ECB’s Villeroy: Trump’s economic agenda risks global economy, return of inflation

PARIS (Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s economic agenda risks returning inflation to the United States and hurting economic growth worldwide, Bank of France head and European Central Bank (ECB) member Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Wednesday.

“The programme risks bringing back inflation to the United States,” Villeroy told France Inter radio. “It risks lowering growth a little bit, all over the world. It remains to be seen if the reduction will be felt more in the United States, China or in Europe.”

Trump has floated the idea of a tariff of 10% or more on all goods imported into the United States, which he says would eliminate its trade deficit.

But Villeroy predicted U.S. consumers would bear the brunt of many of the tariffs.

“Protectionism almost always means reduced purchasing power for consumers,” Villeroy said.