PANews reported on March 20 that according to Jinshi, "Federal Reserve mouthpiece" Nick Timiraos wrote that the Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged while assessing how a series of policy changes by the Trump administration on trade, immigration, spending and taxation might reshape the economic outlook. Consumer confidence has fallen sharply in recent weeks amid headlines of federal government spending cuts and tariff increases. "We think it's a good time to wait for the situation to become clearer," Fed Chairman Powell said at a press conference on Wednesday. Investors were encouraged by Powell's decision not to take a more aggressive stance on potential tariff-related price increases. The Dow closed up 0.9%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both rose more than 1%.

In addition, new economic projections show that 11 of the 19 FOMC policymakers expect the Fed to cut interest rates at least twice this year, down from 15 in December. At the same time, they expect inflation to rise to 2.7% this year from 2.5% in January. "It's really because of the upcoming tariffs that progress on reducing inflation 'may be temporarily delayed,'" Powell said. Currently, the forecasts show officials believe price growth will slow in 2026 and 2027, which means they see no reason to set interest rates differently than before the tariffs were implemented. "If inflation is going to disappear quickly if we don't take action, then sometimes it may be appropriate to turn a blind eye to inflation. That may be the case with tariff inflation," Powell said.