Global growth forecasts increasingly gloomy, says OECD

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Amid economic uncertainty, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development revised its global GDP forecast downward on June 3. Growth is expected to reach 2.9% by 2025.

The OECD estimates that the new customs duties imposed by the United States until mid-May have brought the effective rate of these duties on its imports of goods to 15.4% (compared to around 2% last year). (Hector Retamal/AFP)

The global economy is no longer sure what Donald Trump will dish out. The president of the world's leading economic power brings his share of—unpleasant—surprises every day. The latest: Friday's announcement that US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports would double from 25% to 50%, starting June 4. Enough to give economic forecasters headaches.

On Tuesday, June 3, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a report in which it revised downward its forecasts for gross domestic product (GDP) growth. These continue to deteriorate. "Global growth will decline from 3.3% in 2024 to a modest 2.9% in 2025 and 2026 ," notes Alvaro Pereira, OECD Chief Economist. "This deterioration in the economic outlook will be felt worldwide, almost without exception. The slowdown in economic expansion and the decline in trade will harm incomes and slow job growth." In an attempt to make a preliminary calculation, the OECD estimates that the new customs duties implemented by the United States until mid-May have brought the effective rate of these duties on its imports of goods to 15.4%.