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Articles by Dan Ikenson
Brink Lindsey’s Lament: Amid Mass Plenty, A Failure To Flourish
author Brink Lindsey Dan Ikenson For millennia, humans toiled in immiserating subsistence before revolutions in agricultural and then industrial production dramatically altered the economic trajectory and propelled us into a world where surplus and exchange became possible.
Trump Saves The Quarter Pounder And An American Ally
Close-up of McDonald's Quarter Pounder cheeseburger, Buttonwillow, California, December 21, 2024. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) Gado via Getty Images The supply of beef in the U.S. market is at a seven-decade low, consumer prices for beef are at near-record highs, and Americans are foregoing their beloved burgers and steaks for cheaper sources of protein.
Crypto Goes Mainstream
A man analyzes financial data on his phone and laptop in Athens, Greece, on September 12, 2025. (Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images When businesses operate in transparent, predictable environments and have new markets to tap or efficiencies to extract, investment and game-changing innovations are sure to follow. That, in a nutshell, explains why we have witnessed a broad, mainstream embrace of cryptocurrencies and other blockchain technologies in 2025.
Port Fees On Chinese Ships Will Sink Trump's Energy Policy Goals
Who will be fired when President Trump learns his own administration is subverting his promise to achieve U.S global energy dominance?
The Crypto Ball Is In Congress’ Court
BERLIN, GERMANY - JANUARY 25: In this photo illustration model coins of the cryptocurrencies ... More ethereum, ripple, litecoin and bitcoin lie on a circuit board of a computer. (Photo Illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images) Photothek via Getty Images In May 2024, prospects for the United States becoming a global innovation center for digital assets and other promising blockchain technologies were gloomy.
Copper Tariffs Would Short-Circuit U.S. Electrification Build-Out
WUZHOU, CHINA - JANUARY 19: Molten copper flows into molds at a smelting plant n Wuzhou, China. ... More (Photo by He Huawen/VCG via Getty Images) VCG via Getty Images Whether the goal is to get Germany to fund its NATO obligations, convince Mexico to crack down on drug traffickers, tout the benefits of U.S. statehood to Canada, or compel Colombia to receive U.S. deportees, President Trump’s international overtures are often infused with tariff threats.
Climate Tactics Absolve Autocrats, Weaken U.S., And Worsen Emissions
No matter how well-intentioned a policy goal or noble a humanitarian cause, there are always tradeoffs to weigh before deciding on a course of action. But sometimes certitude, righteousness, and demonization of the unconvinced blinds us to the imperative of assessing those costs and consequences. Climate activists offer a deeply concerning case in point.
Shrimp Trade Ruling To Impact Prices And US Influence In Latin America
The conduct of U.S. trade policy in recent years has served to squander America’s soft power and deplete a once deep reservoir of international good will toward the United States. Since 2017, Washington has turned its back on trade agreements, thumbed its nose at the rules-based trading system it created, massively subsidized efforts to draw global production capacity to the United States, and imposed punishing trade restrictions on countries rich and poor.
What Would Jimmy Carter Do About The FDIC’s Regulatory Power Grab?
On the occasion of his 100th birthday last week, former-President Jimmy Carter received praise from across the political spectrum for his leadership in freeing important parts of the U.S. economy from the asphyxiating tentacles of the regulatory state.
Blocking The Nippon-US Steel Deal Would Undermine National Security
After months of signaling disapproval of Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion bid to acquire U.S. Steel, President Biden deferred his decision on the fate of that deal until after the election. Hopefully that buys him time to appreciate the enormous economic and geopolitical costs of blocking that transaction on national security grounds. An honest assessment will find the proposed acquisition does not threaten national security, but the president’s rejection of the deal definitely would.
Hedge Fund “Short-Termism” Destroys Innovation And Wealth
Public corporations are testaments to the genius and vitality of capitalism. They encourage innovation and its commercialization. They raise and allocate capital efficiently. They enable large-scale production and distribution that reduces costs and improves our quality of life. And they offer broad access to investing and opportunities for wealth accumulation.
Does Harris Have A Plan For US Crypto And Blockchain Industries? Original
Two seismic events in 2024 may prove beneficial to investors in blockchain applications and the future of technology innovation in the United States. First, the Supreme Court’s overruling the 40-year-old “Chevron Doctrine” marks the beginning of a process that will restore greater clarity and consistency to the regulatory environment.
Biden Adds Junk Fees To The Inflation-Adjusted Price Of Your Vote
(Originally published at Forbes.) Amid elevated living costs and stubbornly high inflation rates, President Biden has been scrambling to make amends. Bothered by high gas prices? No worries. POTUS will tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve – even absent “strategic” necessity. Don’t want to pay back your college loans? Uncle Joe will launder your liabilities in the Treasury’s general assets account – never mind the stealth burden on taxpayers and the Supreme Court ruling against it.
