Former US Treasury Secretary warned Trump that the risk of inflation policy might increase.

Former US Treasury Secretary Summers said on Wednesday local time that if Trump is elected president and fulfills his campaign promise, the United States may face a serious inflation crisis again. In an interview with the media, Summers pointed out that Trump’s policies of reducing taxes, raising tariffs and expelling illegal immigrants will have a serious impact on the US economy. He believes that if these plans are implemented, the United States will suffer a bigger inflation crisis than in 2021.

Considering the scale of inflation in 2021 and its harm, Summers’ warning is particularly serious. At that time, the US CPI data began to rise rapidly in the spring and reached a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022. Many Americans have never experienced such a high inflation rate, and until today, the economic and political system in the United States still feels its impact. Although the current inflation rate has dropped sharply, the price level has not decreased, and the high cost of living is also one of the important factors for Trump to return to the White House.

The latest data shows that the CPI of the United States rose by 2.6% year-on-year and 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in October; In October, the core CPI rose by 3.3% year-on-year and 0.3% quarter-on-quarter. All four indicators are in line with market expectations.

Summers hopes that Trump can learn from this election and adjust his plan to avoid causing inflation. However, Trump’s transition team refuted this warning, and spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said that during Trump’s first term, he imposed tariffs on foreign countries, created employment opportunities and stimulated investment, which did not lead to inflation. She added that Trump will quickly repair and restore the economy and achieve full employment by returning American jobs, reducing inflation, raising real wages, reducing taxes, reducing supervision and lifting the energy constraints in the United States.

Scott Besant, a hedge fund executive who may become Trump’s finance minister, also refuted inflation concerns, saying that Trump would reproduce the inflation crisis is absurd. He said that Trump hopes that under his leadership, all Americans can live a good life.

In addition to Summers, the Nobel laureate in economics also warned that Trump’s agenda would "reignite" inflation. According to a recent survey, more than two-thirds of economists believe that if Trump is re-elected, the inflation rate in the United States will rise faster than if Harris is elected.

Summers believes that the Biden administration’s excessive stimulus to the economy in 2021 led to the inflation problem. He said that the current situation is similar to the period after the last election. He also warned that Trump’s series of plans may have a linkage effect, which will lead to the risk that inflation will get out of control.