According to sources familiar with the selection process, the International Monetary Fund dropped the number one candidate for chief economist at the last minute because the scholar had criticized the Trump administration's economic policies. At the beginning of this summer, the Washington-based IMF was about to officially announce the appointment of Ricardo Rice, a professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science, as head of the research department and economic adviser, but immediately withdrew the appointment. Three people familiar with the matter said that the root cause of this temporary change of gossip was Rice's previous criticism of Trump's trade tariffs. In July, the IMF appointed Sylvana Tenrero, also a well-known economist at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a former Bank of England policy commissioner, to this position. Tenrero officially took office last month. Rice's economic views are often quoted in Portuguese and international media. In April of last year, after the US President announced the so-called “Liberation Day” tariff plan, Rice warned that tariffs would push up US consumer prices and trigger a new round of inflation.

According to sources familiar with the selection process, the International Monetary Fund dropped the number one candidate for chief economist at the last minute because the scholar had criticized the Trump administration's economic policies. At the beginning of this summer, the Washington-based IMF was about to officially announce the appointment of Ricardo Rice, a professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science, as head of the research department and economic adviser, but immediately withdrew the appointment. Three people familiar with the matter said that the root cause of this temporary change of gossip was Rice's previous criticism of Trump's trade tariffs. In July, the IMF appointed Sylvana Tenrero, also a well-known economist at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a former Bank of England policy commissioner, to this position. Tenrero officially took office last month. Rice's economic views are often quoted in Portuguese and international media. In April of last year, after the US President announced the so-called “Liberation Day” tariff plan, Rice warned that tariffs would push up US consumer prices and trigger a new round of inflation.