Economy’s £472bn hit from global trade war

A DEEPENING trade war could wipe £472bn off the global economy without an urgent rethink, top economists have warned.

The increasingly vicious row between China and US president Donald Trump could wipe 0.7 percentage points off growth by 2021-22, claims the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

It said a worst-case scenario of tariffs on all US-China trade and a subsequent pause in business investment could leave the Chinese economy 1.1pc smaller, while the US would take a 0.8pc hit.

It comes after Trump raised tariffs on £157bn of Chinese goods from 10pc to 25pc this month. China raised tariffs on almost £50bn of US imports.

US firms are urging the president to stop his fight. More than 170 US shoe firms such as Adidas and Puma have urged Trump to abandon plans for a further 25pc tariff on footwear from China.

They said: ‘The proposed additional tariff would be catastrophic for our consumers, our companies, and the American economy as a whole.’ The signatories said this would cost US consumers an extra £5.5bn a year.