Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran unpacks the Trump administration’s broad ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs on ‘Kudlow’.
Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran downplayed the president’s economic impact Donald Trump’s sweeping trade measures and says there is little evidence the new tariffs will depress growth or fuel inflation.
Miran, speaking at Semafor’s World Economy Summit on Thursday, said there are “no real material signs of a slowdown in growth, no real material signs of an inflation spike.”
Miran questioned whether consumers would end up paying more if companies passed on higher costs, insisting such a scenario was unlikely.
TRUMP TARIFF HAS OVER $200 BILLION IN REVENUE AS SUPREME LAW WEIGHS LEGALITY CHALLENGE
Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran is expected to return to the White House after his term at the central bank ends in January. (Pete Kiehart/Bloomberg/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“As an importer we are more flexible because we can distribute our demand across borders. We can buy from a country where we have a better trade agreement, or we can make things at home,” says Miran.
“The manufacturers and their factories are stuck; the factories can’t cross national borders,” he explained, adding that “the aftermath of the tariffs hasn’t been nearly as bad as people predicted.”
TRUMP DEFENDS TARIFFS, SAYS US IS ‘THE KING OF ENJOYMENT’ FROM UNBALANCED TRADE
Miran’s comments largely reflect the trade policies of the Trump administration, from which Miran is on leave while serving on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. He is expected to return to his role as economic adviser in the White House after his term at the Fed ends in January.
Trump has previously defended his use of tariffs to correct what he called years of trade imbalance, saying on October 7 that the US was “the king of getting screwed by tariffs” but would no longer allow other countries to exploit them.
President Donald Trump has previously said tariffs are a national security issue. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
U.S. companies pay these import taxes directly to the federal government, but companies typically pass on the costs by raising prices, meaning consumers ultimately bear the tariff burden.
Under the Trump administration, the federal government collected consecutive record-breaking tariff revenues in August and September, totaling $62.6 billion.
Total excise tax revenue for fiscal year 2025 was $215.2 billion, according to Customs and Certain Excise Taxes figures released Sept. 30 by the Finance Department.
BACK-TO-BACK HIGHLIGHTS: AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER RAISED $62.6 BILLION IN TARIFF REVENUES
The latest revelation comes as the Supreme Court is weighing the legality of Trump’s trade policies, a central part of his economic agenda.
“We look forward to eventual victory on this issue at the Supreme Court,” wrote White House spokesman Kush Desai.
President Donald Trump said he is considering going to the Supreme Court in November to hear oral arguments. (Valerie Plesch/Picture Alliance/Getty Images/Getty Images)
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“We have a big case coming up before the Supreme Court, and I will tell you this is 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.”
