Fed's Kashkari: Tariff negotiations may take months or years, supports keeping policy unchanged

Odaily Planet Daily News Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari reiterated the need to remain cautious amid the uncertainty of trade conflicts, noting that defending inflation expectations is "critical." He said at a Bank of Japan event in Tokyo on Tuesday that there is a "healthy debate" among policymakers - whether the inflationary impact of U.S. President Trump's tariffs should be viewed as a temporary shock or as a long-term condition. In his speech, Kashkari pointed out that tariff negotiations may take months or years to fully conclude, taxation of intermediate products takes time to pass, and the risk of inflation expectations de-anchoring may increase over time. He said: "I put the defense of long-term inflation expectations first." The Federal Reserve has kept interest rates unchanged at all three meetings so far this year and is expected to do so at its next meeting in June this year. Prior to this, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a total of one percentage point in the last three months of last year. Economists generally expect tariffs to lead to inflation, but their prevalence depends on the size of the tariffs and the degree of retaliation from other countries. Tariffs may drag down economic growth and lead to layoffs, which may lead to so-called "stagflation," putting the Federal Reserve in a dilemma: whether to maintain high interest rates to curb inflation or cut interest rates to support the sluggish economy. (Golden Ten)