Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser to President Donald Trump, harshly criticized a New York Federal Reserve research paper on Wednesday, calling for disciplinary action against its authors.
The paper, which concluded that Americans primarily bear the costs of tariffs rather than foreign entities, was described by Hassett as “an embarrassment” during a CNBC interview.
“It’s, I think, the worst paper I’ve ever seen in the history of the Federal Reserve System,” said Hassett, who serves as the director of the White House’s National Economic Council.
Hassett argued that the researchers should face discipline for producing what he characterized as substandard work. He claimed they “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 research paper’s findings contradict the Trump administration’s position that foreign countries primarily absorb the costs of U.S. import taxes. The New York Fed’s conclusions have been supported by similar findings from other sources.
Source: Investing.com
