U.S. tariffs harmful to the world: ECB chief

The United States' tariff policies are adding to global uncertainties and will have a negative impact worldwide, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday.

"It will be negative the world over, and the density and the durability of the impact will vary depending on the scope, on the products targeted, on how long it lasts, and on whether or not there are negotiations," Lagarde told Newstalk radio in Ireland.

She noted that tariff escalations harm not only those targeted but also those who impose them. Such disputes, she said, often conclude with parties returning to the negotiating table.

Lagarde emphasized the rising levels of uncertainty, with U.S. tariff measures being a significant contributing factor. "We simply don't really know to this day, which is supposed to be the day when it is announced, what the deal will be for the rest of the world," she said. "Predictability is in very short supply at the moment."

In a recent interview with a French radio program, Lagarde suggested that the U.S. tariffs could serve as a wake-up call for the European Union. "We can decide together to take our destiny into our own hands, and I think it is a march to independence," she said.