Donald Trump has paused his reciprocal tariffs for sixty countries under three months – except for China. But general tariffs remain, albeit at a lower level – for the EU's part, the tariffs will be 10 percent instead of 20 percent.
What now applies is a 10 percent tariff on goods from Europe to the USA, and actually from all countries to the USA, says Per Altenberg, trade strategist at the Swedish Trade Federation.
What does this situation mean for the EU and Sweden?
It means that the escalation we have seen is broken, and a space for negotiation is created.
Uncertain
But at the same time, Altenberg sees risks, and the situation remains uncertain.
It is obvious that there are different messages from day to day from the USA, and that creates uncertainty.
The tariffs on steel and aluminum remain. It was these that the EU decided to respond to on Wednesday. But on Thursday, the EU announced that the countermeasures would be paused for as long as the American tariff pause.
It is precisely the tariffs on steel, aluminum, and cars that affect Sweden the most, as well as the announced tariffs on car parts – all at 25 percent. The consequences will likely be a reduced export from Sweden, according to Altenberg.
Primarily in the automotive sector, we have a lot of export to the USA.
The 10 percent tariffs, they apply overall, so they affect all sectors. It will affect Swedish export to the USA, says Altenberg.
New tariffs?
Regardless of the tariff pause – the USA has gone from having among the lowest tariffs in the world to the highest, according to Altenberg. The question is what Trump's next move will be.
What we perceive has been discussed in Washington is sectoral tariffs similar to those on steel and aluminum today – that they could also be introduced on, for example, copper, timber, and pharmaceuticals.
Such sectors are currently exempt. But Altenberg does not want to speculate on how Sweden would be affected by potential pharmaceutical tariffs. It is not certain that Trump will choose to escalate these, he believes.
