What does tapering mean?

Q: Define what exactly the tapering exercise means and what the Fed hopes to do when they actually start off with that tapering process?

A: This is the way they are hoping to experiment with landing because it is not going to be a monetary policy landing. That would require interest rates to move up and the monthly buying of assets, the US government treasuries, mortgage bank securities to come to an end. So, when we talk about tapering, the really saying is that instead of buying USD 85 billion a month of assets, they may only buy USD 75 billion a month or USD 60 billion a month and this is the way they are going to fuel their way towards the airport. If they do not like what they see after a month or two, they can always reverse and go back to USD 85 billion. If they think that they are getting away with a landing then USD 75 billion will become USD 60 billion will become USD 50 billion and eventually they won’t be buying any monthly paper at all. The same central bank through the last 200 years has never bought government paper in this way.