Trade war uncertainty ‘kills’ growth: OECD chief

DUBAI, Feb 11, (KUNA): Trade war uncertainty is the killer of growth, said Jose Angel Gurria, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Monday.

The chief of the organisation for the world’s developed countries made the remarks in reference to US and China’s trade war.

“Uncertainty is the killer of growth,” he told the World Government Summit, currently being held here.

Speaking in a seminar on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), Gurria pointed out that 4IR have its upsides and downsides and that many countries are at different stages of the latest labor revolution and some people will be left behind.

The OECD chief said that while some people will find that “boring or repetitive jobs will no longer exist ultimately a good thing,” there will be some people who are left behind.

“Up to 14 percent of the population today is in danger of being displaced by technology. Another third of the total workforce will be disrupted by technology in the next few years. People will feel over or under qualified and won’t feel at ease in the tech-dense environment,” he alarmingly revealed.

“We need to level the playing field and deal with the responsibility to protect the quality of life, jobs, and also the state too.”