President Trump has never been shy about criticizing the Federal Reserve, frequently seeking to pressure the nation’s central bank into reducing interest rates more swiftly. “Interest Rates should be lowered, something which would go hand in hand with upcoming Tariffs!!!,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social last month, adding: “Lets Rock and Roll, America!!!” But the Fed is expected to …
Read More »Tag Archives: International Trade and World Market
Trump Has Hinted at a Xi Visit. China Is Still Wondering What He Wants.
President Trump fueled new speculation this week about a meeting with China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, when he told reporters that Washington needed to be cleaned up to prepare for a summit between the two leaders in the “not too distant future.” Mr. Trump provided no details, and China has said nothing publicly about any such meeting. The stakes of …
Read More »Trump Says a Recession Would Be Worth It, but Economists Are Skeptical
Presidents usually do all they can to avoid recessions, so much so that they avoid even saying the word. But President Trump and his advisers in recent weeks have offered a very different message. Yes, a recession is possible, they have said. Maybe one wouldn’t even be that bad. Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, has said Mr. Trump’s policies are …
Read More »Trump Expands Trade Threats in Global Game of Chicken
For the second time this week, President Trump has threatened to disrupt trade with a close ally for retaliating in a trade war that he started — a tactic that could lead to compromise, or to economic spats that spiral further out of control. On Thursday morning, Mr. Trump tried to cow the European Union into submission, threatening in a …
Read More »A Timeline of Trump’s Tariff Fight With Canada, Mexico, China and the E.U.
President Trump has called the word tariff “the most beautiful word in the dictionary.” He imposed hefty tariffs during his first term and promised expansive new ones as he pursued his second. On his first day back in the White House in January, he issued an executive order directing his cabinet picks to prepare even more tariffs. In the first …
Read More »‘We Hear You, Mr. President:’ The World Lines Up to Buy American Gas
President Trump’s cabinet has been busy rolling back regulations that will make it far easier to extract and produce fossil fuels. But who will buy them? Nearly everyone, it turns out, particularly under the threat of tariffs. At an annual energy-industry conference in Houston, executives spoke openly about how companies from around the world are seeking to buy American liquefied …
Read More »U.S. Inflation Eased More Than Expected in February
Inflation eased more than expected in February, a welcome sign for the Federal Reserve as it grapples with the prospect of higher prices and slower growth as a result of President Trump’s trade war. The Consumer Price Index was up 2.8 percent from a year earlier, after rising another 0.2 percent on a monthly basis. That was a step down …
Read More »Trump’s Unpredictable Tariffs Cloud Europe’s Economic Outlook
Policymakers are grappling with “exceptionally high” uncertainty, Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank, said on Wednesday, just hours after the European Commission announced tariffs on U.S. imports in response to levies imposed by the Trump administration. Later, Canada announced a new round of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports. The unpredictability of trade policy and geopolitics, which is …
Read More »Trump Promised Americans Booming Wealth. Now He’s Changing His Tune.
As a presidential candidate, Donald J. Trump promised an economic “boom like no other.” But eight weeks into his presidency, Mr. Trump is refusing to rule out a recession — a striking change in tone and message for a man who rode widespread economic dissatisfaction to the White House by promising to “make America affordable again.” His comments come as …
Read More »What Products Could Europe Levy in Retaliation to Trump’s Tariffs?
The European Union is putting tariffs on a range of products from the United States in retaliation to President Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, and items that come from Republican-held states rank high on the hit list. The European Union plans to institute the tariffs in two phases: The first wave will take hold on April 1, and will impact …
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