More than 970 people, including dozens of top economists, have signed "anti-tariff statement"in which they criticize the tariff policy of the administration of US President Donald Trump as "flawed" and warn of possible "self-inflicted recession", media reports said.
The letter, signed by renowned economists including Nobel laureates James Heckman and Vernon Smith, was sent out over the weekend and by Sunday morning had 976 signatures.
In this "Statement on Trade and Tariffs: A Statement of Principles on American Prosperity," the authors condemn Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs that affect more than 180 countries and regions around the world. "The 'reciprocal' tariffs are "calculated according to a flawed and improvised formula that has no basis in economic reality", the statement said.
On April 2, Trump announced sweeping tariffs against U.S. trading partners, calling the day "the day of liberation". Just a week later, however, he ordered a 90-day pause for the highest tariffs, leaving a base rate of 10 percent for most countries.
Trump's tariff policy has triggered massive sell-offs in stock markets as well as retaliatory tariffs and other countermeasures by countries.
"We expect American workers to bear the brunt of this misguided policy in the form of higher prices and the risk of a self-inflicted recession," the letter states.
Trump says the tariffs are intended to reverse the persistent overall trade deficit and help boost US manufacturing. However, according to the letter, "the current administration's tariffs are motivated by a misunderstanding of the economic conditions facing ordinary Americans."
The authors called for an end to Trump's "incoherent and harmful policies" in the field of trade. "But we remain hopeful that sound economic principles, empirical evidence and the warnings of history will prevail over the current protectionist mythologies."
CMG/gnews.cz
