A UN agency has warned that deepening trade protectionism could drag down the economic growth of the 14 Asian-Pacific countries, including South Korea, by up to one-point-two percentage points.
 
The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific(UNESCAP) made the prediction in a report released on Monday.

Based on the premise that U.S. and U.K. protectionist moves would spark similar countermeasures in the 14 countries, UNESCAP said their outbound shipments to advanced markets will fall by 15 percent and exports among themselves by ten percent.
 
The UNESCAP forecast that the average GDP growth of the 14 countries will rise from last year's four-point-nine percent to five percent this year and five-point-one percent next year.
 
The agency expected China will grow six-point-five percent this year and six-point-four percent next year, while South Korea will grow two-point-five percent this year and two-point-seven percent next year.