‘Game over, we win!’: Donald Trump wants to draw US Federal Reserve into trade war against China
- US president says Beijing will ‘pump money’ and cut interest rates to make up for lost business as dispute escalates
- He says Fed should ‘match’ these moves to counter China, pressuring central bank to stimulate US economy
US President Donald Trump called on the Federal Reserve to “match” what he said China would do to offset economic hardship being caused by tariffs as he sought to draft the US central bank into his simmering trade war.
“China will be pumping money into their system and probably reducing interest rates, as always, in order to make up for the business they are, and will be, losing,” the president said in a tweet on Tuesday. “If the Federal Reserve ever did a ‘match,’ it would be game over, we win! In any event, China wants a deal!”
His suggestion that the Fed could help him counter China in the countries’ trade war builds on Trump’s repeated efforts to pressure the US central bank to stimulate the American economy, even though growth is solid and unemployment is at a 49-year low.
The remarks may also help him deflect blame onto the Fed if the escalating trade dispute causes the US economy to stumble as he seeks re-election in 2020.
The president’s comments are likely to feed concerns in other countries over Trump’s willingness to break long-standing norms of international economic diplomacy.