国际英语资讯:Yearender: U.S. economy slows in 2019, thorny road ahead_时事

国际英语资讯:Yearender: U.S. economy slows in 2019, thorny road ahead

The Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs for some of the largest companies in the United States, recently said its index of the CEOs' economic outlook in the fourth quarter dropped to 76.7, which remains below the historical average and marks the seventh consecutive quarterly decline.

"CEOs are justified in their caution about the state of the U.S. economy. While we have achieved a competitive tax environment, uncertainty surrounding trade policy and slowing global growth are creating headwinds for business," said Joshua Bolten, president and CEO of the Business Roundtable.

According to the NABE survey released earlier this month, trade policy continues to be the "most widely cited" dominant downside risk to the U.S. economy through 2020, with half of respondents citing it as the "greatest" downside risk.

U.S.-initiated trade tensions have taken a toll on the global economy. The World Trade Organization recently said that world merchandise trade volumes are expected to rise by only 1.2 percent in 2019, substantially slower than the 2.6 percent growth forecast in April.

In its latest World Economic Outlook report released in October, the International Monetary Fund lowered its global growth forecast for 2019 to 3 percent, warning that growth continues to be weakened by rising trade barriers and growing geopolitical tensions.

THORNY ROAD AHEAD

The U.S. economy is expected to further slow down next year against the backdrop of persistent trade policy uncertainty and a labor market that could be losing momentum, as well as a precarious global outlook.