Why does Yellen Ponder lower US tariffs on Chinese goods?

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday that it is worth considering steps to lower US tariffs on Chinese goods in order to ease inflation, and that there would be some “desirable effects” of lowering tariffs.

Speaking in a CNBC interview earlier in the day, Yellen stated on Friday that the US economy is being very resilient in the face of a set of shocks and noted that inflation may have peaked, but that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will prolong inflationary pressures.

Yellen also suggested the US is open to scaling back the widespread Trump-era tariffs on merchandise imports to help provide Americans relief from the fastest inflation in four decades.

“We’re re-examining carefully our trade strategy with respect to China,” Yellen said Friday in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Balance of Power” with David Westin, when asked about removing the tariffs. “It’s worth considering. We certainly want to do what we can to address inflation, and there would be some desirable effects. It’s something we’re looking at.”