Trade War Escalates: Experts Warn US Consumers Face Price Pressures

【BlockBeats】 A recent viewpoint from an economist is worth noting — Holger Schmiding, Chief Economist at Berenberg Bank, pointed out that Trump’s tough stance on Greenland suggests that this year’s trade conflicts could be much more intense than expected.

Specifically, Trump has threatened to impose a 10% tariff on eight countries including the UK and France starting February 1, with plans to increase this rate to 25% in June. Schmiding believes this approach is likely to backfire, with the most direct consequence being an increase in everyday consumer costs in the US, potentially by 0.15%.

On the data front, in 2024, the US’s total imports from these target countries amount to about $350 billion. In other words, tariff pressure is directly impacting such a large volume of trade.

What’s more concerning is that if the US-EU tariff agreement is ultimately torn up (though the probability is low), the actual losses for consumers could be even more severe. Schmiding admitted that, from an economic logic perspective, both sides ultimately want to avoid losses, but the premise is “we must first be prepared for more turbulence.” This uncertainty has a significant impact on the risk asset markets.