JAKARTA – The United States Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed inflation rose only 2.3% in April 2025, slowing from 2.4% in March, despite President Trump’s announcement of high import tariffs earlier in April.

In response, President Trump again lashed out at Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, for failing to cut US interest rates.

“No Inflation, and Prices of Gasoline, Energy, Groceries, and practically everything else, are DOWN!!! THE FED must lower the RATE, like Europe and China have done,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account.

At last week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the Fed held US interest rates steady at 4.25–4.50% for May, taking into account the potential impact of the new tariff policy on inflation dynamics.

The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, is targeting a stable inflation rate of 2% for 2025.

Citing Business Insider, UBS has forecast that the effects of Trump’s tariff policy would begin to emerge in April. Moreover, inflation between May and October could also be affected if the high import tariffs are fully implemented.

BeiChen Lin, Senior Investment Strategist at Russell Investments, noted that companies may have accelerated their export-import transactions ahead of the Trump tariffs, which may have helped suppress inflation in April.

So far, the US has only announced tariff agreements with the UK and China. The UK will reduce tariffs on US goods to 1.8%, while the US will lower import tariffs on British cars to 10%. Meanwhile, China has agreed to cut tariffs on US imports to 10%, whereas the US is maintaining its tariffs on Chinese goods at 30%. (ZH)