IMF chief says rise in protectionism ‘alarming’

JAKARTA—IMF chief Christine Lagarde said Tuesday that signs of increased protectionism amid deteriorating global economic conditions were “alarming,” and warned such measures affect everyone.

“The latest report by the WTO [World Trade Organization] is quite alarming because there is a rise of protectionism,” she said at a business forum in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

The International Monetary Fund managing director also warned that “no country is immune” from the effects of protectionism.

WTO Director General Pascal Lamy warned late in May that an increase in protectionist policies across the world’s 20 major economies had hit 4 percent of the group’s trade.

Lagarde warned in Tokyo Friday that the global economy was slowing and said the situation could get worse because Europe was not doing enough to fix its debt crisis.

She said that the IMF would cut its growth forecast in its global outlook to be released later this month.