WASHINGTON — The head of the International Monetary Fund urged countries to move “swiftly’’ to resolve trade disputes that threaten global economic growth.

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said the unpredictability arising from President Donald Trump’s aggressive campaign of taxes on foreign imports is causing companies to delay investments and consumers to hold off on spending.

“Uncertainty is bad for business,’’ she told reporters Thursday in a briefing during the spring meetings of the IMF and its companion agency, the World Bank.

Georgieva warned that the economic fallout from trade conflict would most heavily affect poor countries, which typically do not have enough money to offset the damage. — Associated Press