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China Plans to Dominate a Key Semiconductor Material

Beijing has provided significant support to its domestic polysilicon industry in a drive to establish Chinese firms as the dominant global suppliers of solar-grade polysilicon—and it wants its firms to expand their share of semiconductor-grade polysilicon.

The Economic Costs of Public Subsidies for Freight Transportation

Federal freight policy effectively incentivizes the most damaging and least efficient mode of freight transport—trucking—by underpricing access to public infrastructure. A restructured, mode-neutral cost system would encourage more efficient, safer, and environmentally sustainable freight transportation, better serving taxpayers, drivers, and the economy.

How Digital Services Empower SMEs and Start-Ups

Digital services are the key to unlocking growth for small- and medium-sized enterprises in today’s economy. They help firms overcome financial constraints, close skills gaps, and boost productivity. Policymakers should incentivize SMEs to capitalize on those opportunities.

Lessons From France’s Nuclear Program

France has embarked on an ambitious program to build at least six new large nuclear reactors, applying lessons from recent overruns and delays. While success is far from guaranteed, there are important lessons for the United States as it seeks to jump-start its own nuclear sector through recent ambitious executive orders.

How Chinese Online Marketplaces Fuel Counterfeits

Chinese e-commerce platforms facilitate sales of counterfeit products, threatening U.S. intellectual property, fair competition, and consumer safety. Policymakers should take action to hold these platforms accountable and protect American consumers and businesses.

A Shot at a Healthier Future: The Transformative Potential of GLP-1s

Obesity affects over 42 percent of U.S. adults, costing the nation more than $400 billion annually. Traditional weight-loss methods alone have proved to be insufficient in addressing this growing public health burden. But GLP-1 receptor agonists now offer the potential to profoundly transform obesity care. Public policies should support their wider adoption.

A Time to Act: Policies to Strengthen the US Robotics Industry

Robots are the future. It is time for Congress and the administration to take a number of straightforward and affordable steps to boost U.S. robotics innovation and adoption.

A Truck Mileage Traveled Tax to Enhance US Roadway Sustainability

Insufficient, inequitable, and poorly incentivized tax structures are leading to counterproductive behaviors in the trucking industry that threaten the sustainability of the U.S. highway network. An axle-adjusted vehicle mileage traveled tax would address many of these inefficiencies and help address the shortfall to ensure the sustainability of the U.S. Interstate network.

Broadband Convergence Is Creating More Competition

Multiple broadband technologies are delivering high-speed Internet service to consumers, creating even more robust competition. Yet, regulations are misaligned with market realities and should be updated to help maximize the consumer benefits of this increasing competition.

Letter to the Trump Administration Regarding Non-Tariff Attacks on US Tech Firms and Industries

Foreign governments are systematically deploying policies that constitute non-tariff attacks (NTAs) on America’s leading technology companies. ITIF and other think tank scholars and policy experts urge the administration to put these unfair NTAs on the U.S. trade agenda and insist that America’s trading partners address them.

Congress Should Fully Fund NSF’s TIP Directorate to Make America More Competitive Versus China

Congress has authorized $20 billion over five years to fund the National Science Foundation’s Technology Innovation Partnership, but lawmakers have appropriated just $410 million. To win the techno-economic war with China, America needs the TIP directorate to be fully funded.

How America’s Trading Partners Are Reacting to US Tariffs

Global Trade and Innovation Policy Alliance (GTIPA) members from 17 countries analyzed how their economies are reacting to U.S. tariffs. Many countries are seeking to support their local producers and establish trade arrangements that are less reliant on the United States.

The Bayh-Dole Act’s Role in Stimulating University-Led Regional Economic Growth

Universities play a pivotal role in America’s technology economy, serving as a crucial source of research, inventions, patents, start-up technology companies, and regional economic and employment growth. The Bayh-Dole Act has played an instrumental role in spurring academic technology transfer activities that serve as vital drivers of American innovation.

Blocking Access to Foreign Pirate Sites: A Long-Overdue Task for Congress

More than a decade after the overheated SOPA/PIPA debate, experience from around the world shows that blocking access to piracy websites is an effective way to protect copyright holders and increase legal content consumption without harming legal commerce or free expression.

AR/VR’s Potential in Health Care

AR/VR innovation needs to accelerate in order to meet the critical demands of health care. Policymakers should empower and fund immersive technologies in the health-care industry because of the long-term cost saving benefits and positive impact on patient care.

Short-Circuited: How Semiconductor Tariffs Would Harm the U.S. Economy and Digital Industry Leadership

Imposing blanket tariffs on U.S. semiconductor imports would imperil U.S. leadership across a broad range of digital and nondigital industries while significantly decreasing U.S. economic growth, raising prices, and jeopardizing broader U.S. manufacturing competitiveness.

“Big Pharma” Is a Normal Industry

President Trump has announced his intention to regulate U.S. drug prices. But the arguments in favor of doing so are wrong. Price controls reduce development of new treatments and cures, and hurt U.S. biopharmaceutical competitiveness.

South Korean Policy in the Trump and China Era: Broad-Based Technological Innovation, Not Just Export-Led Growth

In the Trump and China era, South Korea must move beyond export-led growth. Scaling up small firms and boosting productivity in services must be national imperatives.

EU Regulatory Actions Against US Tech Companies Are a De Facto Tariff System

EU policymakers frame their legislative and regulatory actions against U.S. tech companies as measures to promote competition and protect consumers. But they operate as protectionist trade barriers and revenue-generating mechanisms.

Toward Globalization 2.0: A New Trade Policy Framework for Advanced-Industry Leadership and National Power

Globalization 1.0 has failed, but protectionist autarky cannot be its replacement. Instead, it is past time to craft a new kind of globalization that advances U.S. interests in key industries and prevents China from becoming the dominant techno-economic power.

How China’s State-Backed E-Commerce Platforms Threaten American Consumers and U.S. Technology Leadership

China’s industrial strategy calls for gaining market share in e-commerce to expand its global influence, financial footprint, and ability to compete in AI. Policymakers should act now to avoid leaving U.S. platforms at a structural disadvantage and exposing U.S. consumers to harm.

A Policymaker’s Guide to Digital Antitrust Regulation

Rather than adopt the European Union’s model for regulating competition, policymakers considering how to govern digital markets should carefully evaluate whether digital antitrust regulation is justified and consider whether concerns about anticompetitive behavior can be addressed with less intrusive and more cost-effective tools.

The Trade Imbalance Index: Where the Trump Administration Should Take Action to Address Trade Distortions

As the Trump administration seeks to rebalance America’s trade relationships, it should focus the most attention on countries where U.S. industries face the worst trade distortions and imbalances, and where the greatest gains can be achieved for the U.S. economy. China, India, and the European Union top that list.

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