Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said persistent, outsize tariffs could renew supply-chain disruptions and drive up inflation.

New trade tariffs and supply chain disruptions could force the Federal Reserve into a difficult position, policymaker says.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee believes it would be a "mistake" to gloss over the economic impacts and escalating trade wars tied to President Trump's tariff threats, in a speech on Wednesday.

Trade wars could lead to supply-chain disruptions and an inflation spike similar to the early pandemic, Austan Goolsbee said.

Federal Reserve officials take great pains not to comment on fiscal policy, but the looming threat from tariffs is forcing their hand.

Fed officials appear to have a unified message this week on the question of how they should react to President Donald Trump’s new tariffs: We’re taking our time.