Businesses around the country are raising fears about President Trump’s tariffs to the Federal Reserve, Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday, but the central bankers aren’t letting those worries factor into their view of the economy or their monetary policy.
“There’s no thought that changes in trade policy should have any effect on the current outlook,” Powell said at a press conference.
At the two-day monetary policy meeting that ended Wednesday, several Fed officials brought up tariffs, Powell said. Their business contacts have been worrying that they could be hurt by the new levies put in place by Trump or other ones he has planned.
Trump has moved to enact several new tariffs, including major ones on steel and aluminum from around the world. Reports Wednesday also suggest he will seek new tariffs on China.
The Fed’s business contacts are newly worried about the threat of a trade war, Powell suggested, fearing not just Trump’s moves so far but also “more widespread retaliation and more widespread actions back and forth.”
