Analysts at the Capital Economics consultancy reckon EU growth may be 0.25% lower as a result of the 20% levy its exports face, and Chinese growth perhaps 0.75% lower, for example.
They suggest the UK, which was not in Trump’s sights because it does not have a major trade surplus with the US and so faces the minimum 10% tariff, will not be among the worst hit.
“In the UK, the effect on growth is still a rounding error: it’s 0.1%,” said Capital’s chief economist, Neil Shearing. “It hits exporters in particular sectors – but it doesn’t necessarily hit the UK economy as a whole.”
