Trump threatens trade cutoff with some nations unless Fed lowers rates despite 3.4% inflation

Trump said he would cut off all trade with "some nations" unless the Fed lowers rates. NEC director Kevin Hassett downplayed the threat on CNN, saying he does not expect trade "to go to zero." The White House will back whatever Fed chair Kevin Warsh and the board decide Wednesday, Sept. 16, he said.

Annual inflation held at 3.4% in data published Friday, Sept. 11, above the Fed's 2% target for more than five years (The Guardian). August's increase was energy-led: gasoline rose 27.4% from a year earlier. Core inflation eased to 2.4% (BLS).

The details:

• Trump wrote this month the US should have the "LOWEST RATE of any country in the World" and the Fed Board must "BE PATRIOTS."
• Warsh was sworn in as Fed chair in May 2026 at a White House ceremony where Trump told him to be "totally independent."