Germans are the most likely to foresee a major disruption to their economy
With a new 25% tax on car imports to America set to become a reality tomorrow, a new YouGov EuroTrack survey examines attitudes towards tariffs in in seven Western European countries: Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden
In the event that the US does impose tariffs on EU goods, the survey finds that the majority support retaliatory tariffs against America, with Danes the most in favour on 79%. In Germany, expected to be hit particularly hard given the size of their car manufacturing industry, two thirds are in favour (68%).
Here in Britain, 71% support retaliatory tariffs, while Italians are the least likely to say so, although even here 56% support responding to US tariffs in kind.
The reality of tariffs looks grim to many Europeans, with Germans the most likely to predict a significant impact on their national economy, with 75% expecting tariffs have a lot or fair amount of impact, including 31% who expect it to have “a lot” of impact specifically.
Six in ten Britons expect US tariffs to have a substantial impact on the national economy (60%), with Danes the least likely to feel this way, although this still amounts to 50% of the population.
Among those EU member countries polled, 60-76% think US tariffs will have a significant impact on the wider EU economy.
Speaking in February, Trump complained “the EU has been very unfair to us” in its trade dealings with the US. Europeans disagree: 40-67% in the EU nations polled say that the EU has been fair in its trade dealings with the US, compared to only 7-18% who think Trump is accurate in his remarks.
Sentiment is similar in the UK, where 55% think the UK has been fair in the way it trades with the US, compared to only 6% who feel it has been unfair.
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Photo: Getty
