White House advisor Yared defends Hassett's criticism of the Fed research, denies attacking central bank's independence.

A senior economic adviser to US President Trump defended the White House's criticism of the latest research on tariffs by the Federal Reserve, denying that it constituted an attack on the central bank's independence. "Critiquing a study by Fed researchers does not equate to attacking the Fed's independence," said Pierre Yared, acting chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, on Thursday. "I think it's an exaggeration to view criticism of specific research as an attack on the Fed's independence," he said. White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on Wednesday criticized a study by the New York Fed, which showed that US businesses bear most of the burden of tariffs. Hassett said the authors should be "disciplined."