MNI TRANSCRIPT: Powell on Trade Policy Uncertainty

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following is the portion of a transcript from

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's press conference after the FOMC meeting

Wednesday:

     Q: We talked about inflation. I want to ask about uncertainty. With the

house announcing that they will ratify USMCA and Canada and Mexico signing off

on it, do you see uncertainty easing now so the business investment could pick

up? Or the trade tensions with China, are just that big elephant in the room,

where you might not see those business investments pick up?

     A: Well, I did see the news today, that it appears there is agreement to

move forward to revote on USMCA and of course it's not our role to comment on

particular trade policies or criticize them one way or the other or evaluate

them. I will say though that getting, if the deal were to be enacted, it would

certainly remove some of the trade policy uncertainty, and that would be I

believe a positive for the economy. I'll say the same thing about the

negotiations with China, which haven't reached that point yet. We have been

hearing from our people that we talk to, the many people and businesses that we

talk to in the banks that are written up in the beige book and they have been

telling us for a year and a half that trade uncertainty is weighing on the

outlook. Without commenting on the process or the content of the agreement, I

think that uncertainty, removal of uncertainty around that would be a positive

for the economy.

     Q: Is one uncertainty bigger than the other? Do you see, commenting on the

deals themselves, one uncertainty --

     A: I think you can see that what's been moving, one way to look at it, what

has been moving financial markets, it's been news about the negotiations with

China, not so much USMC, I think the difference between NAFTA and USMCA is

smaller than the difference between current arrangements with China and what is

being negotiated.

--MNI Washington Bureau; +1 202 371 2121; email: brooke.migdon@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: MMUFE$,M$U$$$]