Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB) and Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have warned that there are troubling developments arising from increased trade barriers and tariffs.

Two of the world’s most influential economic leaders said that international trade conflicts, particularly between the United States (US) and China, as well as other industrialized countries and Europe, would affect global growth negatively.

Meantime, soaring trade tensions between the world’s largest economies reached its highest level as negotiations between the US and China stalled on the back of an increasing desire to place more tariffs upon imports.

Draghi said that the business model in Central and Eastern European countries is vulnerable to shocks as car exports in these countries account for nearly 30 percent of total manufactured exports, making them more defenseless against US President Donald Trump’s threats to increase tariffs on European cars and spare parts.