Trump Effect: US Most Competitive Economy In The World For First Time Since Before Obama

by Evie Fordham

The U.S. is the most competitive economy in the world for the first time since former President Barack Obama took office in 2009, according to the World Economic Forum’s index published Tuesday.

The U.S. has the number one spot, a ranking it has not enjoyed since the 2008 Great Recession, reported The Wall Street Journal. The other countries within the top five on the 2018 index were Singapore, Germany, Switzerland and Japan.

Japan had the biggest jump in index rating, while the U.S. had the second-biggest jump, reported The WSJ. The index examines a total of 140 countries.

“Economic recovery is well underway, with the global economy projected to grow almost 4 percent in 2018 and 2019,” the forum’s Tuesday report stated, according to The WSJ.

The World Economic Forum’s report also warned that “recovery remains vulnerable to a range of risks and potential shocks.” It pointed to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods that could effect global economic growth.

The U.S. and China have been escalating a trade war since July, when the Trump administration levied tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods. China did the same to U.S. goods. The U.S. subsequently applied tariffs to $16 billion more in Chinese goods, which China also matched.

The World Economic Forum may have ranked the U.S. number one, but it also said the U.S. needs to improve on “social issues,” reported The WSJ.

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