More haste, less speed will help get 'phase one' deal over the line

The prospect of a continuing trade war between China and the United States has driven the International Monetary Fund to lower its global growth forecast for 2019 to 3 percent, a level last seen only during the international financial crisis a decade back.

Despite all the US president's praises of his economic accomplishments, the IMF has forecast his country's economic growth will drop to 2.1 percent next year. From US consumers to businesses, pessimism keeps growing that the trade war will wreak further havoc on them.

China is certainly not unbruised. For all the talk about resilience and the potential of the economy, the downward pressure is having an effect, on the manufacturing sector in particular. Everything may remain under control and within a "reasonable range". But trade figures and consumer prices show those are hard-won achievements.