IMF lowers global growth forecast to 2.8% over tariff uncertainty

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday lowered its global economic growth forecast for 2025 to 2.8 percent.

The Bretton Wood institution predicted that the wave of tariffs and uncertainty unleashed by the United States President, Donald Trump, would lead to a worldwide economic slowdown.

The IMF revised its projection of 3.3 percent in January.

Global growth for 2026 was projected to drop to 3 per cent, also down from 3.3 percent.

The IMF Economic Counsellor, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, said in New York the world economy was being severely tested following the new tariffs announced by Trump.

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He said the April forecast was “put together under exceptional circumstances,

“Citing Trump’s announcement on April 2 that the U.S. was imposing blanket tariffs of 10 percent on nearly all trading partners, plus additional levies for a host of countries.

“While the higher tariffs have been suspended for 90 days to allow for trade negotiations, the policy caused the IMF expert ‘to jettison our projections.

“While many of the scheduled tariff increases are on hold for now, the combination of measures and countermeasures has hiked U.S. and global tariff rates to centennial highs,” Gourinchas said.

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