Publications: Eli Clemens

Organized retail crime is increasingly exploiting e-commerce platforms, and while companies like Amazon and eBay are investing in detection and transparency, governments must strengthen law enforcement and coordination to effectively combat these organized criminal networks.

Lawmakers risk misregulating grocery prices by targeting dynamic and algorithmic pricing tools, and should instead focus on enforcing existing laws against clearly defined deceptive practices.

Chinese firms with ties to Beijing—and in some cases China’s military—are quietly exploiting America’s open economy, taxpayer support, and weak post-acquisition oversight, and Congress should close those loopholes before more U.S. innovation and industrial capacity are used to advance China’s strategic aims.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission should shift more enforcement focus toward Chinese e-commerce platforms—like Temu and SHEIN—because, despite widespread safety violations linked to Chinese-made goods, these high-scale marketplaces face disproportionately little scrutiny despite posing significant risks to U.S. consumers.

While false “Made in USA” claims are a real problem, the solution is not holding online marketplaces liable but strengthening data infrastructure and verification systems that enable regulators, consumers, and AI tools to more effectively identify and enforce legitimate claims.

Boosting U.S. competitiveness in national power industries is necessary, but not sufficient to avoid losing to China. America also must take measures to slow the PRC’s progress toward global dominance. This report provides more than 100 actionable recommendations for the administration and Congress. Western allies should take many of the same steps.

China has surged ahead of the United States in adopting sidewalk delivery robots due to more proactive and coordinated policy experimentation, offering lessons for U.S. policymakers on how real-world pilots and clearer regulatory frameworks can accelerate deployment of autonomous delivery technology.

Agentic commerce—where AI agents autonomously shop and transact on users’ behalf—could deliver major efficiency gains, but outdated regulations and unresolved legal questions risk slowing adoption unless policymakers update rules built for human-driven transactions.

CFIUS’ procedures need to be strengthened to ensure that Chinese entities, particularly those influenced or backed by Chinese government influence or funding, cannot acquire U.S. companies or technology that could harm America’s economic or national security.

Congress is right to flag Alipay over national security and data risks, but a blanket ban without first conducting audits or establishing reciprocity safeguards would be premature. Regulators should investigate the platform before Congress considers banning it.