FT says IMF dropped Ricardo Reis after Trump tariff criticism
The Financial Times says the IMF pulled back from naming Portuguese economist Ricardo Reis as chief economist, a move with political overtones at a key global institution.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) pulled back at the last minute from appointing Portuguese economist Ricardo Reis as its chief economist after learning of his criticism of Donald Trump’s tariff policy, according to the Financial Times. The reported reversal matters because it points to possible political sensitivity around a senior post at one of the world’s most important economic institutions.
The IMF had been preparing to announce the London School of Economics professor for the role at the start of the summer. Reis had warned after the announcement of Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs in April last year that the measures would push up consumer prices in the US and trigger a new wave of inflation.
He later repeated in a podcast by the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation that tariffs would raise prices and make US production “more difficult, more expensive and more inefficient”. In July, the IMF appointed Silvana Tenreyro, a former Bank of England policymaker and also an LSE professor, to the post instead.
According to the sources cited by the Financial Times, Tenreyro, like Reis, sees tariffs as harmful to economic growth, but was less vocal in her criticism of the Trump administration. The IMF declined to comment on the selection process, citing candidate confidentiality, and Reis also declined to comment.
Originally published at Eco.pt
