And then there are unfinished items on the transatlantic trade agenda that still need to be addressed, and the rules-based multilateral trading system is on shaky ground. Geopolitical uncertainty remains intense as well. It is mainly rippling out of the Middle East. A new risk factor has joined the fray as well. I am talking about the coronavirus.
The epidemic in China has already caused many deaths. Human suffering causes the economic damage to pale by comparison. We know that the epidemic itself, along with the efforts to contain it, have considerably impaired business life in China.