2017 to be a year of very moderate economic growth of around 3% - Rabobank

Research Team at Rabobank expects 2017 to be a year of very moderate economic growth of around 3% and the contours of the future direction will however gradually become visible during the course of the year.

Key Quotes

“President Trump’s policy will become clearer, and there will also be a clearer view of whether the positive effects of a strong boost to spending will dominate the US economy or the negative effects of a more protectionist stance will gain the upper hand. If the US Congress succeeds in tempering the sharp edges of his protectionist plans, the positive effects of Trump’s policy on the economy could well dominate in the short term, although in the longer term we are concerned that the negative effects of his protectionist policy will be more significant.”

“A scenario in which the European economy continues to struggle along for years or even decades is not highly likely. The rise in anti‐Europe sentiment demands effective answers. If nothing is done, there is a risk that the EU could be gradually undermined.”

“There are two choices. Either European cooperation comes to a halt and we fall back into economic nationalism or protectionism, which will lead to a recession in Europe, or we generate higher growth through a more effective cooperation, more economic reform and a more expansive budgetary policy. It will ultimately be policy choices that decide where Europe is going in the coming years. The situation is not one of an inevitable natural phenomenon. We could also be on the verge of a powerful growth recovery. The ball is now in the court of the politicians.”