IMF’s Lagarde warns against harming trade, investment, key growth engines

Washington (AFP) – Governments must take care, even when there are disagreements, to avoid harming trade and investment which have been key drivers of the global economic recovery, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said Thursday.

Amid concerns that escalating trade tensions between the United States and China could reverberate through the world economy, Lagarde urged the sides to resolve their disputes through dialogue.

“Investment and trade are two key engines that are finally picking up. We don’t want to damage that,” she said at a press briefing to open the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.