The International Monetary Fund has warned that global trade tensions are weighing on the world economy.<br />In its annual External Sector Report Wednesday,... the IMF said all countries should avoid policies that "distort trade" and called for greater urgency in tackling "persistent excess imbalances".<br />Saying countries should refrain from using tariffs to target bilateral trade balances,... it added recent trade actions have had a minimal impact on global imbalances, but higher tariffs have been hurting the world economy.<br />The report also called for reviving liberalization efforts and modernizing the multilateral rules-based trading system... as well as more enforceable WTO commitments.<br />
