IMF boss right to say it's time to 'buckle up' as uncertainty becomes the new normal

Little more than 48 hours passed last week between a warning from the IMF chief, Kristalina Georgieva, that “uncertainty is the new normal” and Donald Trump’s latest tariff onslaught - this time aimed at China.

- Heather Stewart

Markets plunged on Friday after Trump threatened to levy additional tariffs of 100% on Chinese goods in retaliation for Beijing's blocks on exports of rare earth minerals.

The world's finance ministers and central bankers will meet in Washington this week for the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.

In her curtain-raiser speech for the gathering, Georgieva rightly pointed out the global economy had proved more resilient than some feared at the time of the spring meetings in April, when the world's policymakers were transfixed by the chaos emanating from the White House.

Part of the reason for that has been "front loading": Trump's intention to jack up tariffs was no secret, and many companies ran up inventories in advance and started to rejig their supply chains.

Another explanation is that the US's trading partners have in general preferred to use a combination of flattery and capitulation in the face of Trump's approach rather than cause an all-out trade war.