US President Donald Trump's tariffs are increasingly clogging up the wheels of a world economy which for decades were greased by predictable and relatively free trade, according to a Reuters article published on May 5.

Major multinationals and smaller e-commerce players have started to lower sales targets, issue warnings about potential job cuts, and reevaluate their business strategies.

The uncertainty surrounding the US-China trade tensions and the broader implications of US tariff policies have become a significant drag on the global economy.

Bank of Japan has revised its growth forecasts, with other regions such as the Netherlands and the Middle East and North Africa also experiencing downward revisions in growth outlook.