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Exclusive / Trump admin touts inflation data as tariff vindication

Eleanor Mueller
Eleanor Mueller
Congress Reporter, Semafor
Aug 13, 2025, 5:23am EDT
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Scott Bessent
Magnus Lejhall/TT News Agency via Reuters

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday a key measure of inflation rose in July at the fastest pace in months, but that shouldn’t deter the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates in September or stop the Trump administration from claiming tariff warnings are overblown.

“The tariffs have not generated the inflation everybody thought they would at this point in the year. And we know that the tariffs are there because we’re collecting upwards of $30 billion,” Joe Lavorgna, counselor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, told Semafor. “Even if at some point there is a mild price-level adjustment to come — and that’s a big ‘if,’ I don’t think it will, but if it does — it’s going to be pretty modest.”

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