Economists term tariffs 'misguided'

Experts warn of 'self-inflicted recession' and undermining of balance of power

Dozens of leading economists, including two Nobel laureates, have signed a public declaration warning that US President Donald Trump's administration's escalating use of tariffs risks triggering a "self-inflicted recession" and undermining the constitutional balance of power in the US.

The declaration, titled "Trade and Tariffs Declaration: A Statement on the Principles of American Prosperity", which had gathered more than 1,300 signatures as of Monday, warns that the administration's so-called reciprocal tariffs, announced on April 2 and now affecting goods from more than 180 countries and regions, are calculated using "an erroneous and improvised formula with no basis in economic reality".

"The current administration's tariffs are motivated by a mistaken understanding of the economic conditions faced by ordinary Americans," the letter reads. "We anticipate that American workers will incur the brunt of these misguided policies in the form of increased prices and the risk of economic contraction."