Wed Apr 09 06:27:36 UTC 2025: ## Economist Condemns Trump Administration’s Misuse of Research to Justify Sweeping Tariffs
**Washington, April 9, 2025** – An economist whose research was cited by the Trump administration to justify its recently announced, potentially recession-inducing import tariffs has publicly denounced the administration’s misinterpretation of his findings. Brent Neiman, a former U.S. Treasury official under the Biden administration, co-authored a 2021 paper on the impact of tariffs on U.S. prices. He argues that the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) fundamentally misconstrued the study’s conclusions to support the new tariffs.
Neiman contends that the USTR incorrectly equated trade deficits with unfair trade practices and underestimated the impact of the tariffs on domestic prices. His research actually indicated that import prices would rise almost proportionally to the tariff rate, suggesting the tariffs should be significantly lower – potentially just a quarter of what was announced.
The Trump administration’s use of complex formulas, including Greek letters, to justify the tariffs, which failed to account for other countries’ tariff levels, has drawn widespread criticism. Prominent economists, including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, have likened the administration’s economic reasoning to “creationism” and “astrology.”
The controversial tariffs are generating significant dissent within the Republican party, with concerns mounting over the potential for a severe economic downturn. Billionaire investor Bill Ackman has even warned of a potential “economic nuclear winter.” Neiman’s public rebuke adds further fuel to the growing criticism of the Trump administration’s trade policy.
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