Federal Reserve officials take great pains not to comment on fiscal policy, but the looming threat from tariffs is forcing their hand.

Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee warned on Wednesday that ignoring the potential inflationary impact of tariffs would be a mistake, citing the COVID-19 pandemic experience where supply chain disruptions drove up inflation.

Key Takeaways President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs could disrupt global supply chains, one Fed official warned Wednesday.Tariffs could bring an unwelcome replay of a pandemic-era phenomenon: supply disruptions had a domino effect,

Trade wars could lead to supply-chain disruptions and an inflation spike similar to the early pandemic, Austan Goolsbee said.

The potential for an escalating trade war and other supply chain disruptions threaten to drive up inflation as happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said Wednesday.