IMF's Georgieva, WTO leader: Don't 'pull the plug' on global trade

(Reuters) - The leaders of the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization on Tuesday warned against the negative impact of deglobalization for the global economy, arguing instead for smart moves to diversify supply chains.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters after a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that globalization was facing its biggest challenge since World War Two in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine. "But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater," she said. "Don't pull the plug on trade that makes us all better."

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the WTO estimated that breaking the global economy into two trading blocs would reduce global gross domestic product by 5% in the longer term.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Chris Reese)