The U.S. tariff spats with Europe threaten some $9.5 trillion worth of trading each year, according to the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU.
AmCham, a decades-old group whose more than 150 members include Amazon (AMZN-0.27%), McDonald’s (MCD+1.70%), and Verizon (VZ+0.33%), said a record $2 trillion worth of goods and services were traded between Europe and the U.S. last year. The U.S. also recorded $4 trillion in affiliate sales in Europe, while European businesses in the U.S. made $3.5 trillion in affiliate sales abroad.
No other two regions in the world are as integrated as the U.S. and Europe, according to the group’s annual Transatlantic Economy report.
“For companies on both sides, the transatlantic economy is more than just a source of profit,” AmCham EU CEO Malte Lohan said in a statement. “It is a common geoeconomic base that gives them an edge in a fiercely competitive world.”
However, that relationship could be upended in 2025, as President Donald Trump seeks to push businesses to shift production back to the U.S. and close trade deficits with other nations.
The Trump administration recently enacted 25% tariffs on all foreign steel and aluminum, prompting pushback from the European Union, which proposed higher tariffs on American whiskey and other products. Trump then threatened to spike the U.S. tariffs on European spirits to 200% unless that tariff was nixed.
The United Kingdom exported about $151 billion worth of aluminum and steel to the U.S. last year, according to the Global Trade Alert. Prime Minister Keith Starmer said he will “keep all options on the table” to respond to the tariffs.
“Rather than engaging in a tit-for-tat that only hurts the two economies, they should come to the negotiating table to work out what a positive deal for the transatlantic economy looks like,” Lalte said. “The numbers show that it is in both sides’ interests.”
Trump in late February said he was planning to issue 25% tariffs on goods imported from the E.U. “very soon,” although an announcement has not yet been made. The E.U., Trump claimed, was designed to “screw the United States.”
Drafts of “reciprocal” tariffs designed to match foreign tariffs and non-tariff barriers on goods exported from the U.S. are set to land on Trump’s desk on April 2. Those duties are expected to hit every nation the U.S. does business with, including European countries.
But the U.S. and E.U. have “marginal” differences in tariff rates, with notable exceptions including E.U. duties on cars, food, and beverages, according to the report. The U.S. also has higher levies on SUVs, light trucks, and apparel.
AmCham EU noted that the U.S. is Europe’s most important supplier of crude and oil and liquefied natural gas — accounting for 48% of LNG last year — as well as its second largest supplier of coal. In December, Trump had threatened to slap the E.U. with tariffs unless they purchased more U.S. oil and gas.
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