Report says IMF dropped Ricardo Reis from chief-economist race after tariff criticism

A reported reversal in IMF recruitment

The International Monetary Fund reportedly removed Portuguese economist Ricardo Reis from consideration for its chief-economist post after learning of his criticism of US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Euronews, citing a Financial Times investigation based on three anonymous sources, said Reis had been positioned for the job before the fund changed course. The IMF declined to discuss the confidential selection process and said the eventual appointment was rigorous and competitive.

Reis, a London School of Economics professor, had argued that the tariffs could raise US prices and produce renewed inflation. He declined to comment on the recruitment account. The IMF ultimately appointed Silvana Tenreyro, another LSE professor and a former Bank of England policymaker, in July. Euronews reported that Tenreyro also regards tariffs as a drag on growth but was considered less publicly confrontational toward the administration.

What is established and what remains reported

The appointment of Tenreyro and Reis's public economic analysis are established facts. The claimed reason Reis was dropped remains an anonymously sourced report that the IMF has neither confirmed nor rebutted in detail. It should therefore not be presented as a proven instruction from Washington. The development is the publication of a credible account about the selection, not a demonstrated finding that the US administration directly dictated the outcome.

The underlying policy dispute is substantial. European institutional research has concluded that most costs from higher US tariffs fall on American companies and consumers, while trade barriers also weaken activity and redirect supply chains internationally. That context explains why the views of an IMF chief economist matter: the office shapes influential forecasts and policy analysis at a time when tariff effects are politically contested.

Why institutional independence matters

The IMF advises governments, monitors national economies and attaches conditions to major financial programmes. Perceptions that its senior research appointments respond to the preferences of a powerful shareholder could affect trust in its analysis, even without evidence that any forecast was altered. Conversely, confidential hiring processes routinely weigh many factors, and the fund's refusal to disclose deliberations prevents a definitive account of why one candidate was not chosen.

Attention will now turn to whether the IMF, Reis or participating governments provide additional documentation, and whether Tenreyro's published work maintains analytical distance from national political pressure. Her forecasts on tariffs, inflation and growth will receive unusual scrutiny. The story concerns economic governance and institutional credibility; it reports no military action and has no alert eligibility.