'Deeply misguided' to wall US off with tariffs, warns Yellen

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has pushed back on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's proposals of high tariffs on allies and rivals, calling such moves "deeply misguided" weeks before the Nov. 5 election.

Her remarks delivered in New York come as Trump vows to impose across-the-board levies on U.S. imports, with a particularly high tariff level on Chinese goods.

The former president is running against Democrat Kamala Harris, whose term in President Joe Biden's administration has seen more targeted economic policies against countries like China.

"Calls for walling America off with high tariffs on friends and competitors alike or by treating even our closest allies as transactional partners are deeply misguided," Yellen said in the speech at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Trump has called for a 10 to 20 percent tariff on all imports, and a higher rate of 60 percent or more on those from China.

But Yellen warned that broad, untargeted levies would raise costs for U.S. households and make American businesses less competitive.

The economy has consistently been a top issue for voters, according to polls leading up to the presidential election.

But the Treasury chief acknowledged that the United States also "cannot simply draw from an old playbook" when facing challenges like global pandemic preparedness, climate change and a need to grapple with China's industrial overcapacity.

She noted that trade and investment with China can bring gains to U.S. firms and workers, stressing that Washington should aim to have "a healthy economic relationship based on a level playing field."