Top Federal Reserve official says US could require rate cuts if big tariffs return

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

The Federal Reserve may need to cut interest rates sharply to prop up the US economy if Donald Trump follows through on his threat to resume big “reciprocal” tariffs, a top official at the central bank has warned. 

Christopher Waller, a Federal Reserve governor, said on Monday that if the US president reimposes the levies unveiled on April 2, then the US central…