Sen. Rand Paul: The market should set the interest rates
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New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Trump's EU trade deal win: Letters to the Editor — Aug. 4, 2025
The Issue: President Trump strikes a landmark EU trade deal before his new tariffs take effect. President Trump and his team keep on striking massive deals ('EU got a deal!,' July 28). How long can the biased media and Democrats not give credit where credit is due? Advertisement Now it's time for Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell to cut interest rates and really get the economy moving. Bob Robustelli Stamford, Conn. Advertisement This is what happens when you elect a businessman as president, instead of a politician. Democrats lambasted Trump on the tariffs, but look how wrong they were. Robert Berk Manhattan Advertisement Saying the tariff deal with the EU is a lopsided win for the United States doesn't consider the whole picture. Sure, tariffs for EU products are 15% versus zero tariffs on US products to the EU, but this doesn't take into consideration the European Value Added Tax. VATs (somewhat similar to sales taxes in the United States) are on average 21.8%, compared to the US sales tax average of 7.25%. Add the US sales tax average to the new 15% EU tariff, and the US total average 'sales tax' is 22%. One can certainly argue this is not good for the EU or US consumers who foot that tax bill, but at least the revenue percentages for each government are similar. Advertisement Brice Russell Naples, Fla. Powell says he's against cutting interest rates because he wants to see how Trump's tariff policies and trade deals play out. That's not the absolute worst position to take. However, with each trade deal Trump inks, particularly the European Union one touted as 'the biggest deal ever made,' the United States becomes even more of an economic powerhouse. How much greater could we be doing if the US economy was turbo charged with an interest-rate cut to 3%? After the Fed stalling for months on a rate cut, Trump's mammoth EU deal has more than made his case for a stable and vibrant US economy. It's time that Powell abandons his cautious position and allows Trump to take full ownership of the US economy, which he is so far doing a spectacular job of managing. Eugene R. Dunn Advertisement Medford Touché, Miranda Devine ('Don deal proves all wrong — again!,' July 31). I guess the screams from those leftist idiots that the sky is falling shouldn't have been taken so literally. Hysteria was spewed by the media and their political minions, but they'll do whatever it takes to undermine Trump. Even many on the left, as hard as it is for them, cannot deny that Trump has a magical power that has the world coming around to even up the playing field. As Trump said, 'Victory is its own reward!' Advertisement Shame on the Democrats for trying to undermine what is best for everyone in this country. Kevin Judge Naples, Fla. Here's how I would deal with the tariff dilemma: Make tariff-free zones with some countries, let's say all Caribbean Community nations. Impose a basic minimum tariff, let's say 10%, with the opportunity to negotiate at a later date. Advertisement Then have conversations with like-minded nations to negotiate the tariff rates. Finally, call for a world conference, and I am sure it will be well-attended with solid suggestions from experts. Anant Nagpur Ottowa, Canada It didn't take Trump long to get the wheels in motion, and now our economy is like a well-oiled machine. Advertisement The naysayer Democrats were hoping that his tariffs would cause pandemonium and utter gloom, but take a good look — that didn't happen. Although prices haven't fallen (especially when dining out), what was once unaffordable has all of the sudden become within your budget simply because of consumer confidence. That's a good feeling that was absent for the last four long years. Ron Zajicek Cortlandt Want to weigh in on today's stories? Send your thoughts (along with your full name and city of residence) to letters@ Letters are subject to editing for clarity, length, accuracy, and style.
