IMF's Lagarde 'very pleased' with Trump tax cuts

Dion Rabouin
·Anchor
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde holds a press conference during the 2018 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group at IMF Headquarters in Washington, DC, April 19, 2018 (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde holds a press conference during the 2018 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group at IMF Headquarters in Washington, DC, April 19, 2018 (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde is a big fan of the corporate tax reform bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Donald Trump last year. In fact, the IMF chief, who has been critical of many of the policies Trump has pursued, said the organization was “very, very supportive” of the tax cut.

During a press briefing at the IMF/World Bank’s spring meeting in Washington, Lagarde called the tax cut something the IMF had “advocated, recommended, encouraged, and one [thing] that we are very pleased to see happen.”

Lagarde was responding to a question from a reporter about whether she could name anything that Trump had done right, given his policies’ conflict with much of the IMF’s guidance. The Fund is an international organization which seeks to encourage global cooperation, global financial stability and facilitate international trade. Its stated goal is “to ensure the stability of the international monetary system.”

The IMF raised its expectations for global growth this year from 3.7% to 3.9%, the highest since 2011, and increased its U.S. growth projection to 2.9% for 2018. Lagarde said the measures taken by the Trump administration and Congress were largely behind the upgrade.

Lagarde added, however, that she remained concerned about the debt the United States has been taking on since Trump took office.

“On the other hand, what we are saying is that in order to deal with entitlements the United States should take advantage of the current upswing… given the measures that have been taken,” she said. “So taking advantage of this upswing we believe that the United States should try to reduce its deficit and try to move its debt downward rather than upward. That’s all we are saying in that respect.”

More from the IMF/World Bank meetings:

Dion Rabouin is a markets reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter: @DionRabouin.

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