European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos said a trade war triggered by new US tariffs would significantly weigh on economic expansion, with the final outcome impossible to predict.
“If a trade war breaks out, it is extremely negative for the global economy, particularly for growth but also for inflation,” he told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf in an interview published Friday. “For instance, if you impose a 60% import tariff on goods from China, where there is already overcapacity, it leads to changes in trade flows and could even affect exchange rates. No one knows where it will end.”