- UK set to lose £125m* (US$166.6m) of exports every year due to US tariffs on steel and aluminium by US
- Annual global export losses could total £5.570bn (S$7,427.5bn)
- Canada set to be the biggest loser with more than £1.5bn (US$2,030.0bn) scrapped exports
London – 6th June 2018 – Tariffs imposed on 31 May by the US on global steel and aluminium imports could lead to yearly export losses of £125m (US$166.6m) for the UK and £5,570bn (S$7,427.5bn) globally, according to leading trade credit insurer Euler Hermes.
The forecast comes in the wake of the US government’s decision to impose tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium in a bid to protect its manufacturing base. The highest export losses by country are Canada, Brazil, Russia, China and South Korea.
The trade credit insurer sees Canada being the biggest single loser as part of the latest wave of tariffs, suffering a £1.5bn (US$2,030.0bn) loss. In Europe, Germany could be the biggest loser with £300m (US$400m) in lost exports, while the European Union as a whole will lose around £800m (S$1.0bn).
Ludovic Subran, Chief Economist, Euler Hermes, said:
“For now, the risk of a fully-fledged trade war, characterised by a doubling or tripling of the average US tariffs, and severe retaliation from the EU, Canada and Mexico, still seems unlikely."
“However, the uncertainty caused by the latest wave of measures combined with tit-for-tat tariffs from other countries threatens the status quo of rules built up over the past 25 years."
“Encouragingly, global trade is actually doing quite well and rose by around 5% last year. For the moment, it is outweighing the dampening effects of protectionism measures.”
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Notes to editors:
1) *1 USD = 0.75 GBP
2) Infographic chart attached.
Media contacts:
Euler Hermes PR contact
Adrian Russell
+44 (0)20 7860 2728
adrian.russell@eulerhermes.com
Citypress
Callum Brown
0161 235 0361
callum.brown@citypress.co.uk