Former US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned of a rising risk of recession in the US economy

Former US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has called the economic policies of the new US administration "the worst act of self-harm" she has ever seen. Against the backdrop of tariffs and other policies, the risk of the US economy falling into recession has risen.

In an interview with CNN on Thursday (April 10), Yellen said the Trump administration's tariff policies could cost the average American family nearly $4,000 a year. In addition to the potential negative impact of tariffs on consumer spending, the US economy faces a huge shock of uncertainty.

"In the face of so much uncertainty, what company is going to invest for the long term?" A decline in investment spending and consumer spending is likely to trigger a recession.

Yellen, who chaired the Federal Reserve under President Barack Obama and then served as Treasury secretary under President Joe Biden, stressed that in addition to tariffs, the current administration's cuts to public services such as the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service, as well as government programs such as Medicaid and food aid, could hurt low-income families. This set of policies is highly destructive.

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers has warned of a recession in the United States. In an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, Summers said the United States may now be headed for a recession because of the tariffs being implemented by the Trump administration, which could result in about 2 million Americans losing their jobs and each family facing at least $5,000 in lost income.