Peter Navarro: 'Jerome Powell Finally Admitted What This Administration Has Been Saying All Along'

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Peter Navarro discussed Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments about tariffs.

Transcript

00:00I read Today America, this was a historic day for America and for Federal Reserve policy history.

00:10The reason is simply that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell finally admitted what this administration has been saying all along,

00:21that tariffs do not cause inflation.

00:25And in the event that they might cause inflation, it's a one-step, one-time process that doesn't create any kind of inflationary spiral

00:36that requires the Federal Reserve to maintain high interest rates.

00:43So let me say that again so everybody understands this.

00:47Powell has been using so-called tariff uncertainty as a reason for keeping interest rates well above what they should be.

00:59Our judgment is well over 100 basis points higher.

01:02If you look at comparative rates around the world, we're at over 4 percentage points in terms of short-run interest rates.

01:14And you have Europe at less than half that.

01:17China, three times lower than that.

01:19And Japan, it's at 0.5 basis points.

01:23And what that kind of disparity does for the United States is pushes the dollar up, makes it harder for exporters,

01:33pushes our mortgage rates up, kills the housing industry, credit card debt makes it more expensive for us to pay for our national debt

01:44because 20 to 30 percent of the short-term debt is funded with short-term debt.

01:52So, let me say this once more.

01:55It's a historic day for America, historic day for Trump tariff policy

02:00because the Fed Chair Jay Powell has finally admitted that tariffs don't cause inflation.

02:08And even if they do, it's a one-time deal that does not lead to inflationary spiral.

02:13Therefore, there is no need to maintain high interest rates because of this so-called tariff uncertainty.

02:20The stock market and bond market recognize that today.

02:25We had bond yields fall, particularly on the 10-year, dramatically.

02:29That's good for America.

02:31We had the stock market hit record highs today, over 45,000 on the Dow.

02:39So, good for Jay Powell.

02:42I don't know what he was drinking.

02:43Maybe some tariff French wine there in Jackson Hole.

02:47But finally, he's seeing it our way.

02:49The only question now is whether the Federal Reserve is going to act on that, cut rates.

02:55We don't need a little 25 basis point cut.

02:58We need 50 to 100 or more right now to make America great again.

03:03Okay.

03:04Okay.