The International Monetary Fund (IMF) denied having sidelined Portuguese economist Ricardo Reis from the race for chief economist due to his criticism of Donald Trump's economic policy, namely the impact of tariffs imposed by the United States. The denial comes following a Financial Times report that claimed Ricardo Reis, seen as the frontrunner for the position, had been excluded from the selection process for having questioned the economic validity of those tariffs.
The IMF's communications director, Julie Kozack, stated at a press conference that the institution "does not exclude a candidate because of their academic research, even if that research is critical of policies adopted by one of our members", adding that it is necessary to "look critically at the policies adopted by our members".
Sources close to the process told AFP that the IMF itself had warned that the tariffs imposed in the USA could cause inflation to rise and weigh on household expenses, precisely the same points highlighted by Ricardo Reis. ECO attempted to contact the Portuguese economist but was unable to obtain a comment.
The chief economist position was ultimately filled by Briton Silvana Tenreyro, a former member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee and professor at the London School of Economics, who took up the role at the IMF on July 8. The appointment followed the departure of Frenchman Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, who left the position at the end of June to return to academia at the University of California, Berkeley. The IMF has been renewing several of its senior positions, including the replacement of Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath with Dan Katz, a deputy secretary of the US Treasury, at the proposal of the United States government.
