September 17, 2025

Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.

The EU’s Backdoor Gift to China 

By Robert Romano 

China has a quiet ally in its quest for global domination: Europe. 

China is Europe’s third-largest trading partner. Chinese direct investment in Europe nearly doubled between 2023 and 2024. And 29 European countries have signed agreements with China as part of the latter’s Belt and Road Initiative to expand Chinese influence across the world. 

This under-the-radar collaboration now extends to Europe’s regulatory framework. The European Union is in the process of adopting new rules that would require any large company with a presence there to obey its onerous compliance laws wherever they do business. If adopted, these rules could give Chinese businesses an even bigger economic advantage. 

This law – the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, or “CS3D” – will hamstring American companies with a presence in Europe while allowing Chinese rivals to do what they always do – pretend to follow the rules while ignoring them completely. This has been China’s preferred playbook to enable its businesses to steal market share from other companies that play by the rules. 

On its face, this CS3D law commands large companies with a presence in Europe to rigorously report on their global supply chains. The intent is to prevent environmental or human rights violations. But the practical upshot is that businesses, including many prominent American companies, would be forced to spend billions of dollars and deploy an army of accountants and outside consultants to comply with a law that is ripe for abuse. Violations will result in large penalties, even if they occur outside Europe, or even when caused by distant third parties in the supply chain over which the company has little to no control. 

The purpose of this law is less about the environment or human rights and more about shackling successful companies with new requirements that give moribund European rivals a better shot to compete. The European Union is using its market size to impose regulatory restrictions that will make it harder for American companies to compete there and everywhere else in the world. But Chinese businesses will be the main beneficiary because they will mostly ignore these new rules. 

This is exactly the type of activity President Donald Trump is trying to correct with his new tariff regime. Instead of rolling over as other governments erect barriers to American companies, the president is giving them a dose of their own medicine with the intent of forcing them to relent and instead make it easier for American businesses to compete in those markets. This CS3D law is a direct rejection of President Trump’s push to make the global economy more competitive. 

There is still time to influence the rule-making process in Europe. American negotiators forced their European counterparts to promise to soften this law as part of ongoing trade negotiations between the two countries. In a framework put out by the White House, the EU committed to addressing American concerns. Trump and his representatives in Europe, including EU Ambassador Andy Puzder, should continue to push back on this law by using our own trade enforcement as leverage in these trade talks between the United States and Europe. 

Congress also has an opportunity to weigh in by passing legislation offered in the Senate by Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty and in the House by Wisconsin Rep. Scott Fitzgerald. Their bill, the Protect U.S. Companies from Foreign Regulatory Taxation Act, seeks to prevent American businesses from being forced to comply with certain rules whose sole intent is to make foreign companies less competitive. 

These rules were established to make American companies less competitive, giving their Chinese rivals yet another leg up. Rules like this one nullify other efforts to enhance competition. When American businesses are allowed to compete fairly, they usually win. Laws like this are meant to make it harder for our companies to compete. That’s why we need to fight. If we don’t, this law will give China yet another edge. 

Robert Romano is the Executive Director at Americans for Limited Government.  

To view online: https://townhall.com/columnists/robert-romano/2025/09/17/the-eus-backdoor-gift-to-china-n2663417  

Crime is Front And Center As Voters Trust the GOP More to Handle Crime, Inflation, The Economy And More  

By Manzanita Miller  

While prominent Democrats have become crime-apologists — arguing for defunding the police, allying with disruptive protestors, releasing criminals into American cities, and attempting to block President Trump’s deportations of illegals — Americans agree with the President’s characterization of major cities as “overtaken by violent gangs and criminals”. This is particularly true of Americans living in high-crime regions themselves, with a plurality of urban voters agreeing with the president’s characterization of major cities like Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Chicago as being overtaken by violence and criminal behavior.     

