On Friday China responded to Trump’s decision earlier this month to impose tariffs on another $US300 billion of China’s exports to the US by announcing $US75 billion of its own tariffs on US imports. Trump went ballistic.
At the weekend he admitted to having second thoughts about the trade war, which the administration later clarified by saying that he meant to say that he regretted not raising the tariffs even more – which he could do with yet another tweet.US Federal Reserve Board chairman Jerome Powell linked the deterioration in the outlook for global growth and weak manufacturing and capital spending in the US to the US trade policy.
"As usual, the Fed did NOTHING! It is incredible that they can ‘speak’ without knowing or asking what I am doing.’My only question is, who is our biggest enemy, Jay Powel or Chairman Xi?" he tweeted. If Powell was politic, or prudent, then former Fed vice-chairman Stanley Fischer, one of the most respected figures in central banking circles, was anything but.It’s not a service to anybody, at least privately, to not focus on what the key problems are. And that would be the behaviour of the United States, unfortunately."Stanley Fischer, former vice chairman of the US Federal Reserve, says Trump is trying to destroy the global trading system.