Treasurer Jim Chalmers will travel to Washington this morning for key meetings with global financial leaders and international counterparts, in a whirlwind trip that comes after the International Monetary Fund conveyed fears of a worldwide recession if US-Iran hostilities don’t end soon.
Chalmers will spend less than 24 hours in the US capital, where he’s expected to push for an end to the war, securing Australia’s fuel supplies, assessing economic forecasts included in next month’s federal budget, strengthening supply chains, and promoting Australia as an investment destination.
He will also meet with counterparts from South Korea, Japan, China, the UK, Indonesia, and Singapore while in DC.
It comes after the IMF warned overnight that the war had upturned the world’s economy and increased inflation pressures that could take years to overcome. It has downgraded its outlook for the global economy, expecting it to expand by 3.1 per cent this year, down from the 3.3 per cent it had forecast in January.
“The IMF’s World Economic Outlook shows it’s a dangerous moment for the global economy,” Chalmers said.
“The world is expecting slower growth, higher inflation, and extreme volatility arising out of the conflict in the Middle East, and we are too.”
