The International Monetary Fund is forecasting respectable global growth of 3.7 percent next year but the world’s two largest economies — the United States and China — are starting to cool. The dispute threatens to derail, halt or shift hundreds of billions of dollars in global trade but Trump also is threatening tariffs on auto imports. The IMF warns a continued escalation of the tariff threats could cut 0.8 percentage points off global growth. “It’s vitally important, because trade is a major engine for growth,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a recent television appearance. The global economy may be hit by a hangover in 2019 that will last well beyond New Year’s day.

Source: Egypt Independent December 12, 2018 09:58 UTC