Frankfurt, Germany (AP) – US President Donald Trump offensive price has led European officials to reduce their growth forecasts for this year and this next – even in a better case in which the highest rates on most goods could be negotiated.
This year’s forecasts for the 20 countries that use the euro currency have been reduced to 0.9% compared to previous forecasts in November by 1.3%, the European Union Executive Commission said on Monday in its regular spring forecasts.
Forecasts for 2026 were reduced to 1.4% against 1.6%.
One of the reasons for the lower growth estimate was the Stagnated economy in Germany, Where growth should be zero this year after two years of narrowing. The German economy depends strongly on exports, but had to face high other winds of higher energy costs after the loss of Russian natural gas due to the invasion of Ukraine also Lack of pro-corporate infrastructure expenditure and competition from China in cars and industrial machines.
The proposal for an American tariff of 20%, or tax on import, on goods from Europe, in addition to its suspension for 90 days, noted that uncertainty “has not been seen since the darkest days of the COVVI-19 pandemic,” said the economy of the economy Valdis Dombrovskis.
He said the European economy remained “resilient” And that the job market has remained robust, the Commission predicting a drop in unemployment at a low level of 5.7% next year.
And the risks are “tilted downwards,” he said. One reason: forecasts assume that the proposed rate of 20% can be reduced by negotiations with Washington at the basic tariff rate imposed on all countries of 10%.
Although the highest head of the EU trade, Maros Sefcovic, spoke several times with administration officials, he remains uncertain how much Trump could be willing to reduce the rate. European officials have did a reprisal rate break for 90 days and made a “zero for zero” offer in which each party would abandon prices on industrial goods such as cars.
Forecasts assumed that 25% of steel prices and cars in all countries will remain in place, as are exemptions on computer flea and pharmaceutical products.
The economy of the euro zone increased by 0.3% in the first three months of the year, in the midst of signs full of hope for a higher increase. But the atmosphere was darkened only two days after the end of the first quarter, when Trump on April 2 announced a multitude of new prices that on almost all American trade partners.
