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WASHINGTON, Aug. 24-- U.S. Federal Reserve officials have warned of downside risks to the U.S. economy from rising trade uncertainty, as monetary policy is not well suited to address adverse effects of trade disputes. "Trade policy uncertainty seems to be playing a role in the global slowdown and in weak manufacturing and capital spending in the United States," Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday at the Kansas City Fed's annual research conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "While monetary policy is a powerful tool that works to support consumer spending, business investment and public confidence, it cannot provide a settled rulebook for international trade," he said. Powell's views were echoed by other Fed officials, academics and central bankers from around the world attending the event. "I think what the Chair indicated...is we in the U.S. don't have a lot of experience with how the economy will respond to this," said Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida. "Because the last 50 years really has been a period of trade liberalization and we are into a different period now," Clarida told CNBC on Friday, adding uncertainty about trade policy "is having a dampening effect" on investment and on economic activity in certain sectors. U.S. economic growth slowed to 2.1 percent in the second quarter of this year, marking a sharp slowdown from the 3.1-percent expansion in the previous quarter. Despite strong job growth and solid consumer spending, manufacturing output has declined for two consecutive quarters, and business fixed investment fell in the second quarter. | 
