The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) emphasized the threat of falling trade growth from the U.S.-China trade war at the global economic outlook forum this week, urging participating governments to "reignite multilateral trade discussions."
Threat level: OECD Secretary-General José Ángel Gurría said "the world economy is in a dangerous place" at the forum, Reuters reports. “Clearly the biggest threat is through the escalation of trade restriction measures, and this is happening as we speak."
What they found:
- OECD found that 2019's Q1 has brought the lowest levels of trade growth since 2016.
- Trade tensions with China and high levels of debt are key risks for the U.S. — and economic actions taken against China "might continue to fuel non-financial corporate debt, already at a record high level."
- Private sector debt is also growing fast in major economies across the globe.
Go deeper: The world can't afford a trade war right now