IMF warns of ‘major negative shock’ from Trump’s tariffs

Bags of rice at a market on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand. The IMF said emerging economies may be hit especially hard. Photograph: Rungroj Yongrit/EPA

Donald Trump’s tariffs have unleashed a “major negative shock” into the world economy, the International Monetary Fund has said, as it cut its forecasts for US, UK and global growth.

In a stark assessment of the impact of the US president’s policies, as global finance ministers prepare to meet in Washington, the IMF said: “We expect that the sharp increase on 2 April in both tariffs and uncertainty will lead to a significant slowdown in global growth in the near term.”