GENEVA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- A government forecast Tuesday said Switzerland's economy is expected to continue a "dynamic recovery" with 2.4 percent growth in 2018.
It warned, however, that U.S. "protectionist measures" recently announced pose negative risks for the global economy.
"The buoyant international economy is supporting foreign trade, while a favorable investment climate is stimulating domestic demand," said the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) in the spring forecast put out by its expert group.
Still, SECO said that amid a gradual slowdown in the global economy, GDP growth in Switzerland is expected to "moderate to a solid" 2.0 percent in 2019.
"The promising upturn is to be accompanied by a further noticeable brightening on the labor market and a moderate rise in inflation," said the report.
It said that the global upturn could last longer than expected and the Swiss franc could depreciate further, giving the Swiss economy a further boost.
"However, the protectionist measures recently announced in the U.S. pose negative risks for the global economy," said SECO.
"Although the tariffs recently imposed on metal imports are unlikely to affect the Swiss economy very much, any escalation to a trade war between the major economic zones would have a considerable dampening effect in the medium-term."
SECO also noted that the results of the recent Italian general election make it difficult to form a government there, and the terms of the Brexit negotiations for Britain to leave the EU "remain unclear" along with "uncertainties in Switzerland's relationship with the EU, too."
