Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross disputed concerns raised by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and others that U. S. companies are becoming so anxious about the prospect of a trade war that they’re postponing investment and hiring decisions.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross disputed concerns raised by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and others that U. S. companies are becoming so anxious about the prospect of a trade war that they’re postponing investment and hiring decisions.
“Anyone who thinks the economy is being wrecked doesn’t know what they’re talking about,” Ross said in a Bloomberg Television interview Thursday. News reports on the Trump administration have been negative and played up the troubles smaller companies are encountering with tariffs, he said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average headed for an eighth straight day of losses, partly on concern the U. S. and China will impose tariffs on each other’s imports, a move that could set off a wave of retaliation and derail the global expansion.
The Trump administration said last week that it would impose 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports on July 6, with $16 billion more under review and 10 percent tariffs on another $200 billion announced on Monday. China vowed to retaliate.
In the interview, Ross was responding to a question about Powell’s comment this week that trade spats may weigh on the outlook for growth . “Changes in trade policy could cause us to have to question the outlook,” Powell said Wednesday at conference in Portugal.
