Stephen Ezell

The era of free trade globalization is over. To replace it, the United States should lead a new class of binding deals with allies, with a dual objective of strengthening allied national economic power industries and weakening China’s.

China has utilized numerous illegitimate tools in pursuit of global leadership in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, including IP theft, forced labor, and stealing genetic information. This must be met with a swift and forceful response from U.S. policymakers.

China is becoming an increasingly capable competitor in the global pharmaceutical industry, with growing strengths at every level of the biopharmaceutical supply chain. Responding to this challenge will require a comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy, with strong cross-agency collaboration, to advance U.S. biopharmaceutical competitiveness.

OMB’s proposed rule to increase the productivity and success of the U.S. scientific research establishment is commendable. But the rule in its totality would introduce dangerous and counterproductive revisions to the Uniform Guidance that would drastically reshape the American scientific enterprise for the worse and impose severe and long-lasting economic damage.

China has become an increasingly capable competitor in the global biopharmaceutical industry. To remain competitive, the United States should double down on policies to ensure that it offers the world’s leading environment to support private sector life sciences innovation.

Boeing and Airbus have long dominated the global commercial aircraft industry in production and innovation. But the rise of COMAC—China’s government-created, mercantilist-fueled national champion—threatens the foundations of market-based commercial aviation.

The EU has an array of discriminatory policies that target major U.S. tech firms, a legitimate basis for action under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. U.S. policymakers should favor amicably negotiated solutions, but this tool is available as a last resort if necessary.

Country cases show that the Trump administration’s tariffs have had a paradoxical effect. They have given Washington short-term leverage in some bilateral negotiations, especially with countries seeking improved access to the U.S. market or deeper security and technology ties. But they have also accelerated a global search for optionality.

For policymakers to bolster their regional innovation capacity and global competitiveness, they first must know where they stand. This report benchmarks 48 regions across Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Serbia on 13 commonly available innovation indicators.

U.S. automotive competitiveness has severely faltered. The federal government needs a comprehensive national strategy to revitalize the industry’s competitiveness, especially in the face of Chinese EVs.

In the postwar era, the national interest inherent in US trade policy pushed for globalization, first to compete with the Soviet Union, then to extend America’s “unipolar moment.” The rise of China changed this trajectory. But as the traditional FTA falls by the wayside, a new alternative template to redesign trade deals for the 21st century might be the "strategic techno-economic agreement."

The competitiveness of the auto industry of the United States has waxed and waned over the past 60 years and is clearly not the globally dominant behemoth it once was. To bolster the industry’s competitiveness, policymakers first must understand why it has faltered and the challenges it faces moving forward.

Watch now for a discussion with industry experts and congressional staff on how to revitalize U.S. motor vehicle competitiveness, respond to the rise of China’s auto industry, and ensure America remains a leader in the technologies, supply chains, and production systems that will define the future of mobility.

Watch now for an expert panel discussion on what Europe’s experience reveals about the risks of undermining biopharmaceutical innovation, how policy choices shape R&D investment and competitiveness, and what steps U.S. policymakers should take to sustain American leadership in life sciences.

ITIF hosted an expert panel discussion on a new report that lays out a detailed policy agenda with over 100 actionable recommendations that the United States and its allies should adopt to limit the success of Chinese firms in national power industries and slow the PRC’s progress toward global techno-economic and industrial dominance.

Watch now for a virtual panel featuring authors of a new book by MIT Press, Priority Technologies: Ensuring US Security and Shared Prosperity. Experts discussed how to strengthen U.S. innovation and industrial ecosystems and which priority technologies will be critical to long-term global economic, military, and technological leadership in the decades ahead.

Watch this Capitol Hill event on how GLP-1 therapies can transform health and economic outcomes—and what policymakers should do to maximize their benefits.

Watch now for an expert panel discussion as we discuss a new ITIF report on policy solutions to non-tariff attacks (NTAs), and explore the stakes for U.S. innovation, technology leadership, and global competitiveness.

Stephen Ezell gave a presentation on the steps Europe needs to take to unlock its deep tech innovation potential at the Advancing Strategic Competitiveness & European Innovation in Deep Tech (ASCEND) conference in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 25, 2025.

ITIF’s fall seminar course will explore core emerging technologies that are reshaping our world and the public policy challenges and opportunities influencing their development and application. The course is open to congressional and federal staff only.

This forum shall explore how Argentina might accelerate growth in its life sciences sector while improving patient access to innovative medicines. It will examine the critical role of strong intellectual property frameworks and efficient regulatory systems in fostering local innovation and promoting local biomanufacturing. We will also explore how university technology transfer can leverage Argentina's established biotechnology expertise to drive sector development and economic growth.

Watch ITIF’s expert panel discussion with leaders from the Council on Global Competitiveness and Innovation (CGCI) and Shield Capital as they examined the vital role Big Tech plays in U.S. technology leadership and national security.

This in-person event on Capitol Hill explored how academic research, entrepreneurship, and public-private partnerships are shaping innovation ecosystems—and what is needed to strengthen them going forward.

Watch now for an expert discussion surrounding the implications of location verification requirements for AI chips.