Removing tariffs on Chinese goods will ease U.S. inflation, says former treasury chief

NEW YORK — Eliminating tariffs imposed on Chinese exports to the United States would reduce inflation in the country, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has said.

He made the remarks Tuesday during an interview with U.S. business broadcaster CNBC, saying he believed from the beginning that tariffs were “an ineffective way” to deal with trade issues.

According to the Labor Department, the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) jumped 6.2 percent in October from a year earlier, the strongest annual rise in over 30 years. Energy prices spiked, supply chain problems emerged, and worries over the soaring inflation in the United States shot up.

Since Washington imposed additional tariffs on billions of U.S. dollars worth of Chinese goods in 2018, American businesses have been bearing the brunt of the elevated levy.

According to a report from Moody’s Investors Service in May, U.S. importers absorbed over 90 percent of additional costs resulting from the U.S. extra tariffs.