Press Release No. 18/70

Statement by IMF Spokesperson on Announced U.S. Import Tariffs

March 2, 2018

Gerry Rice, the International Monetary Fund's spokesperson, made the following statement today:

“The import restrictions announced by the U.S. President are likely to cause damage not only outside the U.S., but also to the U.S. economy itself, including to its manufacturing and construction sectors, which are major users of aluminum and steel. We are concerned that the measures proposed by the U.S. will, de facto, expand the circumstances where countries use the national-security rationale to justify broad-based import restrictions. We encourage the U.S and its trading partners to work constructively together to reduce trade barriers and to resolve trade disagreements without resort to such emergency measures.”