US-China trade war will not reduce trade deficit, IMF finds, in rebuke of Donald Trump’s tariff policies
- International Monetary Fund report says countries looking to reset trade imbalances should address issues in their own economies instead of implementing tariffs
- Dense academic text does not directly refer to the US president, but appears to be a subtle rebuke to his views on trade
US President Donald Trump is desperate to reduce his country’s trade deficit with China, but according to the International Monetary Fund, the punitive tariffs he has launched on Beijing will not work.
In a new report released on Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that countries looking to reset trade imbalances should address their own macroeconomic issues instead of launching barriers to trade.
“Attempts to target one bilateral trade balance through tariffs or other distortions is likely to be met with offsetting changes in the trade balances with other partners,” the IMF report said.
In what could be viewed as a thinly-veiled challenge to Trump’s protectionist policies, the Washington institution’s World Economic Outlook report concluded the tariffs could make things worse.
The dense academic text does not directly refer to the US president, but appears to be a subtle rebuke to his views.
