Behind Trump's tariff shock: Who is Stephen Miran

US President Donald Trump’s decision on 2 April 2025 to impose “reciprocal” tariffs on key trading partners has shocked governments and markets around the world. While some view it as a direct economic attack, Trump calls it a way to rebalance what he sees as unfair trade practices.

At the heart of this shift is Stephen Miran , chairing the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). Miran is one of the key voices shaping America’s new trade stance — and his ideas are now being tested on a global stage

Live at Hudson: @SteveMiran, chair of President Trump's Council of Economic Advisers, joins Senior Fellow Tom Duesterberg to discuss the administration's recent tariffs and economic agenda. https://t.co/nSQh6VRpKo

— Hudson Institute (@HudsonInstitute) April 7, 2025

Who is Stephen Miran?

• Miran holds a PhD in economics from Harvard University, where he studied under Martin Feldstein, a well-known economist who advised former President Ronald Reagan.
• He is also a senior strategist at Hudson Bay Capital Management and is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
• Miran echoes Trump’s worldview that the US has taken on too much — from funding global security to propping up a trading system that, in their view, benefits others more than Americans.
• In a 2023 policy paper titled 'A user’s guide to restructuring the global trading system ', Miran outlined how the US could impose tariffs with minimal economic disruption. Citing the 2018-2019 trade war with China, he argued that earlier tariffs raised government revenue while the dollar absorbed the shocks.
• In a White House statement on 7 April, Miran said the US can no longer allow other countries to “free-ride on our blood, sweat, and tears”.