WASHINGTON, April 17, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - US President Donald Trump blasted Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday for not lowering interest rates, calling him "always TOO LATE AND WRONG".

"Powell's termination cannot come fast enough," Trump wrote on his TruthSocial platform. "Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now."

The central bank's chair warned on Wednesday that Trump's sweeping tariffs on virtually every trade partner could put the Fed in the unenviable position of having to choose between tackling inflation and unemployment.

Trump's stop-start tariff policy has unnerved investors and trading partners unsure about the long-term strategy, and what it might mean for international trade.

Trump has repeatedly urged Powell to cut interest rates, but the US central bank has adopted a wait-and-see attitude, holding interest rates steady at 4.25 to 4.5 percent since the start of this year.