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

Director, Make Housing Great Again Initiative and Senior Advisor to the President & CEO

Steve Moore

Senior Fellow

Kenzo Takeda

Analyst, Economy and Trade Policy

Jay Menees, Ph.D.

Senior Policy Analyst, Higher Education and Economy & Trade Policy

Ethan Antonelli

Policy Analyst, Economy and Trade

Alex Krutz

Fellow, Economy and Trade

Latest

Statement | September 4, 2026

America First Economy Delivers for American Workers In Latest Jobs Report

The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) applauds today’s jobs report showing the American economy added 162,000 jobs in August, nearly triple economists’ expectations, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent.

Op-Ed | September 4, 2026

Europe’s digital agenda is a gift to China

Powerful AI chips are moving into China again. As Beijing does everything it can to close the gap with American AI companies, the U.S. and its European allies should pursue a trade and technology agenda designed to keep that gap open.

Op-Ed | August 24, 2026

End the Biden Inflation Tax

President Trump is reportedly considering new capital gains tax reforms: indexing capital gains for inflation and exempting more home sales from the tax entirely.

Expert Insights | August 13, 2026

A New North American Trade Model: Examining Key Issues in the 2026 USMCA Joint Review

On July 1, 2026, the United States, Mexico, and Canada began a scheduled joint review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) governing commerce of nearly $2 trillion between the three countries.[1] Total goods and services trade with Canada and Mexico constitutes approximately a quarter of overall U.S. trade, affecting millions of jobs and important industries through highly integrated supply chains.

Public Comment | July 31, 2026

Public Comment on Rescission of Climate-Related Disclosure Rules

I respectfully submit this comment in support of the Commission’s proposal to rescind in full the climate-related disclosure rules adopted in March 2024 (the “Final Rules”).1 Full rescission—rather than a further round of exemptions, delays, or phase-ins—is the disposition most consistent with the securities statutes, with the Commission’s longstanding materiality framework, and with the Commission’s statutory obligation to consider efficiency, competition, and capital formation.