The Hill
3 hours ago
- The Hill
Hassett on Trump's next Fed chair: ‘We'll have to see if he chooses me'
National Economic Council (NEC) Director Kevin Hassett signaled in a Sunday interview that he is open to succeeding Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he's tapped to do so. In an interview on NBC News's 'Meet the Press,' Hassett said President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are in the process of finding a replacement for Powell, whose term as chair is up next May. Powell's term on the board of governors expires in January 2028. 'I've been working with the president for about eight years, and, you know, as one of his closest economic advisers, of course, we've talked about the Federal Reserve,' Hassett said, when asked whether he wants to succeed Powell as Fed chair and whether he would accept the position. 'Right now, he's set up an active search with Secretary Bessent, and they're going to go through a list of names. And I'm sure the president will pick the best available person,' Hassett continued. NBC News's Kristen Welker pressed Hassett: 'If that's you, will you say yes?' 'Well, we'll have to see if he chooses me,' Hassett responded. 'But I think that I have the best job in the world, and I'm really well placed at the National Economic Council.' Powell has resisted calls from Trump to lower interest rates, often frustrating the president, who has in the past floated the possibility of firing the chair — a move that, without cause, would raise legal questions. Welker asked Hassett whether he thinks the Fed chair should take direction from the Oval Office or economic conditions in general. 'I think that a Fed chair should listen to all the voices, especially their critics, to try to think about, what am I getting right? What am I getting wrong? The Fed chair also has a transparency responsibility, which I think that Jay has fallen down on a little bit,' Hassett said. 'If you're going to come out and say, for example, that you think that tariffs are going to cause inflation, then, for goodness sake, you should put out a model that explains how much inflation and why you think that way,' Hassett continued, 'because there are others that disagree.'
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Economic fears of investors are here — and fed by Trump's reaction
For months, the U.S. economy appeared to be weathering the disruptive effects of President Donald Trump's trade and immigration policies. But over the course of 72 hours, that sunny outlook darkened, as the latest government data this week showed the president's revolutionary remaking of the world's largest economy had hit a snag. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. Friday's disappointing jobs report revealed a labor market that is much weaker than either the White House or Federal Reserve understood. Inflation, the voter irritant that helped return Trump to the Oval Office, is proving newly stubborn. And consumers are growing more cautious with their spending. After campaigning on a pledge to free business from worrying about Washington's dictates, Trump has made public policy - and his own norm-busting behavior - the primary variables affecting the $30 trillion U.S. economy, economists said. It all adds up to an economy that grew at an annual rate of 1.2 percent over the first half of the year, a notable downshift from its 2.4 percent pace at the end of 2024. The S&P 500 index, which has been on a tear since mid-April, reacted by shedding 2.5 percent of its value this week. 'We're seeing dramatic changes in policy across multiple dimensions. Trump inherited an economy that was in very good shape, that was in balance. He is trying to move it to a different equilibrium. And the corporate sector and everyone else are in the process of adjusting,' said Eric Winograd, senior vice president of AllianceBernstein in New York. That adjustment grew even tougher on Friday, when the president ordered the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics fired over claims that she had tampered with employment figures to hurt him politically, without presenting evidence. Even as the costs of his policies became more apparent, the action ignited worries that Trump's volatile temperament could cause additional economic harm by undermining market confidence in the government data that investors, business executives and policymakers require to make decisions. Firing a nonpartisan analyst for delivering bad news was 'straight out of an autocratic playbook,' said Heidi Shierholz, former chief economist of the Labor Department and now the president of the Economic Policy Institute, a left-of-center think tank. 'If policymakers and the public can't trust the data - or suspect the data are being manipulated - confidence collapses and reasonable economic decision-making becomes impossible. It's like trying to drive a car blindfolded,' she said. What provoked Trump's ire was news that employers had created just 73,000 jobs in July and that the BLS had overstated hiring for the prior two months by 258,000 positions. The downward revisions left total new hiring over the past three months at an anemic 106,000 compared with the 368,000 jobs created during the same period in 2024. Trump's command to cashier Erika McEntarfer, a veteran labor economist who had helmed the agency since January 2024, drew widespread criticism including from the ex-Heritage Foundation economist he had appointed to that post in 2017, William Beach, who called the firing 'totally groundless.' The president's thirst for complete control of public agencies' data and decisions extends to the nation's central bank. On Friday, Trump - who has simultaneously said the economy was 'booming' and called for urgent interest rate cuts to spur growth - resumed his attacks on Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell. 