The Rate Hike Ratchet: What's Really at Stake in Trump's Trade Threats The recent rate hike by the Federal Reserve has sent shockwaves through the White House, prompting President Trump to threaten trade reprisals against countries with a deficit – namely Canada, Mexico, and the European Union.
This move is less about economic policy than it is about optics: how Trump can frame his own failure to secure a rate cut as something other than a failure.
Trump's long standing feud with the Fed over interest rates has been well documented.