Trump signals tariff plans, Fed chair candidates, China deal progress

Investing.com -- President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Scott Bessent has declined consideration for Federal Reserve Chair while praising "both Kevins" - Kevin Warsh and Kevin Hassett - as "very good" candidates for the position.

Speaking on CNBC, Trump reiterated his criticism that current Fed Chair Jerome Powell has been "too late to cut rates" and mentioned he has "two other people aside from the two Kevins in mind" for the position.

The president warned he would impose a 35% tariff on European Union goods if the bloc "doesn’t meet obligations" following recent trade deals with the EU and Japan.

Trump also revealed plans to announce tariff levels on pharmaceuticals and semiconductor chips "within the next week." He indicated pharmaceutical tariffs would start small but "could go as high as 250% eventually," specifically mentioning that "Switzerland makes fortune with pharma."

On international trade, Trump called India "the highest tariff nation" that "has not been a good trading partner" and stated he "will raise India tariff substantially over the next 24 hours."

Regarding China, Trump expressed optimism, saying "we’re close to a China deal" and "I think we’ll make a good deal with China." He noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping "called for a meeting" and that he would meet with Xi "if we have a deal."

The president also claimed that "labor statistics are very political" and reiterated allegations that labor statistics were "rigged."

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