The Big Question: O que significará para a Europa se as pautas aduaneiras de Trump forem retomadas?
"Há demasiadas coisas em jogo nesta relação para deixar que isso seja prejudicado", defende o diretor executivo da Câmara de Comércio Americana junto da UE.
LEIA MAIS : http://pt.euronews.com/2025/04/28/the-big-question-o-que-significara-para-a-europa-se-as-pautas-aduaneiras-de-trump-forem-re
Subscreva, euronews está disponível em 12 línguas.
"Há demasiadas coisas em jogo nesta relação para deixar que isso seja prejudicado", defende o diretor executivo da Câmara de Comércio Americana junto da UE.
LEIA MAIS : http://pt.euronews.com/2025/04/28/the-big-question-o-que-significara-para-a-europa-se-as-pautas-aduaneiras-de-trump-forem-re
Subscreva, euronews está disponível em 12 línguas.
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00:00This is simply the biggest, most integrated economic partnership in the world.
00:0516 million jobs, the equivalent of the French and German economies combined.
00:10There is way too much at stake in this relationship to let that be damaged.
00:20Welcome to The Big Question, a series from Euronews where we address some of the biggest
00:26topics on the business news agenda. And today I'm joined by Malta Lohan, the CEO of the
00:34American Chamber of Commerce to the EU. Malta, it's an absolute pleasure to have you with
00:39us on the show. Thank you very much for joining us.
00:41Great to be here, Angela. Thank you.
00:42Very timely discussions at the moment, and I imagine you are an incredibly busy man.
00:47But first of all, for those who don't know, can you just explain exactly what the American
00:52Chamber of Commerce to the EU actually does?
00:55Of course, the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU is the group that represents American
01:00businesses in Europe. So we have 160 member companies across all different sectors, goods,
01:05services, with one thing in common, which is for decades, in some cases 100 plus years,
01:11deeply invested in Europe. And our role is to help the EU build an economy that is competitive,
01:19that generates return on investment, and to help build bridges across the Atlantic and strengthen
01:25the partnership that we have between Europe and the United States.
01:27When it comes to the EU-US economic relationship, what are the key figures or metrics that best
01:34represent this partnership?
01:36This is simply the biggest, most integrated economic partnership in the world by some margin. It's an economy that is worth 8 trillion euros. For comparison, that's the equivalent of the French and German economies combined. 16 million direct jobs depending on that transatlantic economy. That's a third of global GDP that is represented by our two economies combined.
02:04We are each other's biggest source of foreign direct investment. More than 56% of American FDI goes to Europe. A similar measure of European FDI goes to the US. And so not just is it a source of growth and profits for businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, but it's actually also a shared base on which we compete with the rest of the world.
02:31What impact would it have on the US economy if this relationship diminished?
02:41The economic relationship between Europe and the United States, of course, is at the heart of our shared prosperity and our shared success also across the world. Just think of the breakfast cereal on your table. Think of the websites you go to online. Think of where you get your petrol or your electricity when you charge your car. And instantly you will realize that there are plenty of American companies which are deeply integrated into the world.
02:59And which are generating local jobs, local investments, local investments, local investments, local tax returns. And that is really the shared value of the relationship which goes far beyond the goods flowing across the Atlantic.
03:17And so if we lose some of the access to each other's markets, it would be a big burden on the profitability of our companies. And it becomes so much harder to compete globally.
03:37And Malta, what's the sentiment among the businesses within your network that you work with day to day? What are the main concerns now at the moment for them regarding the current situation with the tariffs?
03:55The number one concern that every single company will express is about the level of uncertainty that they are facing. And just think about the position of a CEO or a CFO in this current context. You are planning to make big multi-billion euro investments into your supply chain, into your production facilities.
04:19And you don't know how to calculate the return on those investments. And you don't know how to calculate the return on those investments because that calculation changes from one day to the next with a tariff being imposed or a countermeasure being imposed and taken off again.
04:32And so that creates huge inertia in the marketplace where investments are being held back and where other parts of the world that are not facing this level of uncertainty can accelerate their own innovations and their own investments. And we will have to catch up.
04:51If the tariffs do resume, what will that actually mean for the EU economy as a whole?
04:56This would be really bad news. It would be really bad news, first of all, because it would disrupt those closely integrated supply chains between Europe and the United States.
05:08It would drive up the input costs for companies, which makes products and services more expensive for customers and consumers as well.
05:17My big worry is that if we go back to a phase of tariffs and counter tariffs, it will start spilling over into other parts of the relationship.
05:29The biggest benefit of our transatlantic relationship is our investments.
05:35If those start to be affected by uncertainty about tariffs and by a shift away from each other of the two economies, that would be deeply damaging for both sides.
05:49At least what we can say at this point is that there is space for dialogue.
05:54Now, whether that dialogue is able within the short space of time available to come to a conclusion, I think we still have to see.
06:04And finally, what are your hopes for the future EU-US economic relationship?
06:10These days, I've heard others express a hope which was simply that it doesn't get worse.
06:17To me, that would be a sad state of affairs.
06:21So, I would like to think that there is more to hope for than that things don't get worse.
06:26I do think that Europe and the United States still have an enormous shared interest in working together to address our shared geo-competitive challenges.
06:40I do think that Europe and the United States have both to understand how some of that prosperity that has been generated through open trade can better be brought to the widest possible part of society.
06:58And I think that this is the moment where Europe also really has the opportunity to take a leap forward in terms of addressing barriers in the single market and creating a more competitive region for businesses to thrive in and to see a return on their investment.
07:21Sometimes it takes a jolt and that is certainly what we are facing. If that is the outcome of this jolt, I think that is a good outcome for Europe as well.
07:30That is incredibly insightful, everything you've shared with us there. So, thank you very much for joining us on The Big Question and for sharing all of your insights with us. It's been a pleasure.
07:41Thanks for having me, Angela. Pleasure to be here.
07:43Thank you very much. Please do head over to the Euronews website and check out the rest of our shows. They're all there and also you can go to the Euronews YouTube channel and you'll find all the big questions there too.
07:55Thank you very much.