Davos Leaders: Global Growth Resilient Despite Trump Trade Disruptions

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Leading global economic policymakers at the World Economic Forum in Davos urged countries and businesses to filter out the turmoil from a week of clashes with the Trump administration and focus on boosting growth and fighting inequality in a world where trade will continue to flow and international cooperation is still badly needed.

The global economy is showing unexpected resilience despite the noise, European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund head Kristalina Georgieva and world Trade Association head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in a panel discussion Friday. But while growth is holding up, troubles like worrisome levels of goverment debt and inequality loom.

That resilience continues despite disruptions from U.S. trade policy under president Donald Trump, who roiled the weeklong forum with threats to impose tariffs on countries supporting Greenland against a U.S.takeover bid, then withdrew the tariff proposal.

READ MORE: Fact-checking Trump’s Greenland-focused Davos speech

What is now needed, they said, are efforts to boost growth to offset heavy debt levels around the world and ensure that disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence don’t worsen inequality or devastate labor markets. And Europe needs to boost productivity and improve its business climate for investment.

Georgieva said the IMF’s recently raised forecast of 3.3% global growth for this year was “beautiful but not enough… do not fall into complacency.”

She said that level of growth wasn’t enough to wear down “the debt that is hanging around our necks” and that governm