Rome, Jan 25 (IANS): Trade tariffs could trigger a new and "disastrous" global recession, Italy's Premier Giuseppe Conte warned on Friday after US President Donald Trump renewed threats to raise tariffs on European Union goods.
"The imbalances of globalisation are a breeding-ground for today's neo-protectionist tendencies. These risk causing a new global economic crisis which could prove disastrous," Conte said.
The world economy was still "feeling the effects" of the gravest and most protracted economic and financial crisis since World War II, which began in 2008, Conte underlined.
His comments came after Trump in media interviews at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday threatened to slap tariffs of up to 25 per cent on the European Union's auto sector if the bloc does not agree to a trade deal with the US, raising the prospect of a tit-for-tat transatlantic trade war.