WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, has urged nations to act swiftly in resolving trade disputes that threaten global economic growth. She highlighted the uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies on foreign imports, which has led companies to delay investments and consumers to hold off on spending. During a briefing at the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, Georgieva emphasized that unpredictability is detrimental to business. The IMF recently downgraded its outlook for global economic growth and significantly lowered its forecast for the United States, increasing the probability of a U.S. recession from 25% to about 40%. Georgieva warned that the economic impact of trade conflicts would disproportionately affect poorer countries, which lack the resources to mitigate the damage. Since January, Trump has intensified tariff measures, imposing high taxes on imports from various countries, including a 145% tax on Chinese goods and a 10% tax on nearly all other nations. However, his inconsistent policy changes have left businesses uncertain about his objectives.
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