Trump’s red tape crusade should inspire us
The US president has reversed the growth of regulation. We could have a bonfire of EU rules
It could not have been less subtle. In one corner stood a pile of paper six feet tall. In another, a second stack just a foot high. And between them, spanning a whole side of the White House room, was a red ribbon. “We are here for one single reason,” said Donald Trump, addressing the cameras. “To cut the red tape of regulation.” America faced an “ever-growing maze” of rules, he explained. It was costing the economy trillions of dollars and millions of jobs. But that era was now over. “The never-ending growth of red tape in America has come to a sudden, screeching and beautiful halt.”
And then, with a pair of over-sized scissors, the president approached the ribbon. There was a pause for the
cameramen, a “one, two, three”, and the red tape was snipped.
Like many of Mr Trump’s gimmicks, that press call in 2017 was more New York property developer than commander-in-chief. But it embodied the simple messaging that has driven his political success. In 1960, there were 20,000 pages of US regulations – that was the smaller pile. Today there are 185,000 – the larger one. It was time to get back to the former.
Mr Trump’s red tape slashing has been one of the more overlooked features of his first two years in office. He has slammed the brake on runaway regulation growth, through a combination of top-level orders and Washington tricks. The strategy is twofold. Step one, drastically reduce the number of new rules being adopted. Step two, start eroding that whopping mound of old regulations.
On his tenth day in office, Mr Trump signed an executive order insisting that for every one new regulation issued, at least two existing rules had to go. It was a pledge touted throughout his campaign, another Post-it-sized policy that voters could understand in an instant and recall with ease. Alongside the 2-for-1 deal, the order ruled that the overall cost of new regulations should be “no greater than zero” in a given financial year – ending the spiralling financial burden under Barack Obama.
On both counts, Mr Trump has delivered. The White House’s 2018 red tape report found that the ratio had exceeded expectations – 12 major regulations ditched for every new one. It boasted a $33 billion drop in the cost of regulations on the private sector for his first 21 months in office. There was a hint of spin to the figures. The 12-to-1 ratio was not comparing apples with apples. But experts agree – Mr Trump really has cracked down on red tape.
This is most pronounced in new regulations. Here Mr Trump’s record is startling. Mr Obama passed 841 significant new rules by this time in his presidency, according to analysis by the Heritage Foundation, a Right-leaning think tank. George W Bush got to 612. But Mr Trump has enshrined just 271 to date. That is serious change.
Ploys that are hallmarks of the beltway politics Mr Trump pledged to sweep away have been embraced, too. Every government agency and department now has a regulatory reform officer, for example. The bland title belies a crucial role – to ensure a true believer sits among officials to drive through Mr Trump’s vision. They scour old regulations for disposables and sieve proposed new ones to make sure they are essential.
The drive has not been without controversy. Where Trump supporters see an admirable attempt to free up American enterprise, detractors read an irresponsible removal of critical protections. His administration’s attempt to remove Mr Obama’s carbon dioxide emission regulations, underpinned by a more sceptical view of climate change, has infuriated critics.
But as Britain stumbles towards Brexit, some Tor MPS are hoping to take a page out of Mr Trump’s book. David Cameron repeatedly pledged to slash red tape. Newly released documents show him calling for a “bonfire” of EU regulation as early as 1988. And yet the flames never really got going.
Mr Trump’s pitch may have been brash. He will never get that regulation mound down to 1960’s size. But he has ended the red tape splurge, and seen economic growth hit 3 per cent.
As he neared the end of his speech that day, he reached for some lofty rhetoric. “We are a nation of explorers and pioneers and innovators and inventors,” he said. “And regulations have been hurting that… So together, let’s cut the red tape. Let’s set free our dreams.” It is a message many Tories will want echoing in Brexit Britain.