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WASHINGTON, April 19-- Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on Thursday urged policymakers to steer clear of all protectionist measures amid rising trade tensions between the United States and its major trading partners. "Trade restrictions have not been proven helpful and we suspect that they might even dent confidence," Lagarde said at a press conference during the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, adding all countries should "work together to resolve disagreements without using exceptional measures." While the actual impact of current trade tensions on global growth "is not very substantial" in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), it's difficult to measure the erosion of confidence in the short term with investors reluctant on investing, Lagarde said. | 
