Sakova: Trump's Tariffs Will Have Negative Impact on Global Trade around World

Bratislava, April 3 (TASR) - The 25-percent tariffs imposed on exports of all goods and services from the EU to the United States will have a negative impact on global trade around the world, said Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) at the House committee on economic affairs on Thursday. The EU wants to negotiate with the USA and agree to reduce the barriers and trade deficit that the tariffs will bring. This is because they will have a negative impact on the steel, aluminium and automotive industries throughout the EU. Sakova stressed that this isn't just about saving the car industry, but about helping small and medium-sized enterprises as well. "Overall, the automotive industry in Slovakia employs 290,000 people, but if you take the four car companies, there are between 4,000-4,500 employees, depending on the car company. This means that everything else beyond them concerns subcontracting chains, which are mostly small and medium-sized enterprises, and that's why I'm not saying that support for the automotive industry will mean only what the four largest enterprises will want as projects, but the overall development of the automotive industry in Slovakia," said Sakova. She noted that two of the four automakers in Slovakia manufacture motor vehicles only for the European market, while the second-largest shares of car exports when it comes to the other two go to the USA. Overall, the largest share of car exports goes to Germany, with a total of 24.2 percent. The USA is second with 10.6 percent, while the UK is third with a 9.4-percent share. The economy minister specified that these companies will have to partially reorient themselves towards other markets, as one quarter of the country's car exports will be affected by the tariffs imposed by the USA. However, according to her, the automakers don't expect exports of cars to the United States to be reduced right down to zero. am/df