Economy & Trade

Policy Priorities

Tax Relief for America’s Middle Class
Incentivize Job Creation for American Workers
Promote Wage Growth
Incentivize Onshoring
Ensure Access to Capital

The economic success of the nation is driven by the individual will and genius of free men and women aspiring to achieve their dreams and further prosperity for themselves and their families. Our nation declared its independence in part because of a system of commerce that did not put the prosperity of Americans first and hindered, rather than embraced, the individual aspirations of Americans. In establishing a new Nation, our Founding Fathers sought to unleash the power of entrepreneurship and free enterprise so that Americans “who are possessed of the spirit of Commerce—who see and who will pursue their advantages, may achieve almost anything”.

For years, the D.C. and global corporate elites, in the name of free trade orthodoxy, allowed markets and market efficiencies to be an overwhelming influence on policy decisions. Nowhere was that more evident than in the realm of international trade relations, where the United States repeatedly entered into deals that protected and promoted the interests of foreign workers, foreign agriculture, and foreign businesses — but not our own. American workers and American communities were ground beneath the inescapable “progress” that transformed the likes of Shenzhen and Reynosa into productive powerhouses — while the likes of Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh — America’s industrial backbone — slid into decline. Free trade is an intrinsic good, but only if it is also fair trade, and the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) will advance policies that champion free and fair American trade.

The America First Policy Institute’s Economy & Trade is dedicated to advancing public policy that puts the prosperity of American citizens first, to restoring and preserving the American free enterprise system, to defending American workers and their families, to promoting growth that lifts up forgotten communities, and to celebrating the innovative spirit of the American people. It is through this spirit—when Americans are free to pursue and achieve their dreams—that American prosperity reached unprecedented heights and will continue to achieve more than ever thought possible. Economy & Trade will endeavor to research and educate the American public on policy grounded in the fundamental ideal that free Americans prosper.

CLICK TO READ THE TOP AMERICA FIRST ACTIONS TO UNLEASH AMERICAN PROSPERITY

Team

The Honorable Larry Kudlow

Chair of the Board and Chair, American Prosperity

The Honorable Robert Lighthizer

Chair, American Trade

Jeff Schlagenhauf

Director, Economy and Trade Policy

Jill Homan

Deputy Director, Economy & Trade, Campaign Director, and Senior Advisor to the President & CEO

Steve Moore

Senior Fellow

Kenzo Takeda

Policy Analyst, Economy and Trade

Jay Menees, Ph.D.

Senior Policy Analyst, Higher Education and Economy & Trade Policy

Ethan Antonelli

Policy Analyst, Economy and Trade

Latest

Statement | May 28, 2026

Trump Accounts App Makes Investing in Your Children’s Future More Accessible

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today launched an application that allows parents to manage "Trump Accounts" for their children from their phones. More than 6 million children have already been registered for these accounts.

Op-Ed | May 16, 2026

Tariffs aren’t dead

Issue Brief | May 14, 2026

Liberation Day 2.0: Rebuilding the Tariff Agenda Without IEEPA

On February 20th, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States invalidated tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by President Trump, in the landmark case, Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump (2026) (hereinafter Learning Resources). In a 6-3 decision written by Chief Justice Roberts, the court held that IEEPA did not authorize the tariffs in question, dismissing the Trump Administration’s argument that the language to “regulate importation” encompassed tariffs.

Issue Brief | May 13, 2026

Strait-Forward: A Security Architecture for the Persian Gulf

The Strait of Hormuz has received widespread attention during Operation Epic Fury, the accompanying negotiations, and the ongoing U.S. economic pressure campaign, Economic Fury, that followed. While the security of the Strait of Hormuz (hereinafter “the Strait”) was not the principal objective of Operation Epic Fury, the operation’s degradation of Iran’s military capabilities can have the ancillary effect of ensuring the long-term stability of the Strait.

Op-Ed | April 15, 2026

Working Families Tax Cuts Are Helping Restore the American Dream

For generations, the American Dream meant something simple: if you worked hard, played by the rules, and invested in your family, you could get ahead. The Trump Administration’s tax reforms reflect that basic principle, and it’s showing up in New Mexicans’ budgets, in paychecks and tax returns.