Trump threatens to halt trade with countries that run surpluses with the United States

Donald Trump has threatened to stop trade with countries that run trade surpluses with the United States, tying the warning to his demand for lower interest rates from the Federal Reserve.

The U.S. president made the threat in a post on Truth Social. He also pointed to what he called a record number of new jobs, saying American employers created 162,000 positions in August, two to three times more than forecast.

Trump argued that U.S. creditworthiness had improved sharply and called for borrowing costs to fall. “Lower interest rates, because the creditworthiness of the United States is now much higher than it was recently! A strong country means a low interest rate. That means cheaper credit... It’s very simple! We should have the lowest rate in the world, as in the ‘good old days.’ If the United States did not agree to tolerate their huge surpluses, and we could stop this immediately, they would no longer be considered financially elite!”

He said he could suspend trade between the United States and countries with which it has a trade deficit if the central bank does not follow his demands. The article characterized the proposal as a series of radical ultimatums that could prove costly to the economy if carried out.

The Federal Reserve is politically independent and has kept interest rates stable for an extended period while trying to contain years of inflation. Trump has pressed it to adopt a more accommodative monetary policy.

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Lower interest rates, because the creditworthiness of the United States is now much higher than it was recently! A strong country means a low interest rate. That means cheaper credit... It’s very simple! We should have the lowest rate in the world, as in the ‘good old days.’ If the United States did not agree to tolerate their huge surpluses, and we could stop this immediately, they would no longer be considered financially elite!