Lagarde: “The world faces the risk of a new geopolitical division – governments do not respect trade rules” – economic article

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the world was at risk of a new “geopolitical divide” and urged governments to respect international trade rules, according to Bloomberg. “Repeated failures could harm the global economy,” Lagarde told Croatian state television HRT1.

Lagarde: Bumpy road to decline in inflation

“We have rules that are WTO rules, and if all countries can respect these rules and resist various sirens, avoiding experiments, setbacks, violations or even ‘special’ exceptions and subsidies, everything will be much better for the global economy. I am worried that we are seeing more And more violations of the rules.”

Lagarde noted, “We are witnessing a geopolitical gap between some developed countries led by the United States and some emerging market economies, especially China. This is a transformation of the trade landscape as we knew it, with all the consequences that accompany the fragmentation of trade.”

‘On track for inflation’

It is noteworthy that the European Central Bank is convinced that it is on the right track to return inflation to 2%, although progress in the coming months is expected to be uneven, according to Christine Lagarde’s estimates.

Speaking to reporters in Dubrovnik, Croatia, the ECB president stressed that this optimism allowed policymakers to cut interest rates last week.

She declined to comment on the turmoil in financial markets caused by her native France, where stocks and bonds fell amid political uncertainty. “We have a lot of challenges, but I really believe we are on a downturn right now,” he said, adding that “there will be bumps in the road.”

“But it is definitely declining,” he stressed.