The chiefs of the IMF, WTO and OECD vowed Monday in a joint statement to defend free trade against creeping protectionist trends, amid growing global alarm over US President Donald Trump's "America First" call.

"Disappointing trade growth figures and the danger of increasing protectionist tendencies give us a clear incentive to support the international trading system even more," said the statement, also signed by the heads of the World Bank and the ILO, as well as host of the meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel.