ECB's de Guindos: Trump tariffs making monterary policy decisions harder

MADRID (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policy has made the European Central Bank's monetary policy decisions more difficult, its Vice President Luis de Guindos said on Monday.

The increased uncertainty caused by Trump's tariffs "has reduced the clarity regarding future decisions," de Guindos said in an interview with Spanish radio station Onda Cero. "You move in a situation much more opaque than just six months ago."

Inflation will probably hit the ECB's 2% target in the first quarter of 2026, later than the previously expected date of mid-2025 due to higher energy prices, de Guindos said.

But de Guindos insisted that "everything is moving in the right direction."

Any direct effect on consumer prices from tariffs could be offset in the longer term by slower economic activity, he said.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro and David Latona; editing by Charlie Devereux)