CHINA/ECONOMY/FEDERAL RESERVE/NAFTA/TARIFFS/TRADE WAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Federal Reserve is poised to raise interest rates Wednesday [9-26-18] for the third time this year as the economy powers ahead, but beyond that the central bank’s outlook has been thrown into confusion by President Donald Trump’s trade battles. For months, top Fed officials such as Chairman Jerome Powell have downplayed the impact of Trump’s escalating trade disputes on the broader economy. But now, the president has imposed tariffs on $200 billion more in Chinese goods and threatened to penalize another $267 billion — moves that will essentially cover all U.S. imports from the world’s second-largest economy. Beijing has responded with duties of its own on billions of dollars in U.S. goods. That has stoked concern that a prolonged and expanding trade fight could slow growth while also pushing up prices…The U.S. is also threatening to move forward with a new NAFTA deal that excludes Canada if negotiations with Ottawa are unsuccessful — Sept. 30 is the current informal deadline. And the Trump administration has already slapped global tariffs on washing machines, solar products, steel and aluminum.”
–Victoria Guida, “Trump’s trade wars threaten to disrupt Fed outlook for economy,” Politico, September 26, 2018 10:38 am