Ukraine Conflict Reduces Global Growth Estimate, Leads To Steel Tariffs In Iran

What happens abroad impacts MSCI members in North America. Here is the latest economic, trade, and other policy news of note for the last week:

• The International Monetary Fund downgraded its outlook for the world economy for 2022 and 2023, blaming Russia’s war in Ukraine for disrupting global commerce, pushing up oil prices, and threatening food supplies. The IMF now expects global growth to be 3.6 percent this year, down from 6.1 percent in 2021 and from the 4.4 percent growth estimate the IMF issue in January. Read the full report and estimates for individual countries here.
• Citing the war in the Ukraine, Iran’s ministry of trade has imposed an 18 percent tariff on exports of raw steel, cement, and some key metals to prevent supply shortages that could cause problems for local industries. Read more here.
• According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s crude steel production fell 6.4 percent from March 2021 to March 2022 to 88.3 million tons. Meanwhile, China’s aluminum production rose 1.8 percent to 3.3 million tons year-over-year. China produced 9.63 million tons of aluminum in the first quarter of 2022, however, a drop of 0.4 percent from the same period last year.