Growing economic risks from President Trump’s trade war with China could prod Federal Reserve officials away from their patient stance and toward cutting interest rates.

The central bank was already grappling with low inflation — price increases have hovered below officials’ 2 percent target for most of this 10-year expansion — when Mr. Trump’s trade spat with China intensified this month, rattling markets and threatening global growth. If those risks continue or intensify, they might persuade the Fed to consider taking steps to bolster the economy, including a potential rate cut.

“If the incoming data were to show a persistent shortfall in inflation below our 2 percent objective or were it to indicate that global economic and financial developments present a material downside risk to our baseline outlook,” officials would take that into account in assessing whether interest rates should continue to remain unchanged, the Fed’s vice chairman, Richard Clarida, said during a speech in New York on Thursday.

Later, in response to a question, Mr. Clarida said that although the economy was in a good place, “if we saw a downside risk to the outlook, then that would be a factor that could call for more accommodative policy.”