectionism in Egypt and Iraq fueled corruption, stagnation, and smuggling—not prosperity.
Trump's Longtime Obsession With Trade Deficits Suggests His Tariffs Won't End Soon
Although the president's pride in his negotiation skills could save us, it is hard to see what sort of deal would address his grievance about the consequences of economic freedom.
Trump Is Making Affordable Goods Expensive
Eliminating the tariff exemption on low-value Chinese imports is bad news.
Trump Is Giving Everyone What They Want In the Dumbest Way Possible
Dynamists, protectionists, hawks, and doves are seeing their policy goals realized in the most bungling and incompetent fashion imaginable.
Trump's Tariffs Target Uninhabited Islands, Economic Dead Zones, and Individual Regions of France
The nonsensical list of territories subject to the White House's new "reciprocal" tariffs shows how amateurish the administration's new trade policy is.
The 'Meritocracy' Lie
Two months after he was inaugurated, Trump has smashed many of the government's silly DEI rules. But he hasn't created a new age of meritocracy.
The Best of Reason: Trump's Dramatic Crossroads Between Protectionism and Dynamism
The GOP faces a choice about how to move forward.
Why Would Trump Want To Ban Bhutanese People?
The proposed list of countries for the "Muslim ban" reboot has been leaked. It includes a small Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas.
Trump's Dramatic Crossroads Between Protectionism and Dynamism
The GOP faces a choice about how to move forward.
Is the Jones Act Unconstitutional?
The law is wasteful and protectionist. Now, a new lawsuit argues that it is unconstitutional too.
Trump's Love-Hate Relationship With Big Tech
If Trump wants to encourage domestic investment, his antitrust appointees should ditch their Big Tech prejudice.
Trump's New Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum Won't Help American Manufacturing
And it's not about "fairness." Quite the opposite, actually.
Trump's Tariffs Require Customs Agents To Check All Mail from China
Eliminating tariff exemptions will increase import delivery times and make direct-to-consumer goods more expensive.
Trump's Role Model McKinley Tariffed His Way to Imperialism
Reviving the Monroe Doctrine and 19th century Republican adventurism is not a shortcut to peace.
How a Chinese AI Company Found a Way Around America's Export Controls
DeepSeek made a more efficient product that the rules wouldn't hinder.
Trump's Davos Speech: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
President Donald Trump doubled down on both domestic deregulation and protectionism in his speech to the World Economic Forum.
Trump's Tariffs Will Make Americans, Mexicans, and Canadians Poorer
American tariffs will increase the price of final and intermediate goods, hurting our own consumers and domestic manufacturers.
Trump Must Choose: Tariffs or Lower Prices
Domestic deregulation will decrease the cost of living. Trade barriers will do the opposite.
Supreme Court Can Protect Property Owners From Eminent Domain Abuse
A Utica, New York, land grab offers the justices an opportunity to revisit a widely criticized precedent.
The Government Took a Developer's Land and Gave It to a Competitor. In New York, That's Business As Usual.
The case gives the Supreme Court an opportunity to revisit a widely reviled decision that invited such eminent domain abuses.
Make Cars (and Everything Else) Cheap Again
Plus: Superfund is back, Biden signs a lot of laws, MAGA vs. tech Christmas, and more...
Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel Merger Poses No National Security Threat
The Committee on Foreign Investment doesn't recommend blocking the merger, and neither should President Joe Biden.
Joe Biden Once Understood Why Tariffs Are Bad. Then He Got Trade Policy Amnesia.
Despite campaigning against Donald Trump's tariff hikes, Biden left many of them in place.
You Don't Beat China by Copying China
Xi Jinping’s neo-mercantilist policies are destructive, not productive.
China Goes Tit for Tat Over U.S. Chip Bans
Semiconductor protectionism is a downward spiral that makes both parties poorer.
If Kamala Harris Wants To Lower Energy Costs in Puerto Rico, She Should Support the Repeal of the Jones Act
For decades, the Jones Act has increased costs and hurt grid reliability in Puerto Rico.
Can the U.S. Government Tell Chinese People Apart?
Drone maker DJI claims the Pentagon has unfairly smeared it as an arm of the Chinese military based on a mix-up of Chinese names.
Trump Floats Tax Break for Carmakers Hurt by His Own Trade Deal
After proposing a deduction for interest paid on car loans, the former president suggested it would apply only to vehicles made in America.
Archaic Federal Law Keeps Alaskans From Using Abundant Natural Gas Reserves
The Jones Act makes the North Slope’s resources inaccessible to the state’s energy-starved residents.
Big Pot vs. Big Government in Florida
Mom-and-pop marijuana operations do not exist in Florida. That's by design.
Chip Mellor's Legacy Promotes a Broader Concept of Civil Liberties
For more than three decades, the Institute for Justice has shown that economic freedom and private property are essential safeguards for ordinary Americans.
Biden's Top Trade Official Just Admitted Tariffs Haven't Changed China's Behavior
Katherine Tai said tariffs were "leverage" against China, but now she admits that China hasn't made "any changes to its fundamental systemic structural policies."
Federal 'Buy American' Rules Cost Over $100,000 Per Job Created
Eliminate the domestic content requirements of the Buy American Act, don't expand them.
J.D. Vance Is Wrong About Toasters—and Global Manufacturing
Trump's protectionist running mate comes out against “cheap, knockoff toasters” and common sense.
Commerce Department Bans Chinese Car Components
Commerce Secretary Raimondo insists the rule "is a strictly national security action."
Season 2, Episode 1 Free Markets
Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Can Mark Cuban Make Prescriptions Affordable Again?
Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs project brings a bit of free market flair to the health care industry, but the lack of meaningful price signals is only part of the problem.
Season 2 Podcasts
Trailer: Why We Can't Have Nice Things Season 2
A new season brings six new stories about how the government is making Americans poorer and sicker.
Trump and Harris' Economic Plans Are Depressingly Similar
Both campaigns represent variations on a theme of big, fiscally irresponsible, hyper-interventionist government.
Americans' Support for Tariffs Plummets When They See Prices Rise
A new poll challenges the protectionist narrative currently dominating both sides of the political aisle.
Trade, Public Opinion, and Political Ignorance
A new Cato Institute/YouGov survey finds contradictory attitudes on trade policy, and widespread ignorance. The survey also suggests a potentially promising political strategy for free trade advocates.
