Imperial Valley Press

IMF, World Bank leaders appeal for an end to trade wars

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The leaders of the Internatio­nal Monetary Fund and the World Bank appealed to their 189 member countries on Friday to resolve widening disagreeme­nts on trade and other issues, warning that the divisions threaten to worsen the impact of a global slowdown.

The IMF’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, cited the fallout from a variety of factors: the U.S.-China trade war, which has engulfed the world’s two biggest economies; spreading weakness in Europe that is linked to Brexit; and rising tensions in the Middle East.

“Trade tensions are now taking a toll on business confidence and investment,” she said in her opening address to the finance officials.

The World Bank’s president, David Malpass, said the slowdown in global growth was hurting efforts to help the 700 million people around the world living in extreme poverty, especially in nations trying to cope with a flood of refugees from regional conflicts.

“Many countries are facing fragility, conflict and violence, making developmen­t even more urgent and difficult,” he said.

Finance ministers and central bank officials from the Group of 20 major industrial countries also noted the slowdown but projected a pickup in growth next year, as long as the risks do not intensify.

Japan’s finance minister, Taro Aso, told reporters after the G-20 discussion­s that the finance officials “broadly agreed that the global economic expansion continues but that its pace remains weak.” Risks remain from “trade and geopolitic­al tensions,” said Aso, whose country served as the G-20 chair this year.

Georgieva, a Bulgarian economist who had been the No. 2 official at the World Bank, recognized the accomplish­ments of her IMF predecesso­r, Christine Lagarde, the first woman to head that agency. Lagarde was in the audience for the speech.

 ?? AP PHOTO/JOSE LUIS MAGANA ?? World Bank President David Malpass walks to the podium before he speaks at the opening ceremony of the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings in Washington, on Friday.
AP PHOTO/JOSE LUIS MAGANA World Bank President David Malpass walks to the podium before he speaks at the opening ceremony of the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings in Washington, on Friday.

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