The International Monetary Fund lowered its 2025 projections for U.S. growth to 1.8%, reflecting a cut of 0.9 percentage point from the forecast it delivered in January. “The April 2 Rose Garden announcement forced us to jettison our projections — nearly finalized at that point — and compress a production cycle that usually takes more than two months into less than 10 days,” said the IMF’s chief economist, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas. A woman walks past the International Monetary Fund ahead of the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, on April 17, 2025. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
Tariffs are posing major headwinds for the U.S. and global economies, leading the International Monetary Fund to slash its 2025 growth forecast.
President Donald Trump‘s April 2 rollout of “reciprocal” tariffs has not only shaken stocks – the S&P 500 is down 9% since the levies were launched – but they also have set off countermeasures from other trading partners.
“This on its own is a major negative shock to growth,” the IMF said in