Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke today at an event celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Federal Reserve’s Division of International Finance. The speech focused on the Fed’s evolving role in global economics and monetary policy, but notably did not directly mention tariffs or interest rates, despite ongoing speculation about their impact on the economy.
Instead, Powell spoke about the importance of understanding global economic shifts. He stressed the importance of the end of the Bretton Woods system—when the U.S. Dollar became no longer backed by gold—and how this shift fundamentally altered how monetary policy is conducted.
“The end of the Bretton Woods era in the 1970s fundamentally changed the conduct of monetary policy,” he said. “As policymakers had to understand the effects of potentially more volatile movements of the U.S. dollar on American families and businesses.”
While Powell did not directly address tariffs or interest rates, some economists see his mention of Bretton Woods as a signal of shifting economic dynamics. Many analysts, like in this video by Money & Macro, speculate that Trump’s tariffs are actually a plan to set back the clock on global trade and restructure the international economic order back into a U.S.-centered global economy.
Ultimately, Powell’s mention of the Bretton Woods system and the shift to floating exchange rates raises questions about how the Fed views the dollar’s stability. While he didn’t explicitly signal concerns, some analysts speculate that his remarks could hint at potential volatility in currency markets.
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