"Donald Trump's economic advisor said that Federal Reserve writers behind a report claiming that Americans bear the brunt of tariffs should be "disciplined." Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, criticized the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's economic analysis of the impact of tariffs published last week, calling for the authors to be punished for their findings."
"The economists found that 90% of the economic burden of higher tariffs fell on US firms and consumers. The average tariff rate climbed to 13% from 2.6% in 2025 as part of Trump's sweeping trade policy unveiled last April. "While importers pay the duty, the 'economic burden' of the tariff can be shifted onto exporters if they lower their export prices," the report reads. "There is 100 percent pass-through from tariffs to import prices, and therefore on U.S. consumers and firms,""
""The paper is an embarrassment. It's, I think, the worst paper I've ever seen in the history of the Federal Reserve system. The people associated with this paper should presumably be disciplined because what they've done is 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," Hassett told CNBC."
New York Fed economists estimated that 90% of the economic burden of higher tariffs falls on US firms and consumers. The economists found the average tariff rate rose to 13% from 2.6% in 2025 after the administration's trade measures. The analysis states that while importers pay duties, tariffs are effectively shifted into domestic import prices with near 100% pass-through to US consumers and firms. Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, called the analysis an embarrassment and said its authors should be disciplined. Economists warned that such public pressure risks undermining Federal Reserve independence and academic freedom.
Read at Business Insider
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