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The jointly signed letter, first reported by Axios, says the
economic agenda of U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, is
"vastly superior" to Trump's, the former Republican president
seeking a second term.
The economists say Trump's economic plans would reignite
inflation, in part because of his pledge to impose stiffer
tariffs on Chinese imports, which they say will hike prices on
many goods bought by U.S. consumers.
"While each of us has different views on the particulars of
various economic policies, we all agree that Joe Biden's
economic agenda is vastly superior to Donald Trump," the
economists state in their letter.
"We believe that a second Trump term would have a negative
impact on the U.S.'s economic standing in the world, and a
destabilizing effect on the U.S.'s domestic economy."
The letter was signed by prominent economists including Joseph
Stiglitz, who won the Nobel prize for economics in 2001, and Sir
Angus Deaton, an economic Nobel laureate in 2015.
Biden and Trump are locked in a close election race. The Nov. 5
contest will be decided by voters in a handful of battleground
states which are closely contested because their voting
preferences can swing to Republicans or Democrats.
While headline inflation has slowed in the past two years, many
U.S. consumers are still unhappy with the higher prices they
have to pay for food, gas and other goods, according to public
opinion polls.
Trump has pledged to impose tariffs on foreign imports, and up
to at least 60% on Chinese goods coming into the U.S., a cost
the economists say will be passed on to U.S. consumers in the
form of price hikes.
"Many Americans are concerned about inflation, which has come
down remarkably fast. There is rightly a worry that Donald Trump
will reignite this inflation, with his fiscally irresponsible
budgets," the letter states.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for
comment. James Singer, a Biden campaign spokesperson, called
Trump's economic agenda dangerous.
The U.S. economy will be a major theme in the first presidential
debate between Biden and Trump on Thursday. Trump blames Biden
for high prices and inflation, while Biden claims Trump's trade
policies, including tariffs, will raise inflation.
(Reporting by Tim Reid; Editing by Ross Colvin and Stephen
Coates)
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