During an interview Tuesday with The Wall Street Journal, President Trump said that while the Federal Reserve has its independence when it comes to setting economic policy, he would like Chairman Jerome Powell to know that he wants interest rates lowered.
"Every time we do something great, he raises the interest rates," Trump said. Powell, he added, "almost looks like he's happy raising interest rates." Powell's four-year term started in February, and when asked if he regrets nominating Powell to the post, Trump responded, "too early to say, but maybe." He also said he believes the Fed is "the biggest risk" to the economy, because "I think interest rates are being raised too quickly." The Fed has been slowly raising rates this year to protect against higher inflation or financial bubbles.
When asked why he thought interest rates were going up, Trump continued to take jabs at Powell, saying he was "supposed to be a low-interest-rate guy. It's turned out he's not." Trump also talked about tariffs, claiming that although the United States has recently imposed tariffs on steel, solar panels, washers, and aluminum, plus $250 billion in Chinese imports, "we don't even have tariffs. I'm using tariffs to negotiate." The steel and aluminum tariffs are "small," he said, before asking, "Where do we have tariffs? We don't have tariffs anywhere."
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