Fed's Kashkari says China trade fight a 'risky game' but says he has 'sympathy' for U.S. goals

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said Tuesday the Trump administration is playing a "risky game" in escalating trade tensions with China, but added he has "some sympathy" for why the White House is playing it. In a question-and-answer session at a conference in Duluth, Minn., Kashkari said successive presidents have had fruitless discussions with Chinese officials about opening up markets. The Trump White House is now trying to show that there has to be "some recourse" for China's inaction. "We cannot just have one-way trade, free one direction and not free the other direction," he said. Kashkari said he did not know how the dispute was going to turn out. The worst-case scenario was a "full-fledged trade war" where "everybody loses," he said.