Standing between two stacks of paper that represent the surge in government regulation over the past fifty years, US President Donald Trump tried to demonstrate how determined and successful he has been in cutting red tape by doing it for real in the Roosevelt Room of the White House last Thursday.

Cutting the symbolic tape linking the two piles, Trump announced to the reporters present in the room that every regulation introduced by his administration has been accompanied by 22 deregulatory actions, which “will save 570 million [US dollars] a year in regulatory costs”.

How deep Trump will go with his scissors during his tenure remains to be seen, however, concerns have been voiced that his determination to cut down on regulation may weaken the legal standing ordinary people need from the things he rolls back.