A top economic forecasting firm predicted Wednesday that Donald Trump would be a huge threat to global growth — equating the front-runner's presidency to the risk posed by Islamic jihadism and projecting that progress could fall by as much as 1.5 percent.

"In the event of a Trump victory, his hostile attitude to free trade, and alienation of Mexico and China in particular, could escalate rapidly into a trade war," the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit said in a report, according to The New York Times. "His militaristic tendencies towards the Middle East (and ban on all Muslim travel to the U.S.) would be a potent recruitment tool for jihadi groups, increasing their threat both within the region and beyond."

The organization views Trump's likelihood to win the White House in November as "moderate" — adding that the risks are very high if he does, the Times reports.

Robert Powell, an Economist Intelligence analyst, said that Trump's unpredictability would create much uncertainty and that his polarizing nature could cause even more government gridlock.

"The impact for the world would be bad," Powell told the Times. "The impact for the U.S. would be even worse."

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