Washington at odds with trends it cannot stop

The International Monetary Fund warned on Monday that US tariff actions could lead to escalating and sustained trade conflicts that would derail the global economic recovery and dampen medium-term growth prospects.

Its projections indicate that even though the effects may not surface in the short term, the harmful effects of the US-initiated tariff war against its major trade partners will become manifest in the coming years.

It cautioned that, if carried out, the tariff threats of the United States and the consequent retaliation from its trade partners could reduce the global economic output projections for 2020 by half a percentage point.