Janet Yellen: Trump’s Tariffs Are Going to Produce Decoupling from China; ‘I Regard That as Very Undesirable’

EXCERPT:

YELLEN: “Well, if tariffs at this level remain in place, it seems to me it must produce decoupling. And I regard that as very undesirable. I think the tariffs that we’ve placed on China are going to impose very significant burdens on American households. Now, of course, things are changing by the day. There’s at least a temporary reprieve on auto parts that we learned about today. But reasonable, you know, estimates of the impact on the average American household of these tariffs, the whole program, but especially China, is around $4,000 per household. This isn’t good. And most of these goods we can’t produce in the United States, or if we were able to do so, it would take years to shift production. And, you know, unfortunately, with the uncertainty that surrounds these policies, you know, I think most businesses are in a situation where they must feel paralyzed. You don’t know if it makes any sense to cease production in China and to move it to the United States.”