Anchor: The International Monetary Fund raised its economic growth outlook for the U.S., though it warned of the risks of a global economic slowdown triggered by Washington’s ongoing trade conflict with Beijing. The optimistic projection contrasts with South Korea’s outlook, which appears bleak amid a drawn-out dispute between two of its largest trade partners.
Celina Yoon has more. 

Report: The International Monetary Fund(IMF) revised the growth outlook for the U.S. this year to two-point-six percent, up from its previous estimate of two-point-three percent issued two months earlier. 

In its annual review of the U.S. economy on Thursday, the global lender maintained the U.S.’ growth outlook for next year at one-point-nine percent. 

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a press conference in Washington that the American economy is expected to achieve the longest expansion period in recorded history in a matter of weeks, driven by robust private sector demand and effective job creation policies. 

However, the international body warned that heightening global trade tensions may expose the U.S. economy to substantial risks. 

Lagarde said disputes between the U.S. and its largest trading partners, including China and Mexico, threaten the global outlook, adding "nobody wins a trade war." 

U.S. President Donald Trump has raised tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports, leading to retaliatory entry barriers from Beijing. Trump also threatened to apply tariffs to imports from Mexico -- the U.S.’ third-largest trading partner -- unless it reduces the number of illegal migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

South Korea, heavily reliant on foreign exports, is among the hardest hit economies in the world by the U.S-China trade row. Its real gross domestic product contracted zero-point-four percent in the first quarter from three months earlier, the worst such performance since the fourth quarter of 2008. 

The outlook remains uncertain for the second half of the year as little progress appears to have been made towards solving the trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies.

Trump said on Thursday that he will decide whether to enact tariffs on another 325 billion dollars of Chinese goods after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit scheduled in Japan at the end of this month.
Celina Yoon, KBS World Radio News.