Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has proposed to introduce tariffs between 10 and 20 percent on everything that the United States imports. When it comes to imports from China, the tariffs are 100 percent.
It is a proposal that can hit both Sweden and Europe hard.
– This means that it will be much more expensive to sell to the USA. A trade-dependent country like Sweden will be affected by this, says Cecilia Malmström, former trade commissioner.
Economist and author Klas Eklund agrees.
– If he were to actually implement all of this, it would bring tariff levels back to a level we had during the Great Depression. It is a radical change and a deterioration for world trade and for Sweden.
The automotive and pharmaceutical industries were threatened
Sweden, and other countries, would be particularly affected if there are countermeasures from others, Eklund believes.
– If the EU or other countries enter into a tariff war, it would primarily affect certain Swedish industry that has a lot of exports to the USA. The automotive and pharmaceutical industries are particularly vulnerable.
In both the US and the rest of the world, according to calculations, growth would slow down and costs would rise, says Eklund.
– There is no one, as far as I know, who calculated that something good would come of this. The question is how many degrees in hell it will be.
This is how Harris’ proposal can affect Sweden
The Democrats’ presidential candidate Kamala Harris has not proposed any new tariffs against Europe, and the tariffs that have been introduced have been converted into import quotas, notes Cecilia Malmström. Import quotas that are still costly for Europe and Sweden.
Trump has proposed cutting corporate taxes, which could put pressure on other countries to follow suit. It has caused business leaders in the US to advocate for Trump, Eklund believes. On the contrary, Harris wants to raise corporate tax.
– If she does that and Sweden does nothing, we will be more competitive. This means that Swedish business would earn more from Harris.