The US is forecast to be hit the hardest among advanced economies because of uncertainty caused by tariffs, the IMF says - and the UK's own growth projection has also been cut
Growth in the US is now expected to be just 1.8% this year, down from the IMF's initial estimate of 2.7% in January - here's how the wealthiest nations compare
Meanwhile, US markets are rebounding following losses on Monday
They had been rattled by Donald Trump's attack on US central bank boss Jerome Powell - who he called a "major loser" for not cutting interest rates
Pressed on Trump's comments, the IMF's chief economist says it is "critical" for central banks to remain independent, and they "will do what is necessary" to bring inflation under control
A former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund says if Trump doesn't retreat on his tariffs, the chance of a US recession and subsequent global recession, are "almost 100%".
Kenneth Rogoff was speaking to BBC Radio 4's PM programme - listen to his explanation below.
Caitriona Perry
Reporting from Ohio
Back to tariffs, which are top of the discussion list for many of the customers gathered in the Happy Daz diner in Lima, Ohio, where 71% of voters in this city voted for President Donald Trump.
But there is a mixed sense here of how he’s handling the job.
Farming and manufacturing account for 25% of the jobs in Ohio. There are around 75,000 farms in the state, but the vast majority, about 87% are family owned, not part of large corporations.
Corn, soybean and wheat farmer Ben Bowsher says he is “overall happy” with Trump’s performance, although he adds that he does not “totally agree with his delivery methods”.
As a family farmer working land that spans three generations, Bowsher acknowledges that farming is cyclical and the impact of tariffs fits that bill.
“It could raise the cost of some of our inputs. This year we had everything locked in. Typically we’re nine months to a year ahead on inputs, so we didn’t really see anything on it this year.
"But going forward into the 2026 growing season, fertiliser’s the big one. Dry fertiliser - that could have an effect on that, raising the price. On the other end, grain that is shipped overseas, our exports, we might see that export market dip down a little bit”.
Bowsher feels that, in the short term, the president’s tariffs will cause “some hardship”, but believes in the long term “the outcome is going to be positive” in the farming sector.
He believes Trump “has got the greater good of the country in mind, and so we have to trust him”.
The UK's FTSE 100 has closed 0.6% higher, following forecasts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it will out-perform Italy, France and Germany in terms of economic growth.
Meanwhile, Spain’s IBEX closed up 0.7%, after it bucked the trend and had its growth forecast upgraded.
Elsewhere in Europe, Germany's Dax index also closed up 0.3% and France’s Cac closed up 0.5%.
US President Donald Trump has made several announcements on tariffs throughout the year - so here's a reminder of the current state of play.
As a reminder, these are paid by businesses when they import goods from other countries into the US.
China
Goods imported from China are subject to a 145% tariff, with the exception of some electronic devices including smartphones and computers.
Beijing has placed a 125% tariff on US imports in response.
Canada and Mexico
Businesses face a 25% tariff on imports from the US's two closest neighbours. Trump has also set a 10% levy on Canadian energy.
Almost everywhere else
Most other countries fall under Trump's 10% "baseline" tariff.
The US president previously announced higher rates for some nations, but these are currently "paused" and most US trading partners will be charged the baseline rate.
Cars, steel and aluminium
Regardless of which country they are entering the US from, businesses must pay a 25% import tax on cars, steel and aluminium.
Image source, ReutersThere's scope for negotiation between the European Union and the US over tariffs, according to the president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde.
Speaking to US business network CNBC, Lagarde says there might be sectors "where serious negotiations need to be had".
She adds that it's got to be done on both sides, and she is "sure" there will be talks.
Image source, ReutersAmid the ongoing threat of further tariffs, a number of countries have been trying to negotiate with the US over trade.
And US Vice-President JD Vance says a "vital step" has been made in his country's negotiations with India over a trade deal, with the terms of reference agreed.
Vance met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence in New Delhi yesterday.
The vice-president adds they made progress on reaching a trade agreement based on "shared priorities" - such as creating jobs, building durable supply chains and improving prosperity for workers in both nations.
"I believe this is a vital step towards realising President Trump's and Prime Minister Modi's vision, because it sets a roadmap towards a final deal between our nations," Vance says.
Jonathan Josephs
Business reporter
One company that’s jumped in value as the New York markets have opened is Arizona-based First Solar.
Shares in the solar panel manufacturer have risen about 12% in the first hour of trading because of President Trump’s latest tariffs, which mean the company likely to face less competition from abroad.
On Monday evening the US announced plans for new tariffs as high as 3,521% on solar panels from Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The move is in response to allegations of subsidies from China and the dumping of unfairly cheap products in the US market.
Ironically these tariffs result from an investigation started by the Biden administration last year.
That demonstrates how there is some unity across America’s political divide to be tougher on trade – something which could bring jobs and, as investors sense in this case, profits back to the US.
Michael Race
Senior economics reporter
We've been keeping across the US markets since they opened around an hour and a half ago.
And after yesterday's falls, the main stock indexes are enjoying a much better day today.
Here's the state of play at the moment:
There's been a lot of talk about tariffs in recent weeks - and today the IMF said that they caused its global economic growth predictions to be "jettisoned".
Let's take a minute to break it down:
What is a tariff?
Tariffs are taxes charged on goods bought from other countries.
