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Stephen Miran, nominee for chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, speaks during a Senate confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, on Thursday.What You Need to Know
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Stephen Miran, Trump's nominee to chair his Council of Economic Advisors, laid out the president's economic agenda of high tariffs, low regulations and spending on defense.
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The country can lower costs for consumers by deregulating business, he said.
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Miran defended tariffs that other economists have criticized on grounds they would drive up prices for consumers.
The Trump administration's economic policy will be one of high tariffs, reduced regulations and investment in weapons, according to the president's nominee for top economic advisor.
Stephen Miran, who Trump has nominated to chair the White House's Council of Economic Advisors, laid out the administration's economic vision Thursday in his confirmation hearing by the Senate's banking committee. Echoing statements by the president on the campaign trail and since he took office, Miran said the U.S. would "reindustrialize" by taxing foreign imports, reducing regulations for businesses and developing the defense industry.
At the hearing, Miran defended a tariff-driven agenda that has been criticized by som economists who have predicted taxes on trading partners will raise prices for consumers and drag down the economy. The hearing took place the same day Trump confirmed he was imposing 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada and doubling an existing 10% tariff against China.
"American economic history has seen periods of high tariff rates coincide with extraordinary economic success," Miran said. "So there's nothing in the historical record that would say that it's impossible to have a fabulous economy with high tariffs."
In response to questions from Senators, Miran said Trump would lower costs for consumers by deregulating business.
"If it takes many years and great cost to attain the permits necessary to open a factory, firms will look abroad further," he said. "Every regulation is a compliance burden that inflates the cost of doing business."
Miran is a former strategist at Hudson Bay Capital, an investment firm, and was also a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. He has a doctorate in economics from Harvard.
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