Converse of subject

• overwhelm: Farmers suffer too, exploited by supermarkets, overwhelmed by red tape and fighting unfair competition from abroad.

• gag: Business is bound and gagged by red tape, increasingly unable to compete with international rivals.

Converse of object

• cut: Politicians are always promising to cut red tape, without ever getting specific.

• reduce: In the words of Stephen Byers, this was to help British businesses avoid unnecessary expenditure and to reduce red tape.

• face: Do you need advice on setting up a business and cutting through the red tape faced by small businesses?

• say: In the News 18 March 2002 The British Chamber of Commerce says that red tape costs businesses more than £ 15bn since 1997.

• avoid: Avoiding red tape and solicitors bills, the easy way!

• fight: Business trips will be more productive than trying to fight the red tape facing you.

Preposition: for

• business: Health and safety regulations are the costliest form of red tape for small businesses, new research reveals.

• farmer: Cutting back on paperwork and red tape for farmers will therefore be an absolute priority for a Conservative Government.

Adjective modifier

• bureaucratic: The retention of the escrow account signals continued delays and bureaucratic red tape that will hamper the functioning of the economy.

• extra: So the vision of the UK saying No to Europe would lead to new costs and extra red tape.

• much: However, I fear that the burden of too much red tape might force our universities into constructing more limited programs.