IMF warns Trump tariff, currency policy won't work

Washington, Aug 21 (AFP) US tariffs on China will not fix the trade deficit, and neither will weakening the US dollar through interest rate cuts, International Monetary Fund economists said Wednesday.

In unusually blunt language, the IMF warned that US President Donald Trump's policy moves are counterproductive, won't achieve the desired results, and will slow the global economy, IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath said in a blog titled "Taming the Currency Hype."

Instead, tariffs "are likely to harm both domestic and global growth by sapping business confidence and investment and disrupting global supply chains, while raising costs for producers and consumers." (AFP) MRJ