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IMF warns Trump trade war could cost global economy $430bn
Rising trade tensions between the United States and the rest of the
world could cost the global economy $430bn (£324bn), with America especially vulnerable to an escalating tariff war, the IMF has warned.
Delivering a sharp rebuke for Donald Trump,
the Washington based organisation said the current threats made by the
US and its trading partners risked lowering global growth by as much as
0.5% by 2020, or about $430bn in lost GDP worldwide.
Although all economies would suffer from further escalation, the US
would find itself “as the focus of global retaliation” with a relatively
higher share of its exports taxed in global markets. “It is therefore
especially vulnerable,” the fund said.
Donald Trump raised the stakes in his mounting trade dispute with China last week by proposing 10% tariffs on $200bn of Chinese goods entering the country, on top of $34bn of tariffs that were officially
imposed on Beijing at the beginning of the month. The Chinese
government, which hit back at the first wave of US tariffs with similar
measures, was quick to warn of further retaliation.
