A senior economic advisor to President Trump is calling for disciplinary action against Federal Reserve researchers who published findings that contradict the administration’s position on trade tariffs.
Kevin Hassett, who leads the White House’s National Economic Council, delivered harsh criticism Wednesday of a New York Federal Reserve study examining who pays the price for increased import taxes. The research concluded that Americans shoulder the burden of tariff costs, contradicting the Trump administration’s longstanding claim that foreign nations absorb these expenses.
During a CNBC interview, Hassett denounced the research in strong terms. “The paper is an embarrassment,” he stated. “It’s, I think, the worst paper I’ve ever seen in the history of the Federal Reserve System” and “the people associated with this paper should presumably be disciplined” for writing it.
Hassett further criticized the methodology behind the study, claiming the New York Fed researchers have “put out a conclusion which has created a lot of news that’s highly partisan based on analysis that wouldn’t be accepted in a first semester econ class.”
The disputed research analyzed the effects of the president’s substantial increases in import duties and determined that domestic consumers and businesses ultimately pay these costs rather than foreign exporters. Similar conclusions have emerged from other economic studies on the topic.
Officials at the New York Federal Reserve had not provided a response to requests for comment regarding Hassett’s statements.
