The chairman of the US Federal Reserve yesterday made his most explicit critique of President Trump’s trade war with China, saying that it appeared to be contributing to a global slowdown.
Jerome Powell hinted again that the central bank was ready to cut interest rates if “significant risks” to the economy came to a head, but did not suggest that reductions were imminent.
Until his speech yesterday at the Jackson Hole economic symposium in Wyoming, Mr Powell, 66, had refrained from commenting on the trade war, saying that it was a political matter.
Mr Trump is attempting to position the Fed and its chairman as scapegoats for a US slowdown, or full-blown recession, triggered by his trade policy.
Shortly after Mr Powell spoke Mr Trump
