Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The bank highlighted that global growth has been acting as a headwind to economic momentum through elevated uncertainty, rising trade barriers, and slower global manufacturing. The Reserve Bank said that despite some tentative signs of easing of trade tensions—including the signing of the US-China phase one trade deal—downside risk remains, including specifically the COVID-19 outbreak. The bank's current projections assume the effects of the outbreak on New Zealand's growth to be short-lived, but they stress that any economic implications remain very uncertain at this stage. 