FOMC Excerpt: Tariffs, Trade Uncertainty Pose Downside Risks>

WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following is an excerpt from the Federal Open 

Market Committee minutes of the September 25 - 26 meeting, published 

Wednesday:

     Participants noted that business fixed investment had grown 

strongly so far this year. A few commented that recent changes in 

federal tax policy had likely bolstered investment spending. Contacts in 

most sectors remained optimistic about their business prospects, and 

surveys of manufacturing activity were broadly favorable. Despite this 

optimism, a number of contacts cited factors that were causing them to 

forego production or investment opportunities in some cases, including 

labor shortages and uncertainty regarding trade policy. In particular, 

tariffs on aluminum and steel were cited as reducing new investment in 

the energy sector. Contacts also suggested that firms were attempting to 

diversify the set of countries with which they tradeboth imports and 

exportsas a result of uncertainty over tariff policy. Contacts in the 

agricultural industry reported that tariffs imposed by China had 

resulted in lower crop prices, further depressing incomes in that 

sector, although a new federal program was expected to offset some 

income losses. 

     ** MNI Washington Bureau: (202)371-2121 ** 

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