According to a Cygnal survey of 1,500 likely voters released Sep. 9, voters say by eleven points, 54 percent to 43 percent, that they agree with President Trump’s characterization of cities as high-crime, and a full 22 percent say Trump’s characterization is “extremely accurate”. Urban voters agree with President Trump’s characterization of cities by eight points, 53 percent to 45 percent. Swing voters agree with the president by a resounding 22 points, 58 percent to 36 percent.  

While Black and Hispanic voters disagree with President Trump’s characterization of cities as high-crime, by seventeen points and six points respectively, a sizeable share of minority voters  do agree with President Trump. 40 percent of Black voters agree with President Trump’s characterization of cities as high-crime, while 57 percent disagree, and 45 percent of Hispanics agree with the president’s characterization while 51 percent disagree. While voters show mixed opinions on President Trump’s takeover of Washington. D.C., a sizeable share of the public agrees that crime is a serious issue in major cities.  

The survey also finds that on a slate of six prominent issues leading into the midterm election cycle, Republicans are trusted over Democrats. Crime and public safety is an area on which voters trust the Republican Party over the Democratic Party significantly, with the survey showing voters trust Republicans by 16 points, 49 percent to 33 percent. Swing voters trust the GOP by a broad 31-point margin, 49 percent to 18 percent, an absolutely crippling number for Democrats leading into the midterm elections. What is more, highly active voters who have voted in four of the most recent major elections also trust the GOP over Democrats on crime. Highly active voters say by 14 points, 48 percent to 34 percent they trust the GOP more on crime.  

Voters also strongly trust the GOP over Democrats on illegal immigration and border security according to the survey. Voters say by 22 points, 52 percent to 30 percent, they trust the Republican Party more on handling the illegal immigrant crisis. Swing voters trust the GOP by a broad 34-point margin, 53 percent to 19 percent, signaling that Democrats should not even attempt to run against the GOP on immigration. Highly active voters trust the GOP over the Democratic Party on tackling the illegal immigrant crisis by 21 points, 52 percent to 31 percent.  

Voters also trust the Republican Party over the Democratic Party on cutting wasteful spending by 16 points, 43 percent to 27 percent, with swing voters saying they trust the GOP over the Democratic Party by 22 points, 40 percent to 18 percent. On foreign affairs, voters trust the GOP over the Democratic Party by four points, 44 percent to 40 percent, with swing voters trusting the GOP over the Democratic Party by seven points, 37 percent to 30 percent.  

The GOP also leads by four points, 45 percent to 41 percent, on the economy and job growth, and by three points, 42 percent to 39 percent, on handling the cost of living. Swing voters trust Republicans more on both issues, with swing voters saying they trust the GOP to handle the economy by seven points, 38 percent to 31 percent, and saying they trust the GOP to handle the cost of living by four points, 32 percent to 28 percent. Notably, highly active voters also trust the Republican Party to handle economic issues. Highly active voters trust the GOP over Democrats to handle the economy and jobs by three points, 45 percent to 42 percent. Highly active voters also trust the GOP over Democrats to handle the cost of living by two points, 42 percent to 40 percent.   

By minimizing the crime epidemic and the illegal immigrant crisis, Democrats are alienating the public. This includes alienating a plurality of both swing voters and highly active voters, groups the Democratic Party cannot afford to lose in 2026. Voters are also distancing themselves from the Democratic Party on tackling economic issues like inflation and job creation, as well as foreign policy issues and cutting wasteful spending. Despite attempting to dismantle conservative solutions such as President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and focus on creating jobs for U.S.-born citizens, Democrats are losing the people. Combine this with the reality that President Donald Trump’s make America healthy again, or “MAHA”, movement is one of the administration’s most popular legislative agendas, and it is evident why Democrats are doing everything in their power to distract the public from their failing record on nearly every issue that is important to the American people. 

Manzanita Miller is the senior political analyst at Americans for Limited Government Foundation. 

To view online: https://dailytorch.com/2025/09/crime-is-front-and-center-as-voters-trust-the-gop-more-to-handle-crime-inflation-the-economy-and-more/