Australian Election 2025: IMF Reduces Growth Forecast By $13bn, Suggesting Australia May Have Underestimated the Impact of Trump’s Trade War

Treasury’s assessment of Donald Trump’s trade war may be overly optimistic, following the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) significant downward revision of Australia’s economic growth forecast for 2025. The IMF now predicts Australia’s real GDP growth will decrease to 1.6% from 2.1%, indicating a $13 billion reduction in the country’s annual output compared to their January forecast. This grim outlook clashes with Treasury’s more positive assessment of only “modest” economic damage from increased global protectionism, suggesting that the incoming government may face a more challenging economic environment than anticipated.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/23/australia-trump-trade-war-imf-growth-forecast-slashed