BFI Student Lunch Series – Tariff Wars! What are the Rates? Who Pays? What’s Next?
BFI’s Student Lunch Series invites prominent speakers to engage undergraduate and graduate students in discussions on economics. The talks highlight the practical use of economics for answering real-world questions pertinent to businesses and policy makers.
(boxed lunches will be provided)
In September 2025, statutory tariff rates on US imports rose to 27 percent, a level not seen in over a hundred years. But shipping lags, exemptions, and enforcement gaps have kept actual tariff rates at only half the announced levels. And so far, exporters haven’t dropped their prices, so American consumers and businesses are paying for them. In this talk, Professor Brent Neiman will discuss his latest research on the 2018-2019 and 2025 tariffs, including how they affect domestic manufacturing costs, and what’s been happening to the dollar.
Before returning to Chicago Booth in 2025, Professor Neiman served in the Biden administration as the Deputy Undersecretary of Treasury for International Finance. In addition to discussing his latest research, he’ll take questions on his experiences in public policy and international economic diplomacy.
Agenda
Welcome and Introduction
Chad Syverson, George C. Tiao Distinguished Service Professor, Booth School of Business, Deputy Director, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics
Presentation with Q&A throughout
Brent Neiman, Edward Eagle Brown Professor of Economics and William Ladany Faculty Scholar, Chicago Booth; Co-Director of BFI’s International Economics and Economic Geography Initiative