OREANDA-NEWS The United States is overly using the sanctions mechanism, which is why world trade is declining and the structure of the global economy is changing. This was stated by Hossein Askari, a former member of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and special adviser to the Minister of Finance of Saudi Arabia.

"There is less world trade compared to what we could have ... and we can also see the emergence of three or four powerful trade blocs where the policies and finances of countries are more coordinated," Askari told RIA Novosti, answering a question about the impact of US sanctions on world trade.

According to the expert, the structure of the global economy is changing due to sanctions, and this will lead to increased inflation.

As reported by IA Regnum, in a January report, the IMF lowered its forecast for world trade growth in 2024 to 3.3%, and in 2025 to 3.6%. According to Pierre-Olivier Gurinchi, chief economist and director of the IMF's research department, the indicators have reached "a kind of plateau." At the same time, the IMF recognized that the Russian economy is growing better than expected.

The IMF has previously concluded that anti-Russian sanctions risk undermining the dollar's role as the world's main reserve currency. In particular, the reduction of the dollar's share in international settlements was announced by the First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, Gita Gopinath.