16 progressive economists claim Trump would 'reignite inflation'

June 25 (UPI) -- Sixteen Noble Prize-winning economists claim former President Donald Trump would "reignite inflation" if he wins the Nov. 5 general election.

Led by economist Joseph Stiglitz , who won the Nobel Prize in 2001, the 16 noted economists in an open letter issued Tuesday say Trump's proposals would cause inflation to rise.

Trump's economic proposals include making prior tax cuts permanent, imposing tariffs on all imports, including 60% to 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, and getting the Federal Reserve Board to lower interest rates.

Stiglitz and the 15 other economists are described as "politically progressive academics" by NBC News .

Online news outlet Axios was first to report the open letter and says the 16 economists are "lending their academic prestige to a political argument the Biden administration has been making for weeks: Inflation would be worse under Trump."

The economists are "part of a broader attempt by [President Joe] Biden's campaign to turn the 2024 election into a choice between the two candidate's plans for the future instead of focusing on Biden's economic record," according to Axios.

The open letter was made available to Axios two days before Biden and Trump are scheduled to participate in a Thursday night debate hosted by CNN.

The economists claim inflation has "come down remarkably fast" under Biden, but the Federal Reserve continues to show inflation remains significantly higher than the targeted 2% rate it wants to achieve before lowering the lending rate for banks.

Investopedia shows the Trump administration maintained an average inflation rate of 1.9% versus 5.7% for the Biden administration.

The Trump administration posted an annual high of 2.3% inflation in 2019 and a low of 1.4% in 2020.

The Biden administration posted a high a 7% in 2021 and a low of 3.3% so far in 2024, which is more than double the rate during Trump's last year in office.