Trelysa Long

U.S. visa policies are limiting the flow of foreign expertise that is critical to strengthening American manufacturing, innovation, and scientific leadership. Congress should create a dedicated visa category with expedited processing for technical experts and researchers who advance U.S. industrial competitiveness.

Fears that AI will trigger widespread job losses are increasingly contradicted by new evidence showing that firms adopting AI intensively hire more workers—including entry-level employees—and expand employment across a wide range of occupations. Rather than slowing AI adoption, policymakers should accelerate it through a national AI strategy while pushing back against misleading narratives that undermine productivity, competitiveness, and economic growth.

The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on semiconductor imports on national security grounds under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. These tariffs would raise ICT prices and thereby lower ICT consumption and capital stocks, which would reduce economic growth and lower Americans’ living standards.

Manufacturing start-ups, particularly in critical national economic power industries, are essential to the nation’s economic and security strength. Yet, U.S. manufacturing start-ups have declined over the last three decades.

Broad semiconductor tariffs may aim to strengthen U.S. national security, but could ultimately weaken U.S. technological leadership. Higher chip costs could raise consumer prices while slowing investment in the AI infrastructure that drives future growth.

Chinese industrial policy is reshaping global manufacturing and impacting every U.S. state. The result is growing risk to American industry, jobs, and national security.

Only 1 percent of tech goods under HS code 84 coming from ASEAN faced tariffs compared to about 90 percent for those from China.

OECD data shows there is a consistent, positive relationship between the share of firms using AI and a country’s GDP per hour worked.

As AI capabilities continue to advance, some people have begun raising concerns about the long-term implications for the tax base. But this concern is likely overstated. Policymakers should refrain from changing the tax base on the assumption that labor income will decline.

An increasing share of U.S. doctoral degrees are awarded in STEM fields, and many of these graduates pursue positions that depend heavily on federal research funding. Yet the Trump administration has proposed significant cuts to key science agencies in its FY 2027 budget request.

Over the last decade, U.S. trade performance has deteriorated significantly in advanced industries. That is a major problem because these industries have high fixed costs and require substantial investments in R&D, so they depend on large customer bases to achieve scale economies and remain globally competitive.

Maintaining R&D leadership in advanced industries is critical to U.S. economic competitiveness and national power. But on a size- and wage-adjusted basis, China is rapidly gaining ground. Congress needs to boost corporate R&D incentives to prevent America from falling behind.