'Jerome 'Too Late' Powell, a stubborn MORON, must substantially lower interest rates, NOW,' Trump wrote on social media, one week after telling reporters the Fed chief was 'a very good man.' The president has repeatedly mused about a near-unprecedented firing of Powell for refusing to cut rates to levels normally seen during profound economic weakness. This week, the Fed's monetary policy committee opted to stand pat, with Powell later telling reporters that the labor market was 'solid.' The weak jobs report that Trump assailed may, ironically, increase the odds that the Fed will cut rates at its next meeting, in September. Investors believe there is a more than 80 percent chance of a rate cut next month, based on trading in financial instruments that track central bank actions, according to CME Group. On Friday, Adriana Kugler, a member of the Fed's Board of Governors, announced her resignation, giving Trump an early opportunity to name a replacement who shares his desire for cheaper money. Kugler, whose term does not expire until January, was named to the board by President Joe Biden in 2023. She plans to return to her position as a professor at Georgetown University. As a 2024 candidate, Trump promised to 'cut costly and burdensome regulations.' The president has slashed environmental mandates, taken a largely hands-off stance toward development of artificial intelligence, and mandated the elimination of 10 old regulations for each new rule. Yet the sheer scale of Trump's economic ambitions, and his 24-7 social media pronouncements, have made Washington the focus of business and investment decision-making. 'Government policy [has] been the biggest change over the past couple of months,' said Erica Groshen, senior labor market adviser at Cornell University who served as BLS commissioner from 2013 to 2017. Trump's policies are dominating labor market trends. Uncertainty about his trade policy, which has lifted tariffs to their highest average rate since the 1930s, is freezing business decision-making, including over hiring, economists said. In July, the only industries engaging in significant new hiring were health care and social assistance. The rest of the private sector lost a combined 49,000 jobs over the past three months, according to Kathy Bostjancic, Nationwide's chief economist. 'That really reflects this large degree of uncertainty that businesses are feeling about trade policy and the economic agenda, and particularly tariffs,' she said. 'It's the uncertainty here that is the real killer because it paralyzes companies. They don't know what to do.' At Craig's Coffee, a roastery and cafe in Detroit, policy uncertainty has forced owner Craig Batory to hit the brakes on hiring and expansion. He started the year ready to offer raises to his staff of eight and to hire at least two new employees, but scrapped those plans when the president intensified his campaign to remake global trade. The majority of Batory's coffee comes from Brazil and will soon be subject to a 50 percent tax. 'Since the tariffs were announced, everything's gone on hold,' he said. 'All of the money we'd set aside for hiring, product testing, research and development, end-of-year bonuses - all of that immediately went away because we had to save it to cover the rising cost of green coffee.' With major brands such as Procter & Gamble, Nike and Hasbro planning to raise prices, customers seem worried, too. About 30 percent of Batory's regulars have pared their monthly subscriptions this year from two bags of coffee to one, he said. 'It feels like everything has been indefinitely paused,' he said. 'I'm kind of holding my breath, hoping things change.' While fallout from the president's ambitious trade overhaul is slowing hiring, the administration's border policies are simultaneously shrinking the labor supply. The immigration crackdown, including restrictions on student visas, is a worry for Kevin Chapin, who owns a violin sales and repair shop in New Haven, Connecticut. About one-third of his business comes from foreign college students who play the violin. Several have already told him they're staying in their home countries this year because of the Trump administration's policies. 'We're anticipating a hit once school begins in the fall,' Chapin said. 'Our whole industry is very nervous.' He's frozen expansion plans, and when his only employee got a job offer in June, Chapin encouraged him to take it. 'I hate to say it, but I was glad to not have him on payroll anymore because it was a relief financially,' he said, adding that he and his wife have been working overtime to keep the business going. 'Under normal circumstances, I would've hired someone right away. But now I'm going to wait a few months until the bank account gets to a more comfortable place.' Chapin spent thousands of dollars buying up extra inventory early this year, hoping to stock up before new tariffs kicked in. Now he's low on cash and anticipating higher costs from new tariffs, raising the cost of instruments from China, horsehair from Mongolia and accessories from Europe. So far, companies' need for more workers and the number of job seekers available have declined more or less to the same degree, keeping the unemployment rate from spiking, said Winograd, the economist. But a smaller labor force with less hiring has troubling implications. 'It sends a signal that the growth rate of the economy is likely to be slower,' Winograd added. At the White House, officials this week celebrated a spate of recent trade deals and tariff announcements as marking an end to the uncertain environment that has chilled hiring and investment. 'We've been hearing a lot about uncertainty over the last few months, but that's all resolved now,' Stephen Miran, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told CNN, speaking before the president fired the BLS chief. 'So, it's all going to get much, much better from here.' Related Content Pets are being abandoned, surrendered amid Trump's immigration crackdown The Post exposed this farmer's struggle. Then the USDA called. Kamala Harris will not run for California governor, opening door for 2028 run Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
