That's what policy experts say, according to the Washington Post. The context is the proposals that have been put forward to ensure that food products that we import from China and other countries are safe for us and our pets. The point that the article makes is that improved regulation will hurt many importers and probably lead to higher prices. While that part of the story is accurate, it is ridiculous to conclude that increased regulation will therefore "harm the economy." The economy is harmed when people and their pets get sick or die from eating contaminated food. This harm is real and measurable. People are willing to pay more money for food that will not harm them. For this reason, it is ridiculous to claim that the higher prices resulting from increased regulation will harm the economy, although increased regulation may do serious harm to companies that have profited by importing food of questionable quality. It is of course possible that regulations go too far -- leading to large costs, with very little benefit in the form of increased safety -- but this article presents no evidence that this is likely to be the case with any new regulations on imported products.
--Dean Baker
