“President-elect Trump is receiving the strongest economy in modern history,”
By AFP
December 10, 2024
President Joe Biden said US consumers would pay the price for the tariffs that Donald Trump has vowed to slap on US neighbors Mexico and Canada and on Asia-Pacific rival China - Copyright AFP Richard A. Brooks
Danny KEMP
Outgoing US President Joe Biden on Tuesday branded his successor Donald Trump’s economic plans a “disaster,” in a speech hailing his own legacy.
Biden said Trump’s threats to slap huge tariffs on imports were a “major mistake” and challenged Trump to build on what he said were the successes of his own administration.
The lame-duck president’s speech comes after Trump won a second term largely on the back of US voters’ anger at high costs of living under Democrats.
“I pray to God the president-elect throws away Project 2025. I think it’d be an economic disaster for us and the region,” Biden said at the Brookings Institution in Washington, referring to a conservative blueprint for a second Trump administration.
Coughing frequently because of a cold, Biden said US consumers would pay the price for the tariffs that Trump has vowed to slap on US neighbors Mexico and Canada and on Asia-Pacific rival China.
Together they are the three biggest US trading partners.
“I believe this approach is a major mistake,” Biden added.
At a separate event Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Trump’s tariffs could “derail the progress that we’ve made on inflation, and have adverse consequences on growth.”
She warned at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit that sweeping tariffs could raise prices significantly for US consumers and pile pressure on companies which rely on imports.
– Shadow president –
The White House touted Biden’s speech as a “major address on his economic legacy” as the 82-year-old looks to the history books with fewer than six weeks left in office.
Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race against Trump in July due to concerns about his age and passed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Trump comfortably defeated at the November polls.
Trump’s inauguration is not until January 20, but he has already become something of a shadow president, making pronouncements on the economy and foreign policy and being feted by world leaders.
Biden has kept a relatively low profile, but he came out swinging in defense of his own record before an audience of economists.
He contrasted his “middle-out, bottom-up economic playbook” with what he called Trump’s failed promise of “trickle-down economics” in which tax cuts for the wealthy are supposed to boost incomes.
Biden also touted achievements including the US economy’s recovery from the Covid pandemic and his huge investments in green technology and industry.
“President-elect Trump is receiving the strongest economy in modern history,” said Biden.
But the departing president said he regretted not signing his name to Covid stimulus checks sent out to Americans, like Trump had done.
Biden ended his speech with a broader plea for US leadership in a troubled world, even as Trump has repeatedly signaled his intention to take a more isolationist stance.
“If we do not lead the world, what nation leads the world?” he said.
Trump’s tariff plans may ‘derail’ US inflation progress: Yellen
By AFP
December 10, 2024
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that President-elect Donald Trump's sweeping tariff proposals could raise prices for consumers and pressure firms - Copyright AFP/File Allison ROBBERT
US President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals to impose sweeping tariffs on imports could counter earlier efforts to cool inflation, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday, warning that consumer prices could rise.
Her comments at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit come as Trump has vowed broad tariffs of at least 10 percent on all imports, and higher rates on goods from China, Canada and Mexico.
Imposing broad-based tariffs could “raise prices significantly for American consumers and create cost pressures on firms” which rely on imported goods, Yellen said when asked about Trump’s plans.
She cautioned that this could weigh on the competitiveness of certain sectors and increase costs to households.
“This is a strategy I worry could derail the progress that we’ve made on inflation, and have adverse consequences on growth,” she said.
But she defended efforts by President Joe Biden’s administration to impose targeted tariffs on Chinese goods to counter unfair trade practices by Beijing.
She has previously raised concern over China’s industrial overcapacity — which risks a flood of underpriced goods into global markets and could undermine the development of key US industries.
On Tuesday, Yellen also expressed regret that the United States has not made more progress on the country’s deficit, saying she believes it “needs to be brought down, especially now that we’re in an environment of higher interest rates.”
She stressed the importance of an independent Federal Reserve too, saying that countries perform better economically when central banks are allowed to exercise their best judgment without political influence.
Trump has said that he would like “at least” a say over setting the Fed’s interest rate.
“I think it’s a mistake to become involved in commenting on the Fed and certainly taking steps to compromise its independence,” said Yellen.
“I believe it tends to undermine the confidence of financial markets and, ultimately, of Americans in an important institution,” she added.
Yellen noted that she has spoken with Trump’s Treasury chief nominee, billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, congratulating him on his nomination
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