By:
Muhammad Edhie Purnawan
Department of Economics, FEB UGM

Prolog
Trump and Powell have been friends in the past.

By: Muhammad Edhie Purnawan, Ph.D. Lecturer at the Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, Gadjah Mada University

Prologue
It is on a stage—where Donald Trump is standing tall—with his usual style of speech: enthusiastic and confident, holding a big hammer that reads “Reciprocal Tariffs,” ready to hit any country that does not agree with his vision.

On April 8, 2025, at an economic workshop in Jakarta, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati looked at Trump’s stage with pensive eyes.