The United States' tariff policies are injecting uncertainty into international trade, leading to significant challenges for the global economy, according to a German expert.
The recent U.S. trade measures have raised concerns worldwide about the future of the global economic order, with Europe being particularly vulnerable due to its close economic ties with the country.
Germany, whose economy is highly dependent on exports, is sensitive to the stability of international trade. The consensus among German economic circles is that a U.S.-EU trade war would have no winners.
Bernd Einmeier, an expert with Germany's ThinkTank Networks GmbH and Co, said the United States' arbitrary adjustment of tariff policies is quite the opposite of what is needed in the current global economy.
"What we are currently witnessing is the Trump administration further exacerbating trade conflicts. We all hope that the situation will not continue to deteriorate. Trump's arbitrary adjustments to tariff policies -- sometimes raising them, sometimes lowering them, and sometimes suspending them -- are precisely what the global economy needs the least: uncertainty. What the economy needs is stability. Historical experience has shown that additional tariffs, in the medium to long term, will only cause harm," he said.
Many Europeans are worried that the escalating unilateralist policies that the U.S. is rolling out will not only plunge the U.S. into a "Trump recession" or even stagflation, but their negative spillover effects will also spread globally. This could undermine Europe's already fragile economic recovery and might even trigger a new round of the Eurozone debt crisis, analysts warn.
US tariff policy brings uncertainty to global economy: German expert
US tariff policy brings uncertainty to global economy: German expert
