Banks would also suffer Patuelli tells annual assembly

Protectionism and tariffs must be defused or they will cause a new global recession, the president of the Italian Banking Association (ABI), Antonio Patuelli said in his address to its annual assembly Friday.
Protectionism and tariffs must be “defused” to avoid repercussions on markets and banks, as well as a “new recession” Patuelli said in his annaul report.

“If trade wars were to develop, markets would suffer, uncertainty for businesses would increase, credit could deteriorate further, and banks would suffer the consequences,” he explained.
“There would be a risk of a new recession.

“We must,” he added, “defuse the risks of protectionism and new tariffs, measures as old as the world itself, which penalize free trade, economic and social growth, and global prosperity.” United States President Donald trump has launched a raft of trade tariffs of various sizes against most of the world’s countries.