Singapore central bank chief: Real risk of devastating trade war

• Mar 16, 2018

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s central bank chief said that there is now a real risk of a trade war that could deal a devastating blow to the global economy.

US President Donald Trump has recently imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, sparking threats of retaliation from some trade partners, and called on China to cut its trade surplus with the United States by US$100bil.

The move has sent stock markets around the world tumbling as fear of a trade war mounts.

“There is a real risk now that that (trade war) would happen because these things are not easy to control. And while everyone agrees that a trade war is bad, sometimes you can’t help but retaliate when you are hit with tariffs,” Ravi Menon, the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), said at the Asia Money2020 conference in Singapore.

Asked what impact such a trade war would have on the global economy, Menon said it would be “devastating”. — Reuters

Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2018/03/16/spore-central-bank-chief-real-risk-of-devastating-trade-war/#7EKOfPDucxdHkUPw.99