The International Monetary Fund warned world leaders on Friday to avoid resorting to protectionist measures "at all costs" due to the damage it would cause to their own and the global economy. At a time when President Donald Trump has repeatedly blamed trade for US economic woes, and threatened to impose barriers to imports, the IMF said such policies would not work. In its sixth edition of an annual report analyzing imbalances in the global economy, the Washington-based fund said while total trade and investment imbalances have narrowed since the crisis, there has been an increased buildup of excess surpluses and deficits in advanced economies. About a third of the total are considered undesirably large imbalances, and countries should put in place policies to reduce these, whether they are surpluses or deficits, the External Sector Report urged. But it is the deficit countries most at risk of a "backlash" that could lead to anti-trade policies, IMF research chief Luis Cubeddu told...
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