Biden Adds Junk Fees To The Inflation-Adjusted Price Of Your Vote
Amid elevated living costs and stubbornly high inflation rates, President Biden has been scrambling to make amends. Bothered by high gas prices? No worries. POTUS will tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve – even absent “strategic” necessity. Don’t want to pay back your college loans? Uncle Joe will launder your liabilities in the Treasury’s general assets account – never mind the stealth burden on taxpayers and the Supreme Court ruling against it.
Why The Securities And Exchange Commission Lost Its War On Crypto
From banning “non-compete” clauses to re-requiring “net-neutrality” to hyperinflating the costs of taxpayer-funded infrastructure with extravagant union giveaways, the Biden administration has overseen a massive expansion of the regulatory state. But amid this regulatory incontinence, which sows uncertainty, suppresses innovation, and retards investment and growth, there are encouraging signs that Congress, the courts, and US entrepreneurs are fed up with rule by executive fiat.
Why The Securities And Exchange Commission Lost Its War On Crypto
(Originally published in Forbes.) From banning “non-compete” clauses to re-requiring “net-neutrality” to hyperinflating the costs of taxpayer-funded infrastructure with extravagant union giveaways, the Biden administration has overseen a massive expansion of the regulatory state.
Too Much Washington Is What Ails U.S. Manufacturing
Popular on the left is this trope that Washington’s unwavering commitment to free markets is responsible for the demise of America’s once mighty manufacturing sector. A mutation of that belief infecting the “new right” holds that US security is imperiled by Washington’s failure to harness industry’s capacity and direct it toward national economic and social objectives.
Too Much Washington Is What Ails U.S. Manufacturing
(Originally published in Forbes.) Popular on the left is this trope that Washington’s unwavering commitment to free markets is responsible for the demise of America’s once mighty manufacturing sector. A mutation of that belief infecting the “new right” holds that US security is imperiled by Washington’s failure to harness industry’s capacity and direct it toward national economic and social objectives.
America Requires Regulatory Clarity Before Blockchain Bears Its Bounty
(Originally published in Forbes.) Innovation is essential to economic growth and higher living standards. Better tools and techniques that make us more productive are requirements of wealth creation. Still, innovation attracts its fair share of skeptics whose fears about where new technologies may lead are ripe for exploitation.
America Requires Regulatory Clarity Before Blockchain Bears Its Bounty
Innovation is essential to economic growth and higher living standards. Better tools and techniques that make us more productive are requirements of wealth creation. Still, innovation attracts its fair share of skeptics whose fears about where new technologies may lead are ripe for exploitation. Helming the regulatory agencies in Washington, today, are many who seem to prey on fears about the nefarious misuse of technology or how innovation will send our jobs and way of life into obsolescence.
Trade Policy Lawlessness Veiled In The Rule Of Law
(Piece originally published at Forbes) U.S. policymakers portray the United States as the most open, transparent, rules-based economy in the world. Such moral preening is meant to excuse Washington's protectionism as exceptional and virtuous – trade restrictions imposed reluctantly and merely to level a proverbial playing field made unlevel by the actions of rule-breaking foreign companies and governments.
Trade Policy Lawlessness Veiled In The Rule Of Law
U.S. policymakers portray the United States as the most open, transparent, rules-based economy in the world. Such moral preening is meant to excuse Washington's protectionism as exceptional and virtuous – trade restrictions imposed reluctantly and merely to level a proverbial playing field made unlevel by the actions of rule-breaking foreign companies and governments.
Thank You, Japan. Love, US Manufacturing
No single country in the world attracts more foreign direct investment than the United States. And no country’s businesses have invested more in the United States than Japan’s. That should be cause for celebration and flute-clinking in Washington this week, where President Biden is hosting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. But Biden’s opposition to Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel has rendered discussion of cross-border investment a bit uncomfortable.
Thank You, Japan. Love, U.S. Manufacturing
(Originally published on Forbes.com) No single country in the world attracts more foreign direct investment than the United States. And no country’s businesses have invested more in the United States than Japan’s. That should be cause for celebration and flute-clinking in Washington this week, where President Biden is hosting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
New AD/CVD Regs Tighten Executive Branch's Grip on Trade Policy
The Department of Commerce published regulations yesterday that will expand and strengthen its enforcement of the U.S. Antidumping (AD) and Countervailing Duty (CVD) Laws.
Don’t Sack U.S. Retailers With Paper Bag Protectionism
After seven years and no end in sight to America-First trade policies, the United States – that once indispensable proponent of free trade and economic globalization – has become enamored of protectionism. Many attending the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi this week and hoping to restore faith in the trading system have come to see the United States as a sort of international trade pariah.
