U.S. business economists are concerned about the risks of some of President Donald Trump’s economic policies, saying they fear his tariffs and higher budget deficits could eventually slow the U.S. economy.

More than 90 percent of economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) in a report released yesterday said they think the Trump administration’s current and threatened tariffs will harm the economy.

The administration has imposed tariffs on goods from many of America’s main trading partners — from China and Europe to Mexico and Canada. The Trump administration Thursday is due to impose its latest round of punitive tariffs on China, putting 25 percent duties on another US$16 billion in imports, with China poised to retaliate dollar for dollar.

Trump officials argue that the tariffs, which are taxes on imports, will help the administration gain more favorable terms of trade. But so far, U.S. trading partners have simply retaliated with tariffs of their own.

Seven in 10 of the economists surveyed by the NABE said they thought Trump’s tax cuts were “too stimulative” because of the resulting increase in the national debt, even though two-thirds said the corporate tax cuts generally benefit their companies.

The respondents, surveyed between July 19 and Aug. 2, said they do envision some of Trump’s policies as supporting the economy. Eighty percent, for example, told the NABE that the administration’s efforts to ease regulations would boost growth in the short run.

As a whole, the responses of the business economists represent a rebuke of the Trump administration’s overall approach to the economy. (SD-Agencies)