Fed Chair Powell Says Trade Must Be Free and Fair, No Drag from Tariffs in Data

Asian markets rise after Fed chief boosts US confidence
AFP

Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that economic data does not reveal any cost to the U.S. economy from the Trump administration’s trade policies and tariffs.

During a question-and-answer session in Dallas, Powell said “we don’t see much” in terms of near-term effects of tariffs.

“We hear a lot from business about higher costs, loss of markets. We see a rising chorus of concern,” Powell said. “It hasn’t shown up yet in the data.”

Many critics of the Trump administration’s tariffs on China, steel, and aluminum have insisted that the new duties would be a drag on the U.S. economy and act as taxes on U.S. consumers. Yet months of economic data have so far shown that consumer prices have not risen due to the tariffs.

Powell said in an interview with Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan he believes the U.S. has benefited from global trade in the past.

“But we also know that trade needs to be both free and fair,” he said. “If this process that’s going on right now results in lower tariffs and better absorbance of global trade rules, then that will be good for our economy. And better for the world economy. If instead, perhaps inadvertently, it winds up in a place where we have more widespread protectionism, that would be bad for the economy.”
Powell added the the U.S. economy is doing very well.

“I’m very happy about the state of the economy now,” he said. “Our policy is part of the reason why our economy is in such a good place right now.”

 

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.