Another crisis, another IMF summit: but unlike 2008, the delegates are disunited

Where once the world came together to fight the credit crunch, Trump’s tariffs will set amore divisive test

- Heather Stewart

When the world's finance ministers and central bank governors gather at the International Monetary Fund in Washington this week, it may kindle memories of another meeting, also held against the backdrop of a global economic crisis, in autumn 2008.

Then, as the aftershocks from the collapse of Lehman Brothers ripped through financial markets, central banks coordinated drastic emergency rate cuts, and the UK chancellor, Alistair Darling, urged his G7 counterparts to emulate the UK's approach and shore up stricken banks.

Policy mistakes, including lax financial regulation, were partly to blame back in 2008 but as this week's IMF and World Bank spring meetings convene, the chaos confronting key decision-makers in the global economy has been entirely manufactured in the White House.

Donald Trump's arbitrary "reciprocal" tariffs have been paused for 90 days, with many governments hoping they will never be reinstated. But the 10% across-the-board levy that remains in place alongside eye-watering increases in tariffs on China still represents a historic shock to the global trading system.