US President Trump eases market jitters, says no plans to fire Powell, China tariffs to be lower

Christian Borjon Valencia FXStreet

Recently, US President Donald Trump said at a press conference that his discussions with China are going well, adding that he thinks they will reach a deal. He said that tariffs on China would not be as high as 145%, but they wouldn’t be zero.

Trump added that he had no intention of firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, despite being frustrated with the high interest rates. He said “The press runs away with things. No, I have no intention of firing him. I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates.”

Market's reaction to headline

The US Dollar Index (DXY) had erased Monday’s losses with the DXY reaching 99.30, up by over 1%. A breach of 99.50 could pave the way for a rally to recover the 100.00 figure. If cleared, the next key resistance would be 100.27 the April 15 peak ahead of the 101.00 mark.

US-China Trade War FAQs

What does “trade war” mean?

Generally speaking, a trade war is an economic conflict between two or more countries due to extreme protectionism on one end. It implies the creation of trade barriers, such as tariffs, which result in counter-barriers, escalating import costs, and hence the cost of living.

What is the US-China trade war?

An economic conflict between the United States (US) and China began early in 2018, when President Donald Trump set trade barriers on China, claiming unfair commercial practices and intellectual property theft from the Asian giant. China took retaliatory action, imposing tariffs on multiple US goods, such as automobiles and soybeans. Tensions escalated until the two countries signed the US-China Phase One trade deal in January 2020. The agreement required structural reforms and other changes to China’s economic and trade regime and pretended to restore stability and trust between the two nations. However, the Coronavirus pandemic took the focus out of the conflict. Yet, it is worth mentioning that President Joe Biden, who took office after Trump, kept tariffs in place and even added some additional levies.

Trade war 2.0

The return of Donald Trump to the White House as the 47th US President has sparked a fresh wave of tensions between the two countries. During the 2024 election campaign, Trump pledged to impose 60% tariffs on China once he returned to office, which he did on January 20, 2025. With Trump back, the US-China trade war is meant to resume where it was left, with tit-for-tat policies affecting the global economic landscape amid disruptions in global supply chains, resulting in a reduction in spending, particularly investment, and directly feeding into the Consumer Price Index inflation.

Author

Christian Borjon Valencia

FXStreet

Markets analyst, news editor, and trading instructor with over 14 years of experience across FX, commodities, US equity indices, and global macro markets.

AUD/USD softens as risk-off mood meets FOMC countdown

The Aussie Dollar loses 0.11% against the Greenback on Tuesday as risk appetite remains negative amid calls from AI company CEOs to slow development, while the FOMC monetary policy meeting looms. Expectations for a Fed rate hike undermine the AUD/USD, which trades at 0.7130.

USD/JPY extends gains toward 155.00 amid USD resurgence

USD/JPY keeps pushing higher toward 155.00 early Tuesday, looking for more upside, as traders await the FOMC and BoJ meetings this week. Meanwhile, Fed rate-hike bets and oil-driven inflation risks keep US bond yields near multi-year highs, supporting the US Dollar and the pair. That said, a more hawkish repricing of the BoJ normalization path might continue to underpin the Japanese Yen and could limit USD/JPY's upside. .

Gold set to fall toward $4,000 as Warsh faces a Fed rate-hike dilemma

As the Federal Reserve monetary policy announcement approaches and the Middle East war intensifies, the US Dollar resumes its advance. Gold price posted a tepid attempt to recover its shine in early August, but with renewed USD demand, the bright metal faltered miserably and is now closer to the $4,000 mark than the encouraging $4,700 peak from a month ago.

Ethereum continues to attract capital despite impending rate hike and Clarity Act failure

Ethereum declined to $2,400 on Tuesday after the Clarity Act failed to progress in the Senate. Despite that and the market's near certainty of an interest rate hike at the next Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting, the top altcoin has continued to attract fresh capital. Ethereum buyers have been dominating sellers over the past few days.

How Japan became the World's Banker and why that era may be ending

Japan's ultra-low interest rates helped finance trillions of dollars in global investments for more than a decade, making the Japanese Yen one of the world’s cheapest sources of funding. With the Bank of Japan expected to tighten policy again this week, that advantage may be entering a new phase. While most major economies raised interest rates, Japan remained the world's outlier.

Venezuela’s 65-billion-barrel Oil deal could reshape America’s inflation fight

The United States (US) has secured unprecedented access to part of Venezuela’s vast Oil reserves. The timing is particularly significant as the war with Iran is disrupting Middle Eastern supplies, keeping energy prices elevated and reviving concerns about inflation.