RISING TRADE BARRIERS ALARM IMF

WASHINGTON, D.C.: IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn warned governments against protectionism “through the back door,” as they seek to prime their economies in the midst of the global economic downturn. Speaking ahead of a G7 meeting in Rome today, the International Monetary Fund boss said Thursday (Friday in Manila) it was unlikely that governments would resort to openly protectionist measures—notably raising tariff barriers—but he said there was a “really big” risk that the financial sector could be hit by a wave of protectionism. “When governments provide some new resources or recapitalization of banks, they may add some comment saying that the money should stay at home,”…

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