New York President John Williams reveals trade and tariff uncertainty as the number one issue freezes business investment decisions
President John Williams of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on tariff clarity, future fee decisions and trajectory of US economic growth in an exclusive interview with Edward Lawrence of the FOX Business.
The Federal Reserve, like in other parts of the world, is closely watching President Trump’s trade and tariff policies. There is the best official warning that uncertainty is at the expense of while the US economy is in a “good place.”
“I talk to business leaders in small and medium-sized businesses, medium-sized businesses, and global companies. Uncertainty and especially uncertainty regarding tariffs and trade policies is No. 1 topic.” In “Morning with Mary,” Thursday.
“If you’re a business, it’s very difficult to make long-term decisions about investments, new products, etc.” he continued.
Williams said the US economy appears to be “suspending” on influential business and investment decisions, and the Fed also awaits “clearness” on global tariffs and trade restrictions.
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Will the Federal Reserve suspend interest rate cuts in 2025? New York President John Williams is Chimes Inn. (Getty Images)
“As that great Chicago Ferrisbuhler once said, “Life moves pretty quickly.” For the time being, we are well positioned to wait for more clarity before considering adjustments to policy stances,” he said in a prepared remarks at the Chicago Economic Club.
“My view is 2% inflation and we’ll get it back. And what’s like a long-term drive view, a neutral real rate, is probably about three-quarters of the percent, or a positive or negative one.”
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“Based on the latest data we have, inflation appears to be operating at around 2.3%. And last year, the economy has grown very well,” he expanded. “From my perspective, I think monetary policy is well positioned. I don’t think there’s any need to change the Fed fund ratio setting anytime soon.”
Still, economic unpredictability could potentially throw a wrench into the Fed’s plans.
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“There is a lot of uncertainty about how the economy will unfold this year,” Williams said. “What we see in market pricing is that it reflects uncertainty about the economic outlook and what happens in inflation.”
“We definitely have an impact on prices Inflation from this year’s tariffs. That’s what we’ve seen in the past. I think that’s a rather conventional view of how this unfolds. The big unanswered question is, how high has inflation been in place since 2026? We need to ensure that price changes at once are not passed on to more sustained high inflation,” the Fed president emphasized.
Suzanne O’Halloran of Fox Business contributed to this report.