Fed’s Miran downplays impact of Trump’s tariffs on growth, inflation

Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran downplayed the economic impact of President Donald Trump’s sweeping trade measures, saying there’s little evidence the new tariffs are weighing on growth or stoking inflation.

Miran, who spoke at Semafor’s World Economy Summit on Thursday, said there have been “no real material signs of growth drags, no real material signs of an inflation spike.” 

Pressed on whether consumers would end up paying more as companies pass along higher costs, Miran maintained that such a scenario was unlikely.

TRUMP TARIFFS HAUL OVER $200B IN REVENUES AS SUPREME COURT WEIGHS CHALLENGE TO LEGALITY

“As the importer, we’re more flexible because we can allocate our demand across borders — we can buy from a country where we have a better trade deal, or we can make stuff at home,” Miran said. 

“The producers and their factories are stuck in place; the factories can’t move across country borders,” he explained, adding that the “aftermath of the tariffs has been nowhere near as bad as people have predicted.”

TRUMP DEFENDS TARIFFS, SAYS US HAS BEEN ‘THE KING OF BEING SCREWED’ BY TRADE IMBALANCE

Miran’s comments largely mirror the trade stance of the Trump administration, which he is currently on leave from while he serves on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. He is expected to return to his White House economic adviser role after his term at the Fed is up in January.

Trump has previously defended his use of tariffs as a corrective to what he called years of trade imbalance, saying on Oct. 7 that the U.S. had been “the king of being screwed by tariffs” but would no longer allow other nations to exploit it.

U.S. businesses pay these import taxes directly to the federal government, but typically businesses pass the cost along by raising prices, meaning consumers ultimately shoulder the tariff burden.

Under the Trump administration, the federal government has collected consecutive record-breaking tariff revenues in August and September, which together totaled $62.6 billion. 

Total duty revenue for fiscal year 2025 reached $215.2 billion, according to the “Customs and Certain Excise Taxes” figures released on Sept. 30 by the Treasury Department. 

BACK-TO-BACK HIGHS: AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER BRING IN $62.6B IN TARIFF REVENUE

The latest revelation comes as the Supreme Court weighs the legality of Trump’s trade policy, a central piece of his economic agenda.

“We look forward to ultimate victory on this matter with the Supreme Court,” wrote White House spokesperson Kush Desai.

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“We have a big case coming up in the Supreme Court, and I will tell you, that’s one of the most important cases in the history of our country,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

“If we don’t win that case, we will be a weakened, troubled, financial mess for many, many years to come.”