IMF warns that US is vulnerable in escalating trade fight

Relations have soured between US President Donald Trump’s administration and that of Chinese President Xi Jinping since they met in Beijing last year, sparking fears of an all-out trade war. Photo: Bloomberg

Independent.ie Business Desk

The International Monetary Fund warned that escalating and sustained trade conflicts are increasingly likely, threatening to derail economic recovery and depress medium-term growth prospects.

The IMF, in an update to its World Economic Outlook growth forecasts, said that the United States, as the focus of retaliatory tariffs from trading partners, was especially vulnerable to a slowdown in its exports.