(20 Apr 2017) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY
ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY
Washington - April 20, 2017
1. Christine Lagarde being seated
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund:
"We are finally seeing the global economy picking up the momentum that we hope is going to be sustained in the medium and longer term, and I'd be happy to discuss that this morning."
3. Lagarde seated
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund:
"We are forecasting growth in 2017 at 3.5 percent and 2018 at 3.6 percent and that's a significant uptick from 2016 which was only at 3.1 percent which is all good news. But we need to make sure that this momentum is sustained and that we continue to have that growth and more and importantly that that growth is shared more equitably."
5. Lagarde seated
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund:
"We are very pleased to see that trade is picking up. Is trade going to continue to increase and grow? We do think so. Is trade operating in the perfect environment with the perfect setting? No. Is there room to improve that? Of course. Should it be done in a cooperative forum such as on the occasion on a week like this with all finance ministers around and talking to each other in a cooperative setting and forum such as the IMF, yes we think so."
7. Lagarde seated
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund:
"From the various contacts that I've had with the administration so far, I have every reason to believe that we will make progress, that we will cooperate altogether in order to support, and indeed, improve the system as we have it."
9. Lagarde seated
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund:
"We certainly will be looking at how we can participate in that, how we can continue to support the growth of trade and how it can be done in the most efficient, fair and global way as possible. And that implies clearly a level playing field, no use of distortive measures and no protectionist measures going forward."
11. Lagarde leaving
STORYLINE:
The International Monetary Fund predicts that the world economy will grow 3.5 percent this year, up from 3.1 percent in 2016. The IMF's latest outlook for 2017 is a slight upgrade from the 3.4 percent global growth it had forecast in January.
A resilient China, rising commodity prices and sturdy financial markets are offering a sunnier outlook for the global economy and helping dispel the gloom that has lingered since the Great Recession ended.
The IMF expects the U.S. economy to grow 2.3 percent, up from 1.6 percent in 2016; the 19-country eurozone to expand 1.7 percent, the same as last year; Japan to grow 1.2 percent, up from 1 percent; and China to expand 6.6 percent, down from 6.7 percent in 2016.
The monetary fund's latest outlook for the economy comes in advance of spring meetings in Washington this week of the IMF, the World Bank and the Group of 20 major economies. The meetings come against the backdrop of a gradually strengthening international picture, especially in many emerging economies, despite resistance to free trade and political unrest in some countries.
For years after the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession ended, the global economy remained trapped in what the IMF's managing director, Christine Lagarde, termed "the New Mediocre." Banks were weak and reluctant to lend, and deeply indebted governments made growth-killing budget cuts.
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