The International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC) of the IMF noted a high level of uncertainty on trade and finance, but praised cooperation among its members on a wide variety of agenda items Friday (April 25) in Washington, DC at the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank.

“Indeed, the buzzword was uncertainty all over this week. And indeed, it also carries with it market volatility, presenting real risks to the global growth and financial stability. As Kristalina said recently, these trade conflicts have been like a forgetting but boiling on a stove. Now that bot is boiling over. In other words, we should not be surprised that there are trade tensions. And this situation is an opportunity for us all to have a constructive conversations about how we will move forward,” said the Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Aljadaan, in his role of acting chair of the IMFC.

The group was unable to get the consensus needed for a communique, but the Fund’s Managing Director praised the progress that members were able to reach on thorny issues like boosting funding and reducing global debt.