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BENGALURU. — The ongoing trade spat between the world’s two largest economies will restrain the roaring US economy, dulling an expected boost to growth from massive tax cuts passed through Congress just a few months ago, a Reuters poll found.

The latest expectations from a poll of over 100 economists taken April 9-17 suggest the White House’s hopes for sustained economic growth above 3 percent will not be realised, which in turn may spawn future expectations for even bigger budget deficits over the coming years. The Reuters poll consensus has growth averaging 2,8 percent this year, slowing to 2,4 percent next. US President Donald Trump’s most recent push to impose duties on imports from China have triggered fears of a global trade war and have fuelled wild market gyrations in recent weeks. Nearly 90 percent of 50 economists who answered an extra question said the trade row with China will hurt the US economy.

“The United States is tightening its trade policy and moving increasingly away from the rules of the World Trade Organisation. After applauding President Trump’s tax cuts, the equity markets are less charmed by his protectionist threats,” wrote economists at BNP Paribas in a note to clients.

They also noted prolonged disagreements were now part of the global trade atmosphere. A Reuters poll last month showed Trump’s import tariffs would do more harm than good to the US economy.

Still, the outlook for growth, inflation and Federal Reserve monetary policy in the latest poll were largely unchanged compared to a survey in March, suggesting the trade spat is now offsetting an improved mood that set in earlier in the year.

“The proposed US tariffs on Chinese imports would certainly disrupt the internationally sliced-up value chains. It is well-known that large US high-tech corporates and retailers use relatively cheap Chinese labour to assemble their products and gross trade flows analyses may underestimate the disruptive impact,” said Stefan Koopman, market economist at Rabobank.

“Raising tariffs on final and intermediate products that are shipped to the US will crank up domestic prices for US consumers and producers.”— Reuters.