Only A Comprehensive Indo-Pacific Agreement Can Defy China’s Gravity
November will be heavy on pronouncements, commitments, reassurances, and the unveiling of new initiatives among countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Ground zero for this month’s activities is San Francisco, where the United States will host the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and its multitude of related ministerial meetings, stakeholder convenings, and sideline huddles.
More Trade, Not Less, Is Essential To U.S. Security Goals
In recent years, the focus of U.S. economic and trade policy has shifted from opening markets to promoting economic security. That is an emphasis of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework agreement, the Biden administration’s signature regional economics-oriented initiative, which is expected to be substantially concluded next month.
Beware The “Surprise Fees” In Biden’s 200% Aluminum Tariffs Original
TOPSHOT - US Presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden gestures as he addresses ... [+] supporters and curious voters at the IBEW Local 490 in Concord, New Hampshire on February 4, 2020. - Democratic White House candidate Pete Buttigieg seized a shock lead in the chaotic Iowa caucuses, closely trailed by leftist senator Bernie Sanders, according to partial returns released on Tuesday after an embarrassing delay in reporting the results.
The Fight Against Protectionism Begins At Home
[The following article is a synopsis of a Hinrich Foundation Report published today, March 7, 2023.] For six decades following World War II, governments reduced tariffs progressively and agreed to rules that would enable trade and investment to flourish. If ever there was a golden age of globalization, it was roughly the 15 years between 1993 and 2007.
E-Commerce Keeps U.S. Businesses And Global Consumers Connected Through Turbulent Times
Last month, the world marked the arrival of its 8 billionth person, whose odds of being born in the United States were merely 1-in-25. Those demographics are well known to U.S. business executives, who need no reminding that 96% of humanity lives outside the United States. As a result, for many U.S. businesses, winning customers and building a long-term presence in foreign markets have been critical to their success.
U.S. And China Regard Trade Rules As Impediments To Their Hegemonic Priorities
There are two kinds of observers of the international trade policy landscape: those who see the multilateral trading system in existential peril and those who need stronger spectacles. Over the past few years, the ranks of the former have grown, but there is little consensus regarding the nature of that peril or what, if anything, to do about it.
Commerce Department Punishes U.S. Companies And Subverts Biden’s Effort To Fight Inflation
President Biden has singled out curbing inflation as his top economic priority, but his Commerce Department seems not to have received the memo. This summer, U.S. importers were ambushed by a spiteful Commerce Department decision to raise tariffs on imported countertops from an average of 3.19% to 161.56% ad valorem. This will bankrupt scores of U.S. companies, induce layoffs, and increase housing costs.
The E-Commerce Revolution Is Transforming Global Trade And Benefitting The U.S. Economy
Technology, innovation and entrepreneurship have been integral to reducing the cost of business and bringing the world’s producers and consumers closer together. In the 1970s and 1980s, the proliferation of standardized cargo containers revolutionized global shipping, dramatically reducing transportation and distribution costs and opening the door to international commerce on a grand scale.
Deglobalization Will Hurt The U.S. Economy And Cripple Many Others
The United States is by far the world’s premiere destination for foreign direct investment—a privilege not to be taken lightly. Economic openness, political stability, commitment to the rule of law, and a reasonably manageable business climate have been among America’s greatest selling points in the global competition to attract FDI. With those attributes less assured and evidence of deglobalization increasing, the U.S. economy will suffer while many smaller economies will do even worse.
Intellectual Property Protection Is Why We Even Have A Chance To Defeat The Pandemic
In 2020, the world was waylaid by a deadly, novel coronavirus. In 2021, the scientific community counterpunched with its arsenal of innovation, successfully testing, producing, and distributing billions of doses of highly efficacious vaccines. While most people are grateful for the fruits of this awe-inspiring, lifesaving confluence of expertise, capacity, and determination, others portray the underlying ecosystem as pernicious and predatory, and seek to destroy it.
Biden Should Talk About Innovation Policy And Economic Growth At The G20 In Rome
On an agenda dominated by COVID, climate change, and geopolitics, President Biden’s proposal for a global minimum tax is the main economics issue at the annual G20 Summit in Rome this week. Many governments are eager to collect more tax revenues without having to worry that raising rates will chase businesses—or their earnings—to more competitive jurisdictions.
Biden’s Plans To Rebuild Infrastructure And Alliances Threatened By His Embrace Of Protectionism
By Daniel Ikenson Sharp contrasts between President Biden and former President Trump blur into murky consistency when it comes to international trade and investment policy. Both favor tariffs, forced supply-chain repatriation, “Buy American” restrictions, and domestic production subsidies to manage economic and geopolitical outcomes.
