“LOWER THE RATE OR I’LL STOP TRADING WITH COUNTRIES WITH WHICH WE HAVE A DEFICIT.” President Donald Trump posted that on Truth Social on Friday, September 4, and it came within hours of a jobs report that made a rate cut look harder to justify, not easier.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employers added 162,000 jobs in August. Analysts had expected about 53,000. The unemployment rate held at 4.1%. IBTimes called it the biggest monthly gain since March, and Business Today said traders responded by betting the Federal Reserve might raise rates at its September meeting rather than lower them.
What Trump wrote
The president opened with the jobs number and demanded lower rates, saying the United States is “a much stronger credit than it was just a short time ago”. He argued the country should have “the LOWEST RATE of any country in the World”. He then pointed at the new Fed chair, Kevin Warsh, and the Federal Open Market Committee, telling them to “get smart” and “BE PATRIOTS for a change.”
The trade threat leaned on the Supreme Court. Trump said its tariff decision, which he called “ridiculous and very costly”, had acknowledged that the president has an absolute right to act. Business Today reported that he described a full cutoff as potentially “better than tariffs”.
Why the threat is large
Washington runs deficits with many of its biggest partners. Business Today put the overall goods and services deficit at about $1.2 trillion last year, with China the largest at more than $200 billion, followed by Mexico and Vietnam. In July alone the deficit widened to $88.6 billion from $71.2 billion in June, the biggest monthly gap since March 2025. That month’s shortfalls included $27.5 billion with Mexico, $23.3 billion with Vietnam, $15.2 billion with China and $8.9 billion with the European Union. Computer imports rose 25% from June to July, partly because of the AI data centre buildout.
Stopping that flow would hit shelves and factories quickly. Business Today noted that US businesses depend heavily on imports from deficit countries, so an abrupt break could cause shortages and push prices up, which is the opposite of what the Fed wants to see.
The Fed’s position
A strong labour market gives policymakers little reason to hurry, and inflation is still a worry. IBTimes cited Fed Governor Waller as saying he would be “inclined” to keep rates unchanged if inflation data does not surprise. The Fed meets on September 15-16.
The ADP report earlier that week told a weaker story, with private employers adding 38,000 jobs, the slowest pace since January.
Sources
- Trump Just Demanded The Fed Cut Interest Rates. He Threatened With Trade Measures Otherwise. | IBTimes
- ‘Lower the rate or I’ll stop…’: Donald Trump links US trade deficit to Fed rate cuts – BusinessToday
