The recessions currently plaguing several major countries around the world could be what drags the U.S. into an economic downturn of its own, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Germany announced on Monday that it fell into a technical recession in the fourth quarter of 2023, after reporting its second month in a row of negative growth, following several other top nations experiencing economic difficulties. While the U.S. has managed to avoid a recession due to its size and diverse industries, foreign economic malaise may drag the U.S. economy down through changes to trade and global inflation that would lead to a loss for American businesses, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“At a time when the U.S. economy is now facing a serious challenge from a commercial property crisis that could lead to a wave of regional bank failures, the rest of the world economy is doing poorly,” Desmond Lachman, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told the DCNF. “This heightens the chances that the US will experience an economic recession before the end of the year as its export markets shrink.”

The U.S. economy has so far avoided a recession, despite predictions by top banks and investors that one will materialize. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3.3% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 4.9% in the second quarter, well above typical growth rates.

The U.S. commercial real estate sector currently holds around $2.81 trillion in loans that are set to expire through 2028 and faces increases in interest rate costs and declines in office space demand that have eaten profits, creating obstacles to repayment. Small and regional banks are particularly in danger due to their outsized exposure to commercial real estate debt, which could contribute to another banking crisis if developers were to fail to pay their debts.

Leading economic index from Conference Board fell again in Jan but they've given up on their recession forecast, instead saying growth will only slow; we're facing the reality that if gov't is willing to spend/borrow/print enough, we can avoid a "technical" recession for years… pic.twitter.com/oy1MYb1Hs9

— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) February 20, 2024

(Read more from “Experts Warn of Global Economic Challenges, Cautioning Against Potential Recession Threatening the U.S.” HERE)

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