The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday, October 4 said protectionist political trends risked "turning back the clock" on free trade, warning of a low-growth future for the global economy, AFP reports.

In its new World Economic Outlook report, the global crisis lender also sounded an alarm over what it called a "dangerous" credit binge in China.

With Britain voting this year to secede from the European Union and US presidential candidates disfavoring open borders, the IMF said populist politics imperiled trade liberalization and economic growth.

The Fund notably cut its outlook for the United States, the world's largest economy, but upgraded those for Japan and the eurozone.

It also downgraded forecasts both for growth in global trade volume and for advanced economies' output, saying that prospects for richer countries had darkened this year, in part due to the protectionist talk.

"It is vitally important to defend the prospects for increasing trade integration," said IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld.

"Turning back the clock on trade can only deepen and prolong the world economy’s current doldrums."