Typically, they are charged as a percentage of a product's value. The 10% tariff on goods imported from most nations means a product costing $10 would have a $1 tax on top - taking the total cost to $11 (£8.35).
Who pays for it?
Companies that bring foreign goods into the US have to pay the tax to the government. They may pass some or all of the increased cost on to customers.
Why is Trump using them?
Trump says tariffs will encourage US consumers to buy more American-made goods, increase the amount of tax raised and lead to huge levels of investment in the country.
The US president wants to reduce the gap between the value of goods the US buys from other countries and those it sells to them.
Thomas Mackintosh
Live reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesProf Costas Milas, from the University of Liverpool's management school, believes the IMF has not been shy in blaming the downgraded global growth on the recent turbulence caused by tariffs.
"The latest IMF reports notes that effective tariff rates are the highest for a century," he tells me, detailing out the economic domino effect.
"Therefore creating economic uncertainty and, consequently, undermining economic growth prospects.
"This makes sense: in periods of rising uncertainty, consumers cut back expenditure and businesses delay investment decisions until the uncertainty fog clears."
Ultimately, Milas explains this "harms economic growth prospects".
Dharshini David
Deputy economics editor
Focusing on the UK now, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its economic growth forecast from 1.6% to 1.1% this year.
Last month - following Chancellor Rachel Reeves's Spring Statement - economists warned that taxes may rise in the autumn, as the chancellor was only meeting her rules on the public finances with tiny margins.
How does the IMF downgrade to the UK's growth forecast impact that?
It would be an underwhelming performance, but actually is a shade ahead of the official forecast produced for Reeves by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
And with the IMF slightly increasing its predictions for some future years, this report doesn't point to a worsening of her fiscal position.
However these are just forecasts, highly uncertain. It is US President Donald Trump's seismic tariffs that has largely led to the downgrade in predictions - and the IMF warns things could turn out worse than it assumes.
In other words, come the autumn Budget, if the UK's official forecasters deem then that things have taken a turn for the worse, tax rises may still be looming.
In its latest projections, the IMF has cut its growth forecasts for a number of major economies.
Let's take a look at some of those figures:
Image source, Getty ImagesAs we've just been reporting, the IMF has restated the importance of an independent central bank, after US President Donald Trump continued his criticism of the chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell.
During a press conference in Washington DC, a journalist asked the IMF's chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas "how destabilising" Trump's attacks on Powell may be on financial markets.
Gourinchas said tariffs will increase "price pressures", but the IMF is projecting inflation in the US to remain at 3%, the same level as last year.
He said it's "critical" to make sure inflation expectations "remain anchored", and "everyone remains convinced that central banks will do what is necessary to bring inflation back to central bank targets".
Their credibility is "critical," he says, and part of that credibility is built on their independence.
"From that perspective, it's very important to preserve that," he adds.
Faisal Islam
Economics editor, at the IMF meeting in Washington DC
Back now to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) press conference in Washington DC.
It says it has "jettisoned our projections" for the world economy after US President Donald Trump's announcement of what he called “reciprocal tariffs” on other countries.
While many of those tariffs were paused, the overall level of tariff is still extremely high.
In addition, uncertainty around constantly changing policies is leading to investment “pauses” and the “revaluation of credit” by banks.
The IMF also restated the importance of central bank independence, after the president called the Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell a "total loser" and demanded interest rate cuts.
These analyses will form the basis for important discussions among finance ministers here at the IMF, and they point the finger at the US's tariff decisions.
Michael Race
Senior economics reporter
Ding, ding, ding!
The bell has sounded on Wall Street and trading in the world's biggest economy is open and rebounding following Monday's losses.
All three main indexes have opened up:
Michael Race
Senior economics reporter
The introduction of tariffs, and the escalating trade war between the US and China, is set to upend the long-established order of trade.
This will have a big impact on the economic growth of many countries.
The disruption, and the potential negative impact on the trade of goods that this could cause, is the reason the influential International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded its growth forecasts for many countries.
Tariffs - taxes on imports from abroad - can be a barrier to trade, as businesses are put off by higher charges.
This creates uncertainty in modern supply chains, which are very interlinked.
As the IMF puts it, this increased uncertainty will lead many firms to pause and cut investment. If businesses don't invest, they are less likely to grow and hire more workers, which will hit economic growth.
The global economy is being "severely tested", as its chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas puts it.
Faisal Islam
Economics editor, at the IMF meeting in Washington DC
The IMF has just said it sees a 40% chance of a recession in the US following the trade war.
As we've been reporting, growth prospects for the US have been given the biggest downgrade of major economies over the past three months.
Other economists, for example at the Institute for International Finance, now predict the US will enter a recession this year.
These predictions come as top economic policymakers gather in Washington for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF's chief economist, says the global economy "still bears significant scars" from the "severe shocks of the past four years".
"It is now being severely tested once again," he adds.
Uncertainty around trade policy was a "major factor" behind the growth downgrades, Gourinchas says.
"Faced with increased uncertainty... many firms' initial reaction will be to pause, reduce investment and cut purchases."
After those initial breaking lines, we're getting more detail from the IMF.
"Risks to the global economy have increased, and they’re firmly on the downside," economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas says at the beginning of the press briefing.
The IMF’s World Economic Outlook also predicts: