Pakistan, April 24 -- IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has urged countries to act quickly to resolve trade disputes hurting global economic growth. She warned that ongoing tensions are forcing companies to delay investments and making consumers cautious.

Her comments follow the IMF's downgrade of global and U.S. economic forecasts. The organization raised the chance of a U.S. recession from 25% to 40%, citing uncertainty from President Trump's tariff policies.

Trump's return to office has seen sharp tariff hikes, including a 145% tax on Chinese goods and 10% on most others. Frequent policy shifts have left businesses confused and markets unstable.

Georgieva stressed that poor countries would suffer most from trade shocks, lac...