Bank of England's Bailey says he is focused on the growth hit from tariffs

WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Thursday he was focused on the shock to economic growth that is likely to be felt from U.S. President Donald Trump's import tariffs and retaliatory measures taken by other countries.

"We are certainly quite focused on the growth shock," Bailey told CNBC television on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund's spring meetings in Washington, adding that the BoE had been trying to balance weak growth against domestic supply constraints that put upward pressure on inflation.

"We've got to balance those two. But I think the trade issue is the new part of that story," he added.

He said weak surveys of businesses published earlier this week reflected uncertainty among companies although recent official gross domestic product data had been quite encouraging and he did not think the UK economy was close to a recession.