The International Monetary Fund (IMF) alerted this Friday that tariffs imposed by the president of the United States, Donald Trump, may have greater indirect effects for Latin America.
“Although tariffs applied to the region are relatively low, a slowdown in world growth could affect the demand for basic products and have greater indirect effects for Latin America through the prices of basic products and the depreciation of exchange rates,” said the director of the Western Hemisphere’s department of the Fund, Rodrigo Valdés.
Valdés participated in a press conference on the growth forecasts of the region on the occasion of spring meetings between the IMF and the World Bank that have been held this week in Washington.
In the Global Economic Perspectives Report (Weo), published on Tuesday, the Fund projected that the growth of the countries in the area will slower 2.4 % of 2024 to 2 % for this year.
The agency estimated a 2.5% growth last January. In this new report it recovered almost the same figure by 2026, by the time it expects the region to return to 2.4%, three tenths less than anticipated three months ago.
Lee: Central Bank of China criticizes US for ‘abuse’ of tariffs
Even so, he warned that not all countries would suffer a slowdown in the same way. The fund calculated that the Mexican GDP will partly decrease due to the impact of tariffs and that the Brazilian economy will see a relevant moderation for more restrictive policies.
However, it estimates an important rebound in Argentina and Ecuador thanks to the programs supported by the agency.
Valdés pointed to “the slowdown in world growth, high uncertainty, the impact of tariffs and hardening national policies in some countries” such as some of the causes that had moderated the growth of the region.
On the other hand, he wanted to congratulate Surinam especially for “having successfully completed the last review of his program.”
And it is not the only country that stands out, since Guyana was, according to Ana Corbacho, the deputy director of the department, the most rapid economy grew in the world.
“In a world marked by uncertainty it is necessary to reinforce macroeconomic frameworks and increase economy and growth opportunities,” said Valdés.
Lee: Apple will transfer to India the assembly of the iPhone that sells in the US for Trump tariffs
The press conference was held in the middle of a partial truce in the tariff war. On April 9, the US president announced a 90 -day break in the application of additional taxes to its commercial partners that had advanced days before.
Even so, the 10% global tariff that kept in force and 145% for China, which was not included in that reduction of the tariff punishment, can have consequences for the region, the IMF concluded.
With EFE information
Follow us on Google News to always keep you informed
