“It is the maxim of every prudent master of a family, never to attempt to make at home what it will cost him more to make than to buy . . . . If a foreign country can supply us with a commodity cheaper than we ourselves can make it, better buy it of them with some part of the produce of our own industry, employed in a way in which we have some advantage.”
-Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, 1776
IPI believes the United States should aggressively pursue trade liberalization, which includes a willingness to lower our own trade barriers even when other countries do not respond reciprocally. Ideally, those efforts include multilateral agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but bilateral agreements can also promote freer trade.
American consumers bear the brunt of the protectionist impulse through higher prices on consumer goods, and American workers are best served when liberalized trade policies facilitate the export of American products throughout the world. At a time when protectionist sentiments are growing, it is important to assert that the U.S. and its workers have nothing to fear from trade, and everything to gain.
Well Whadya Know: Federal Revenue Is Up
The left predicted that the Republican tax cut legislation would lower federal revenue. Surprise! Federal revenue is up.
A Modest Proposal for Solving the U.S.-China Trade Standoff
President Xi Jinping should propose the same deal Trump has offered to other U.S. trading partners.
Production on the Rise
Referring to a possible cutoff of Mideast oil, Merrill Matthews, resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas, said the good news is that the United States has the resources and the ability to fill the gap, and rising crude oil prices could serve as the catalyst to do so.
Associations Say Renegotiated NAFTA Needs All of North America
As word of a tentative new trade pact between the U.S. and Mexico surfaced Monday, several associations urged the White House to keep Canada in the agreement too.
Public Knowledge Pans Post-NAFTA Mexico Trade Agreement
The Institute for Policy Innovation has said it is "critical" that "any revision of NAFTA includes strong, updated protections for IP goods and services."
NAFTA Without IP Consideration is 'Not a Better Deal' Warns IPI President
If the new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) doesn’t improve intellectual property protections, then it’s not a better deal, according to the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI).
A New NAFTA Must Enhance IP Protections
If a new NAFTA doesn’t improve intellectual property protections, it’s not a better deal, says a new publication released today by the Institute for Policy Innovation.
Why NAFTA 2.0 Must Enhance IP Protection
Policies that support innovation and creativity should be priorities for the U.S. government, especially in trade agreements.
SoCalGas Helps Put More Ultra-Low Emission NGV Trucks on Road
In more recent years federal environmental authorities have worked to keep the proportion of ethanol to gasoline in U.S. supplies at 10%. Generally, the auto and boating industries alike have resisted the use of ethanol, but the Trump administration may be poised to reverse that, according to a commentary on the Institute for Policy Innovation blog by Merrill Mathews, who equates the administration's interest to providing pork barrel offsets to Iowa farmers.
CTA: New Tariffs Would Do Billion-Dollar Number on U.S. Economy
"The primary purpose of the Trump tariffs isn’t necessarily to raise tax revenue, as in centuries past, but to make something more expensive to U.S. consumers so that they will buy less of that item and buy more from domestic manufacturers, who, incidentally, typically raise their domestic prices," says IPI.