According to a newly released report from the American Council for Capital Formation (A Smart Regulatory Process for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses), small businesses are disproportionately affected by the high level of regulatory mandates in the U.S.

This is definitely not a positive indication. Small businesses are a crucial component of a strong economy. There are 29 million of them in the U.S. and they employ almost half of the workforce. Burdening these economic pillars will eventually prove disastrous.

And it’s already begun to take a toll. The number of newly formed small businesses in the U.S. have been on the decline since the 1970’s and the U.S. currently ranks 51^st out of 140 countries when comparing regulatory climates—hardly a position to aspire to.

A survey of current small business owner sentiments doesn’t fare much better. According to a new nationwide poll of small business owners conducted by Roosevelt Opinion Research for the Job Creators Network, a majority of small business owners agree that recent increases in government requirements–like the health care mandate, minimum wage hikes, and other regulations—threaten the viability of their enterprises.

In order for the U.S. economy to remain dynamic, the concerns of these small business owners need to be addressed. That’s why President Trump has already issued an executive order that proclaims two regulations must be eliminated for every new one added. It’s a great start but there’s much more work to be done to give small businesses the regulatory relief they need.