Trump’s measures are putting less strain on the global economy than expected

News blog about US politics

OECD reports unexpected figures on Trump tariffs

The impact of US tariffs is not as great as expected. Trump wants to pardon an ex-president convicted of being a drug dealer. All developments in the news blog.

The economic impact of US tariffs and general political instability has so far been less than expected. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) confirmed on Tuesday its forecast of 3.2 percent global economic growth this year. “The global economy has been resilient this year, despite fears of a slowdown amid rising trade barriers and significant political uncertainty,” said the OECD report presented in Paris.

One of the reasons given for the resilience of the global economy is the preparation for US tariffs: US President Donald Trump’s announcements initially caused increasing imports to the USA. This has now weakened again. For the USA, the OECD expects growth of 2.5 percent in the current year and 1.7 percent in 2026. These are 0.2 points more than in the previous forecast.

Due to the numerous trade agreements that the USA has now signed, the effective tariff rate on imports was 14 percent at the end of November. In June it was 15.4 percent. In the Eurozone, growth of 1.3 percent is expected for 2025, an increase of 0.1 points. Growth of 1.2 percent is expected in 2026. However, the experts emphasize that the outlook is fragile. A further increase in trade barriers, particularly for critical products such as rare earths, could cause significant damage to global production.

The White House has defended President Donald Trump’s announced pardon of the ex-President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, who is serving time in the United States on drug trafficking charges. Asked why the Trump administration was basing its action against Venezuela on drug charges against President Nicolás Maduro while releasing a convicted drug dealer, spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Hernández had been treated unfairly by the Biden administration.

This was clearly a prosecution ordered by President Joe Biden, and the people of Honduras emphasized to Trump that Hernández had been framed, Leavitt said. Hernández also said that virtually no independent evidence was presented and that much of his conviction was based on testimony from confessed criminals. Leavitt also denied that the pardon undermines the administration’s anti-drug message.