The International Monetary Fund (IMF) criticized U.S. President Joe Biden’s aggressive tariff policy towards China as a threat to global economic growth.
According to Bloomberg on the 16th (local time), IMF spokesperson Julie Kozak warned at a regular briefing that “the U.S. must maintain an open trade policy that is essential for economic performance.” She pointed out that tensions between the world’s top two economies could hinder global trade and growth.
“We hope that the U.S. and China will make efforts to fundamentally resolve the causes that have exacerbated trade conflicts,” she added.
Last month, IMF’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva also criticized the U.S., stating, “All eyes are on the U.S.” She pointed out the rapidly increasing U.S. debt, trade restrictions and industrial policies aimed at China, and the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) tight monetary policy.
Recently, President Biden has been escalating measures against China, including raising tariffs on Chinese cars and steel and aluminum by approximately 2 to 4 times. Lael Brainard, the White House’s top economic advisor, defended the tariff policy the previous day, stating, “New tariffs are necessary to protect American manufacturing and jobs from unfairly low-priced exports from China.”
Global supply chain blockages have multiple consequences. According to an IMF report, if there’s a serious blockage in the supply chain, there could be a potential loss of about 7% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), equivalent to the combined production of Germany and Japan. Kozack emphasized, “If trade and technology availability collapse, the cost will be even greater.”
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