Sri Lanka and other small Asian economies must accelerate trade diversification or face heightened vulnerability to global tariff disputes and shifting supply chains, warned Krishna Srinivasan, Director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Speaking in Colombo on the evolving global trade landscape, Srinivasan highlighted Asia’s growing exposure, particularly in the wake of tariff tensions between the United States and China. “Asia benefited a lot from trade integration, benefited a lot from openness to trade,” he said. For countries like Sri Lanka, he said, the message is clear: diversify or be exposed. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has received a strong vote of confidence from the IMF following a high-level meeting between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the delegation at the Presidential Secretariat.