Fed Chair Powell says tariffs may increase inflation
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says the economy is in “good condition,” but notes inflation’s uncertainty.
As the global economy absorbs Donald Trump’s massive tariffs, Sen. Rand Paul is continuing to speak out about the negative consequences of the president’s course of action.
The Kentucky Republican, who briefly tangled with Trump for the GOP presidential nomination in 2015, has been an ally to the president on a host of other issues.
But Paul, a fiscal hawk, has distinguished himself as one of the few voices within the Republican Party who is vehemently opposing the trade war since the levies were first announced on April 1.
“Tariffs have… led to political decimation. When (President William) McKinley most famously put tariffs on in 1890, they lost 50% of their seats in the next election,” Paul told reporters a day after Trump’s announcement, later adding “So they’re not only bad economically; they’re bad politically.”
Paul has slammed the idea in other conservative venues such as with the Cato Institute, a libertarian-leaning think tank and editorials on Fox News criticizing the move as a risky economic strategy.
He has also teamed up with Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., in sponsoring a resolution to end the emergency declaration enabling Trump’s tariffs against Canada.
“We should not live under emergency rule,” Paul said in an interview with Fox News report Brett Baier. “The Constitution said taxes are raised by Congress. Most specifically, taxes originate in the House and come to the Senate, so I’m against emergency rule.”
Paul and Kaine’s efforts were supported by three other Republicans: Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
“I’m not a fan of taxes… but tariffs are simply a tax,” Paul told the CATO Institute on Friday. “When you tax something you get less of it. So if you tax trade, you get less of it.”