Fed official says trade barriers a 'dead end'

New York

TRADE protectionism is a "dead end" that may score political points but will ultimately hurt the US economy, one of the most influential Federal Reserve officials said on Thursday in the central bank's strongest defence yet of open borders in the face of a sceptical Trump Administration.

William Dudley, head of the New York Fed, did not mention US President Donald Trump by name in a speech at the Bombay Stock Exchange. But he gave a full-throated economic and even political argument for resisting trade barriers that he said would hurt growth and living standards around the world.