President Donald Trump would put the credibility of the dollar at stake and destabilize the American economy if he dismissed the president of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell, warned French finance Minister Eric Lombard.
“Donald Trump harmed the credibility of the dollar with his aggressive prices movements – for a long time,” said Lombard in an interview published in theLa Tribune on Sundaynewspaper. If Powell is pushed “this credibility will be even more injured, with developments on the bond market”.
The result would be higher costs to serve the debt and “a deep disorganization of the country’s economy,” said Lombard, adding that the consequences would lead the United States sooner or later to talks to end tensions.
Lombard’s comments come after Trump, frustrated by Powell’s prudence to reduce American interest rates, posted on social networks Thursday that “Powell’s termination could not come quickly enough”. It was not clear if he meant that he wanted to dismiss Powell or was impatient at the end of his mandate, which is May 2026. The director of the National Economy Council, Kevin Hassett, said Trump on Friday was studying if he could fire him.
President Emmanuel Macron opposed Trump on a series of questions such as Ukraine, trade and even made refuge in France to American scientists whose federal research funding has been reduced.
Despite this, Lombard’s comments are unusually direct on American domestic issues.
Find out more:Trump studies if to remove Powell is an option, says Hassett
On the prices, the French Minister of Finance said that the 10% prices that Trump had imposed on EU imports do not constitute an “common ground” and that the objective of Europe is for a free trade area with the United States.
The 10% level is “a huge increase that is not durable for the American economy and represents the main risks for global trade,” said Lombard.
The Minister of Finance also called on European CEOs to show “patriotism” and to work with their governments so that the region does not lose.
On Thursday, the French billionaire Bernard Arnault, whose LVMH group has champagne labels like Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot as well as Cognac Hennessy, seemed to suggest that the leaders of the EU did not push strong enough for an agreement on the prices.
This story was initially presented on Fortune.com
