Trade wars will generate no winners: IMF

Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde has warned the United States against the adverse consequences of putting up barriers to trade, saying it would generate "no winners."

"Trade wars leave no winners," Lagarde said in an interview with Argentine daily La Nacion published on Sunday when asked about US President Donald Trump's decision to slap tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.

Trump on March 8 officially announced steep tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, but exempted Canada and Mexico.

PressTV-Trump orders steel and aluminum tariffs

US President Donald Trump has officially announced steep tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, but exempted Canada and Mexico.

Defying his own party and delivering on a campaign promise to fight unfair practices by America’s trading partners, the US president signed paperwork enacting tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum.

The IMF chief further said the surge in international trade over the past decade has been beneficial to poor countries and poor people living in rich countries but harmful to some regions and industries.

"The effect generated by innovation and trade should be taken into account to remedy that harm, but trying to reduce trade or erect additional barriers won't generate any winners," added Lagarde, who is in Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires for a two-day meeting of G-20 finance ministers and central bank presidents.

She said with 3.9 percent growth projected this year and higher levels of investor confidence, the global economy is currently in good shape.

"That doesn't mean there aren't some clouds on the horizon that we should pay attention to," the IMF chief said.

On March 3, Trump welcomed the prospect of a trade war with other nations, remaining defiant in the face of global uproar sparked by his announcement to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

PressTV-Trump welcomes 'trade war' with other nations

Trump’s announcement to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum angered America’s major trading partners and sent global stock markets tumbling.

In a blistering series of tweets, the US president said he would seek to impose "reciprocal taxes" on all imports from trading partners that charge tariffs on US exports, adding that "trade wars are good, and easy to win."

Read more:

• Trump vows to levy more taxes on Europe if they retaliate metal tariffs
• US won’t exclude allies from tariffs: White House

A senior EU official said on March 10 that the European Union is prepared to retaliate against the US president's decision about tariffs but still seeks talks with the United States to settle the dispute.

PressTV-EU warns of retaliation against Trump's tariffs

The European Union says it is prepared to retaliate against the US president's steel and aluminum tariffs.

"We are prepared and will be prepared if need be to use rebalancing measures," European Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen told a press conference in Brussels.

Read more:

• In warning to US, France says all sides will lose in trade war
• EU says ready for ‘stupid’ trade war with US
• Trump issues new trade threat to EU in tit-for-tat

China’s Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui also said Beijing would take counter-measures if Trump's plan harms Chinese economic interests.

PressTV-China ‘to retaliate any harm from Trump's tariff plan’

China warns that it will “take necessary measures” against Washington if a plan by US President Trump to put tariffs on steel and aluminum imports harms Chinese economic interests.

“China does not want to fight a trade war with the United States, but if the US takes actions that hurt Chinese interests, China will not sit idly by and will take necessary measures,” Zhang said. “If policies are made on the basis of mistaken judgments or assumptions, it will damage bilateral relations and bring about consequences that neither country wants to see.”

Lagarde also pointed to the reaction of China as an investor in Latin America and said it was only natural that the world's second largest economy would seek partnership in the region.

"Any country like the United States or Europe might have thought in the past of this region as part of its territory, and [they] are now surprised because it no longer is," she said.

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