#trump #deregulation The president may not have repealed Obamacare or passed tax reform, but he has overseen, as he promised, a historic slowdown in rule-writing by federal agencies. Since Mr Trump’s inauguration, the flow of new rules has slowed by about 60%. Is this an achievement to be proud of? The number of rules is a crude gauge of the burden of red tape. But it belies a much deeper shift in regulatory philosophy. The Trump administration claims that it will no longer use regulations as a substitute for legislation; that the effects of new rules will be more rigorously assessed; and that the burden on business will be reduced.  https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21730148-donald-trumps-regulatory-policy-strange-mix-thoughtful-and-dangerous-how-judge-whether?

#food #Trump The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration are in a rare public dust-up concerning oversight of an obscure group that helps determine international food standards. The FDA and former USDA officials have expressed concern that the move will put business interests ahead of food safety and could hurt the U.S.’s ability to exert influence abroad. The fight relates to the Codex Alimentarius Commission, an international consortium of more than 180 countries that, collectively, writes international food safety standards. These standards serve various purposes, including acting as a policy handbook for countries that lack expertise in food safety, and encouraging trade by setting universal rules and helping to settle trade disputes. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/a-food-fight-has-broken-out-between-the-usda-and-fda/