Fed's Powell declines to comment on tariff policy

By Michael S. Derby

NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell declined to comment on the Trump administration's tariff policies but acknowledged there have been issues on the trade front.

"It's not the Fed's job to make or comment on tariff policy" but to take the new policies on board and react accordingly, Powell told a Senate panel. He added “the standard case for free trade and all of that logically still makes sense," Powell said, adding "it didn’t work that well when we have one very large country that doesn’t really play by the rules."