In a new blog post, Cato Trade Fellow, Clark Packard warns that “the Trump administration’s aggressive protectionism is quickly eroding a key component of American economic freedom: the freedom to trade internationally.”

Earlier this week, the Cato Institute, the Fraser Institute in Canada, and a number of global think tanks published the annual Economic Freedom of the World report, which “measures the degree to which the institutions and policies of countries permit people to make their own economic choices.” According to the report, “the effective US tariff rate now stands at 20.2 percent, well above the global trade-weighted average of 2.5 percent,” ranking the United States “a lowly 161 out of 165 countries examined…just behind Iran.”

Packard writes, “Restrictions on international trade are often the canary in the coal mine for erosions of other economic freedoms.” He notes that “it is time for Congress to take responsible action to tap the brakes on President Trump’s erratic tariffs” and hopes “the 2025 Economic Freedom of the World report will serve as a wake-up call.”

To reach Packard or for further information, please contact Emily Salamon at esalamon@​cato.​org.