Trump wants punitive tariffs

ECB Vice President warns of dangers for global trade

The Vice President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Luis de Guindos, has warned of dangers for global trade following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election. Tariff barriers are harmful to the global economy, he said at a conference in London on Wednesday.

It was not yet known which direction the new government in Washington would take. However, it was to be hoped that decisions on tariffs would not lead to a kind of trade war, said the deputy to ECB head Christine Lagarde.

"If you introduce tariffs, you have to bear in mind that the other party will react and take retaliatory measures. That could trigger a vicious circle of inflation and tariffs, which could be the worst possible outcome and the worst possible consequence," de Guindos added. Trump threatened punitive tariffs during the election campaign.

Trump propagated punitive tariffs during the election campaign
In his first term in office, Trump instigated a trade war with China and propagated further measures during the election campaign: He wants to impose punitive tariffs of 60 percent on products from the People's Republic and ten to 20 percent on products from Europe and all other parts of the world.

Europe's stock markets suffer losses
The day after Trump's clear election victory, Europe's stock exchanges closed with losses on Wednesday. The markets had initially reacted to Trump's looming victory with gains at the start of trading, but then turned negative as the day progressed.