US President Donald Trump’s global trade war has made a mess for the Federal Reserve. Despite an encouraging US consumer price index report this week, there are major concerns about the inflationary nature of Trump’s tariffs. Meanwhile, the Fed has cut growth forecasts. And if all that wasn’t enough, Trump is breathing down chair Jay Powell’s neck to cut interest rates. The FT’s US economics editor Claire Jones and economics commentator Chris Giles explain why the central bank is caught in a difficult position.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Jay Powell’s tariff dilemma: defend the economy or contain inflation

Alphaville: An emergency rate cut from the Fed?

US inflation falls more than expected to 2.4% in March

Federal Reserve ‘absolutely’ ready to help stabilise market if needed, top official says

Sign up for the FT’s newsletter Chris Giles on Central Banks

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here

Swamp Notes is produced by Katya Kumkova. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.