Buenos Aires – International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Christine Lagarde (pictured above) put out a plea to the leaders of the G20 – the world’s 19 biggest economies plus the European Union – to work together to foster global growth in a more balanced way. During a meeting, she presented a report on the impact of the ongoing trade war on global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which could mean losses of as much as USD 430 billion in a worst-case scenario.
The numbers do not take into account an eventual escalation of the tariff/counter-tariff squabble major world powers are in. Should the current scenario persist, the world’s GDP will be 0.5% narrower by 2020. According to the IMF, although all countries will be impacted, the United States could be especially so, since it would be targeted by retaliations from trade partners including China and the European Union.
The IMF expects global GDP to be up 3.9% this year and the next. According to Lagarde, however, economic expansion will vary from country to country.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
