No threat of global recession by trade war, says IMF chief Lagarde

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday that the IMF does not currently see the threat of a global recession brought on by a widening US-China trade war and potential US tariffs on Mexican goods and autos.

Lagarde told Reuters in an interview, however, that such tariff threats were sapping business and market confidence, and could slow growth that is currently expected to improve next year.

"We don't see a recession," Lagarde said when asked whether US President Donald Trump's threatened tariff actions could tip the global economy into recession. "Decelerating growth, but growth nonetheless -- 3.3 percent at the end of this year, and certainly a strong US economy. We do not see at the moment, in our baseline, a recession."