ECONOMY

Just before leaving Washington, D.C., Friday, President Trump hiked tariffs on Chinese imports and threatened to force American companies to leave China.

President Trump deepened the trade war Friday, in response to retaliatory Chinese tariffs. NPR's Scott Simon talks to former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.

President Trump lashed out at China and the Federal Reserve and said he's ordering U.S. companies to find suppliers outside of China. There was a sharp sell-off on Wall Street.

President Trump's move came after Beijing announced tariffs on $75 billion worth of autos and other U.S. goods. In a tweet, he also "ordered" U.S. companies to stop doing business with China.

The central bank will "act as appropriate" to sustain the economic expansion as the trade war with China takes a toll on global growth and parts of the U.S. economy, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell says.

NPR's Noel King talks to Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, who is in Jackson Hole for the annual meeting of Fed officials. Chairman Powell is expected to speak.

Signs the economy is weakening have raised concerns about the Trump administration's moves to erode financial safeguards put in place after the last recession.

NPR's David Greene talks to Phillip Swagel, director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, who says the nation's fiscal outlook is challenging and is on an unsustainable course.

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Jason Furman, who was President Obama's chief economic adviser, about Trump administration's consideration to stimulate the economy via payroll tax cuts.

The deficit is expected to swell to $960 billion this year and average $1.2 trillion in each of the next 10 years, according to congressional budget forecasters. They also expect the economy to slow.

The U.S. agreed to lift tariffs on imported tomatoes from Mexico. But importers warn that stepped-up inspections could still create bottlenecks, limiting supplies and raising produce prices.

The Trump administration is boasting that the economy is strong. But the administration is also calling for the kind of dramatic economic stimulus one would usually only consider during a recession.