The International Monetary Fund slashed its 2025 growth forecast for the U.S. economy to 1.8%, a 0.9-point decrease from January, spurred by President Trump’s trade actions and policy uncertainty. The IMF’s World Economic Outlook report focused heavily on Mr. Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement on April 2 that imposed a blanket 10% tariff on imports and threatened higher tariffs on dozens of trading partners…… Read more
Pope Francis, the first Jesuit leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Roman Catholics and the first to come from the Southern Hemisphere, died Monday at age 88, the Vatican announced. Francis entered Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14, 2025, for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia and, at 38 days, became the longest hospitalization of his papacy…… Read more
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will move to eliminate the trade deficit with the United States. “We intend to do it very quickly. We think it’s the right thing to do and we’re going to also eliminate trade barriers that have been put up unnecessarily,” Mr. Netanyahu told reporters in the Oval Office seated next to President Trump.… Read more
President Trump is expected to have a military parade in the streets of Washington, something he has wanted since his first term in office. The parade never came to be during his first term, but times may have changed. Plans for a military parade are apparently in the works for Saturday, June 14, which is the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, Flag Day and Mr. Trump’s 79th birthday…… Read more
The Justice Department on Monday begged the Supreme Court to step in and curtail the wall of resistance President Trump is facing from judges, saying federal courts are overstepping their powers in a rush to block the administration. At issue are what’s known as nationwide injunctions, where a federal judge operating in one part of the country can halt the president’s policies…… Read more
Federal and local authorities in Texas said they arrested nearly 50 suspected members of Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua, including children, during a raid outside Austin this week. The Texas Department of Public Safety said officers seized drugs Tuesday morning during an operation in which 47 people linked to the gang, often called TdA, were taken into custody close to Dripping Springs…… Read more
The Pentagon late Tuesday said it is sending another carrier strike group and additional air assets to the Middle East, moves that come amid the U.S. military campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen and strong warnings from the Trump administration to the Houthis’ chief patron, Iran. Tuesday night’s Defense Department…… Read more
Employees across the massive U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began receiving notices of dismissal on Tuesday in a major overhaul expected to ultimately lay off up to 10,000 people. The notices come just days after President Trump moved to strip workers of their collective bargaining rights at HHS and other agencies throughout the government. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s announced…… Read more
President Trump says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will have “big problems” if he tries to rework a deal that would provide rare earth minerals to the U.S. as payment for American support during the Russian invasion. The back-and-forth over the deal has been a source of contention between Mr. Trump and Kyiv even as both sides say they’re optimistic about reaching an agreement…… Read more
A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a judge’s blockade on President Trump using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan gang suspects, saying the administration appears to be stretching the law too far. The 2-1 decision by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia leaves U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s restraining order in place, marking a setback…… Read more
Tom Howell, Jr. | April 22, 2025
(The Washington Times) — The International Monetary Fund slashed its 2025 growth forecast for the U.S. economy to 1.8%, a 0.9-point decrease from January, spurred by President Trump’s trade actions and policy uncertainty.
The IMF’s World Economic Outlook report focused heavily on Mr. Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement on April 2 that imposed a blanket 10% tariff on imports and threatened higher tariffs on dozens of trading partners, pending a 90-day pause.
“This on its own is a major negative shock to growth,” the IMF wrote in its executive summary.
The IMF slashed its global growth forecast to 2.8%, a 0.5-point decrease from its earlier estimate.
The report offers a “reference forecast” based on information available as of April 4 so it would incorporate Mr. Trump’s announcement on April 2 but may not account for the 90-day pause in reciprocal tariffs and exclusions in hefty Chinese tariffs for certain electronics.
“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,” IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said.
SEE ALSO: Vance says trade upheaval will pay off for U.S., partner nations like India
The IMF put the odds of a U.S. recession at 40%, up from 25% in October.
Tariffs are a tax or duty paid by importers on the goods they bring in from foreign markets.
Mr. Trump says tariffs are a great way to force companies to return to America or keep their operations in the U.S., employ American workers and create revenue to fund domestic programs.
Foreign countries don’t pay the tariffs directly to the U.S. Treasury. In many cases, U.S. companies will pay the levies, and they might pass on at least some of the cost to consumers through higher prices.
Mr. Gourinchas wrote that tariffs “are a negative supply shock for the economy imposing them, as resources are reallocated toward the production of noncompetitive goods, with a resulting loss of aggregate productivity, lower activity, and higher production costs and prices.”
Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking in India on Tuesday, said the tariffs might spur “profound changes,” but the rebalancing of trade rules will be good for the U.S. and partner nations in the long run.
Wall Street has been on a roller-coaster ride as it tries to digest the path forward.
U.S. stocks tumbled Monday as Mr. Trump attacked Fed Chair Jerome Powell in harsh terms, though Wall Street rebounded early Tuesday, with all major indexes in positive territory.
Pope Francis, the first Jesuit leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Roman Catholics and the first to come from the Southern Hemisphere, died Monday at age 88, the Vatican announced. Francis entered Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14, 2025, for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia and, at 38 days, became the longest hospitalization of his papacy…… Continue Reading
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will move to eliminate the trade deficit with the United States. “We intend to do it very quickly. We think it’s the right thing to do and we’re going to also eliminate trade barriers that have been put up unnecessarily,” Mr. Netanyahu told reporters in the Oval Office seated next to President Trump.… Continue Reading
President Trump is expected to have a military parade in the streets of Washington, something he has wanted since his first term in office. The parade never came to be during his first term, but times may have changed. Plans for a military parade are apparently in the works for Saturday, June 14, which is the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, Flag Day and Mr. Trump’s 79th birthday…… Continue Reading
The Justice Department on Monday begged the Supreme Court to step in and curtail the wall of resistance President Trump is facing from judges, saying federal courts are overstepping their powers in a rush to block the administration. At issue are what’s known as nationwide injunctions, where a federal judge operating in one part of the country can halt the president’s policies…… Continue Reading
Federal and local authorities in Texas said they arrested nearly 50 suspected members of Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua, including children, during a raid outside Austin this week. The Texas Department of Public Safety said officers seized drugs Tuesday morning during an operation in which 47 people linked to the gang, often called TdA, were taken into custody close to Dripping Springs…… Continue Reading
The Pentagon late Tuesday said it is sending another carrier strike group and additional air assets to the Middle East, moves that come amid the U.S. military campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen and strong warnings from the Trump administration to the Houthis’ chief patron, Iran. Tuesday night’s Defense Department…… Continue Reading
Employees across the massive U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began receiving notices of dismissal on Tuesday in a major overhaul expected to ultimately lay off up to 10,000 people. The notices come just days after President Trump moved to strip workers of their collective bargaining rights at HHS and other agencies throughout the government. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s announced…… Continue Reading
President Trump says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will have “big problems” if he tries to rework a deal that would provide rare earth minerals to the U.S. as payment for American support during the Russian invasion. The back-and-forth over the deal has been a source of contention between Mr. Trump and Kyiv even as both sides say they’re optimistic about reaching an agreement…… Continue Reading
A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a judge’s blockade on President Trump using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan gang suspects, saying the administration appears to be stretching the law too far. The 2-1 decision by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia leaves U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s restraining order in place, marking a setback…… Continue Reading