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Trump 'absolutely respects' Fed's independence, Mnuchin claims

Sunday, 29 July 2018 4:38 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 29 July 2018 4:57 PM ]

US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin gestures during a press conference in Buenos Aires, on July 22, 2018, at the end of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting. (AFP photo)

US President Donald Trump and his administration "absolutely support" the Federal Reserve's independence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has claimed after Trump questioned the Fed's raising of interest rates.

“We as an administration absolutely support the independence of the Fed, and the president’s made it clear that this is the Fed’s decision," Mnuchin said on Sunday.

He tried to downplay Trump’s recent comments about the Fed's raising of interest rates. "These are really more just comments saying, as interest rates are going up, it’s something that the president has a concern."

"But let me be clear," Mnuchin added, "he absolutely respects the independence of the Fed.”

There have been reports that the US central bank is planning to raise interest rates further this year. In response Trump said earlier this month, “I don't like all of this work that we're putting into the economy, and then I see rates going up."

In June, the Fed raised interest rates for the second time this year and has indicated that it will increase rates again before the end of the year.

The Fed, the source of trouble

According to former US presidential candidate and Congressman Ron Paul, the basic source of the economic trouble is America’s central banking system, known as the Federal Reserve or the Fed, which cannot function in a real market economy.

“In a true free market economy you have to have people work, use what they need to live on and then save money, and that dictates interest rates and tells businessmen what they should do. Well, that isn’t the way it works anymore,” the veteran former politician once said.

US Federal Reserve ‘anti-democratic’

The US Federal Reserve is an “anti-democratic” institution that has enabled a small ruling class to control monetary policy.

“The so-called capital comes from the Fed and they create it out of thin air. So everything is a mistake and everything is going to be volatile. You can do this for a while when the country is very very wealthy, and a currency is very very strong,” he added.

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