Todd Bishop
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) pointed out that global trade activity rose 0.5% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, the slowest growth rate since 2012, and there are significant downside risks.
IMF chief economist Gita Gpoinath pointed out that there is still no sign of a recession in the global economy, but the economy has downside risks, including the escalation of trade wars.
Reuters quoted Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti, deputy director of the IMF’s research department, as saying that sluggish trading activities involve multiple factors, including uncertainty caused by the US-China trade war, weak investment trends, cyclical weakness in the automotive and technology industries, and further It is pointed out that trade is mainly driven by machinery, etc., but investment activities in Latin America and Europe are still weak, and the Chinese domestic demand market has experienced a serious slowdown.
When talking about the tariffs imposed on imported products by various countries, Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti pointed out that the US and China will impose tariffs on the other products, further affecting the trade prospects. It also pointed out that enterprises will think twice before establishing production facilities and expanding production overseas. She said that it is still unclear how the economic recovery will be affected once tariffs are lifted.
