The European pharmaceutical sector exports 15% of its production to the United States, with Ireland exporting about 40% and Denmark 30%, according to an insurance company official.
“The Danish pharmaceutical sector could be impacted if President Trump imposes tariffs on specific Danish products to pressure Denmark into relinquishing control of Greenland,” explained Rubén del Rio, the European pharmaceutical sector specialist at Crédito y Caución.
Ireland is more exposed given that “pharmaceutical products constitute a significant part of its trade surplus,” and the new U.S. administration “threatens to use tariffs to force production relocation,” he added.
The United States is also the primary destination for the European automotive sector, accounting for 20% of exports, “leaving the industry vulnerable to tariff threats” with “the sector possibly falling by more than 5% by 2025 in Germany or Italy.”
“Differences in market demand and consumer preferences, logistical barriers, regulations, and increasing competition from countries like China and South Korea make it unlikely that lost U.S. sales can be fully offset in the short term,” stated Jens Stobbe, risk director in Germany.
The insurance company’s report indicates that “it is still possible for the United States and the European Union” to negotiate “a way out of a large-scale trade war with no winners,” even though the initial U.S. tariffs were “met with a retaliatory package almost dollar for dollar.”
Crédito y Caución further noted that “nothing is certain in this new economic reality” and that neither the U.S. nor the European Union “seem ready to accept” a compromise to “step back from the brink.”
The 25% tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on steel and aluminum came into provisional effect two weeks ago, marking a new phase in the trade war between the United States and key trading partners.
The European Commission announced countermeasures starting in April. While the U.S. tariffs are valued at approximately billion (26 billion euros), the EU responded with countermeasures of equal value.
