The introduction of US tariffs on European Union (EU) countries could lead to global economic fragmentation, which in the medium term could lead to a reduction in global GDP by 7%. This was stated by European Commissioner for the Economy Valdis Dombrovskis.
He expressed regret over Washington's intention to impose tariffs and called them unjustified. “Furthermore, they would be problematic for economic growth in both the EU and the US“, the European Commissioner said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
“There is a real risk of global economic fragmentation with the introduction of tariffs“, he added. “The International Monetary Fund estimates that if this economic fragmentation takes place and trade is concentrated mainly in certain economic blocs, world GDP could shrink by 7% in the medium term.“ “This would be equivalent to wiping the combined GDP of Germany and France off the global economic map“, Dombrovskis added.
Earlier, US leader Donald Trump stated at the first meeting of his cabinet that the US had already decided to impose a 25% tariff on supplies of goods from the European Union and that it would be announced in the near future.