Stop Blaming Patents For The World’s Low Vaccination Rates
The rapid development and dissemination of highly effective COVID-19 vaccines should inspire confidence in human ingenuity and gratitude for the rules and institutions that enable such life-saving innovation to flourish in the United States. Instead, the Biden administration has endorsed the misplaced scorn for those rules and institutions that the activist left spoon feeds the developing world.
Much Maligned Multinational Enterprises Are Essential To Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda
Debate over President Biden’s infrastructure proposal is heating up in Washington. The so-called “American Jobs Plan” is one of the three pillars of Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. With goals of fixing highways, rebuilding bridges, upgrading ports, renewing the nation’s electric grid, greenifying energy and water infrastructure, and delivering broadband to millions of underserved Americans, what’s not to like?
Restoring Public Trust In Technology And Media Is Infrastructure Investment
Concluding what was an otherwise upbeat speech about the myriad societal benefits of technology at a policy dinner in Washington, D.C. in 2014, Google’s then Executive Director Eric Schmidt delivered a halting warning. Schmidt cautioned that as we marvel at the blessings and boundless potential of technology, we must never lose sight of the fact that there will always be people committed to using those same life-improving advancements for deeply nefarious purposes.
“Buy American” Schemes And Maritime Graft Will Only Inflate Biden’s Astronomical Infrastructure Price Tag
President Biden is calling his $2.25 trillion infrastructure spending proposal the “American Jobs Plan,” which reminds of a story about the late free-market economist, Milton Friedman. The Nobel-laureate was in China, observing the construction of a dam with a local official, and noticed there were no tractors or excavators on site—just scores of workers digging with shovels.
China’s Long March To Technological Preeminence Threatens U.S. Security
The Biden administration, with broad, bipartisan support in Congress, is poised to launch an all-of-government effort to meet the commercial and security challenges presented by China’s relentless pursuit of global technological preeminence. Advanced technology can be used to spy, extort, sabotage, and conduct warfare, and that makes China’s technological capabilities matters of U.S. national security.
The Future of the World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is in the midst of a series of crises: its dispute system is struggling to function; its director‐general stepped down early; a U.S. senator is publicly advocating for it to be "abolished"; and it has been decades since a major new round of liberalization has been completed.
The Case Against the Jones Act
Passed in 1920, the Jones Act restricts the waterborne transport of cargo within the United States to vessels that are U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed, U.S.-owned, and U.S.-built. Meant to bolster the U.S. maritime sector, this protectionist law has instead contributed to its decline. As a result, today's U.S. oceangoing domestic fleet numbers fewer than 100 ships.
Josh Hawley’s New Smoot-Hawley
Since the end of World War II, the United States has exerted outsized influence to shape the rules of global commerce. Recognizing the economic and strategic benefits of a rules-based trading system, every president from Harry Truman to Barack Obama supported U.S. leadership and engagement with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its predecessor institution. Though imperfect, this system has paid enormous dividends for the United States.
Let’s Have That Much Needed Debate About The World Trade Organization
In the New York Times on Tuesday, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) proposed abolishing the World Trade Organization. On Wednesday came a flood of fact corrections from trade experts exposing the senator’s idea as the spawn of fallacies. Then, on Thursday, conceding only that the United States can’t “abolish” the WTO, Hawley submitted a joint resolution to Congress calling for a formal withdrawal. Withdrawing from the WTO would be a monumental mistake.
Senator Hawley’s Case For Nationalism: Strong On Propaganda, Weak On The Facts
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 15: Sen. Joshua Hawley (R-MO) questions U.S. Attorney General nominee ... [+] William Barr during his confirmation hearing January 15, 2019 in Washington, DC. Barr, who previously served as Attorney General under President George H. W. Bush, was confronted by senators about his views on the investigation being conducted by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Protectionist Shipping Restrictions Are Choking The U.S. Economy
Economists rightly criticize President Trump’s tariffs for their pernicious effects on U.S. producers and consumers. Import taxes on intermediate goods—inputs like steel, aluminum, and electronic components—drive up production costs and operating expenses for businesses along supply chains on down to the end users. But we must broaden the inquiry to include trade restrictions on the most common intermediate input: freight transportation.
Trump Is Robbing The Rust Belt To Buy Farm State Votes
In an ALL CAPS tweet last week, President Trump reassured America’s farmers that their service in the trade war continues to entitle them to federal subsidies “UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE TRADE DEALS WITH CHINA, MEXICO, CANADA AND OTHERS FULLY KICK IN…” According to Trump, that assistance—provided to help farmers cope with tanking export revenues thanks to foreign retaliation for Trump’s tariffs—will be “PAID FOR OUT OF THE MASSIVE TARIFF MONEY COMING INTO THE USA!” Well, in one sense, Trump is...
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