Yellen says isolationism ‘made America and the world worse off’ in speech to global finance leaders

WASHINGTON — Minister of Finance Janet Jellen tells world financial leaders that the US economy has grown stronger because the Biden administration rejected isolationism and issued thinly veiled criticism of former President Donald Trump’s policies two weeks earlier the American elections.

Yellen opened the Annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Tuesday by highlighting U.S. economic growth since the country was gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic. Without mentioning Trump by name, she said in a preliminary draft of her remarks that the Biden administration had ended a period of international isolationism that had “left America and the world worse off.”

“We went from millions of people losing their jobs to a historic recovery in the labor market,” Yellen said. She said U.S. economic growth “this year and last has been nearly twice as fast as most other advanced economies, even as inflation fell earlier.”

The meetings mark the last major international financial gathering held during the Biden administration and come as economic issues are a top priority for American voters. Republicans have blamed the Biden-Harris administration for inflation, which hit a 40-year high before falling. Trump said during a September debate that the government has “destroyed the economy.”

Voters remain largely divided on whether they prefer the Republican candidate, Trump, or Democratic vice president nominee Kamala Harris to address key economic issues, according to an October survey The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Whoever wins the US elections will also have a huge impact on global finance and the global economy.

Trump and Harris have spoken little about their plans for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. But they have different views on trade, tariffs and other economic issues. Trump is skeptical of the world’s financial institutions and promises heavy tariffs if elected. Harris is more likely to continue the Biden administration’s approach of prioritizing international cooperation over threats, although she has supported some tariffs.

Yellen, like other federal officials, is barred from partisan political activity by the Hatch Act. But in her speech, she effectively promoted a potential Harris administration by touting Biden-Harris initiatives on climate, health care, infrastructure spending and other areas.

She alluded to Trump’s international leadership, saying: “From day one, we have rejected the isolationism that has made America and the world worse off and have pursued global economic leadership that supports economies around the world and delivers significant benefits for the American people and the American economy.”

Trump, who has embraced isolationism and criticized multilateral institutions, promises to impose a policy as president 60% tariff on all Chinese goods and a “universal” tariff of 10% or 20% on everything else entering the United States, emphasizing that the costs of taxing imported goods are absorbed by the foreign countries that produce those goods.

Mainstream economists say this would amount to a tax on American consumers make the economy less efficient and increase inflation in the United States.

The Biden-Harris administration has not lifted tariffs imposed on China during the Trump administration and again in May introduced significant tariffs about Chinese electric vehicles, advanced batteries, solar cells, steel, aluminum and medical equipment.

The IMF will announce its international view on the global economy, including: updated statistics on US economic growth, on Tuesday morning.