After her “largely debunked” comment, Tai went on to note that the “inflationary dynamics” linked to supply chain challenges were primarily related to Covid and also from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Biden announced on Tuesday increased tariffs on $18 billion in Chinese imports, focusing on steel, aluminum, legacy semiconductors, electric vehicles, battery components, critical minerals, solar cells, cranes and medical products.

A senior administration official tells CNN that the White House believes the new tariffs introduced this week won’t raise prices because they apply to product groups that are symbolic, but represent only a small amount of US imports.

But the Biden administration is also leaving in place Trump’s sweeping tariff program affecting some $300 billion in Chinese imports, which JP Morgan economists in 2019 estimated would cost American households $1,000 each year.

In April 2022, near the height of inflation, a senior aide raised the question at an event hosted by the Bretton Woods Committee of why some tariffs remained in place that could hurt consumers.

David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, warned that not only do tariffs raise prices, they mess with supply chains and invite retaliation.

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