Rarely have economists spoken in such unison. Even earlier than Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2nd, the median estimate among the many 48 who had been surveyed by the College of Chicago’s enterprise faculty was that Mr Trump’s levies would increase inflation in 2025 by 0.8 proportion factors. In the meantime, the president’s place is that, in his press secretary’s phrases, “tariffs are a tax hike on international nations [which]…have been ripping us off”. The implication is that foreigners will “eat the tariffs” and depart America’s client costs unaffected.
