US tariffs could shrink global trade by 3 pc: UN economist

GLOBAL trade could shrink by three per cent and exports could see a shift from markets such as the US and China to India, Canada and Brazil due to tariffs imposed by the US, a top UN economist has said.

- 

US President Donald Trump unveiled a massive tariff plan last week. The White House later announced a 90-day pause on “reciprocal tariffs” for most countries except China, which in turn decided to impose 125 per cent tariffs on US imports.

“Global trade could shrink by 3 per cent, with significant long-term shifts in trade patterns and economic integration,” International Trade Centre Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton said in Geneva on Friday.

"For example, exports from Mexico—which have been highly impacted —are shifting from markets such as the US, China, Europe and even other Latin American countries, with modest gains instead in Canada and Brazil, and toa lesser extent, India,” she said.