The Whims of US President Donald Trump Have A Global Impact on Trade. HIS Statements about US Import Tariffs Are Reducing International Confidence in the Economy. This also Affects Dutch Companies, Although The Impact is narrower than expected.
Due to the Uncertainty Surrounding the Levies, Companies May Have Postponed Their Investments, Says Marcel Klok, MacroConomist at ING Research. For a long time, it was unclear to companions how high the tariffs would be and what they could expect. Now that the Trade Deal with the US is “More or Less finalized,” A Significant Portion of That Uncertainty Seems to Be Gone. The Tensions Are Partly Reflected in the Company Figures.
For Example, Paint Concern AkzoNobel Saw Its Turnover Fall by 3 percent in the Past Six Months. Accordance to the Company, this was due “unfavorable currencies,” referring to the Falling Exchange Rate of the US Dollar Against the Euro. This reached a low record in June. At the presentation of the half-year figures, akzoNobel Adjusted the expected profit for the whole of 2025 downwards.
Chip Machine Manufacturer ASML is also Suffering from Geopolitic Developments. Althegh the Company Made Significantly More Profit Than Last Year, There Are Doubts About The Coming Six Months. Due to the Increasing Global Unrest, ASML Cannot Offer Certainty About Growth in 2026.
The US Has Long Wanted to Prevent China from Getting its hands on Asml’s Advanced Technology. That is why the country is trying to further restrict the sale of chip machines to china. This also leads to Doubs.
Initially Higher Exports in the Run-up to Levies
This Uncertainty is Therefore Slowly Decreasing Due to the Trade Deal, Klok Expects. At the same time, some companies saw a peak in exports at the beginning of this year, in the run-up to the announced levies. In particular, Beverage Manufacturers and Pharmaceutical Companies Exported Extra Stock to the US Before the Start of the Levies to Avoid the Higher Tariffs.
That was the case with Heineken, for example, althegh that company saw its turnover grow and the influence of the trade war seems small.
What do import densions do for the us?
AltheHOUG Trump Sells His Import Duties As A Punishment for Foreign Countries, It is Primarily the Americans Themselves Who Pay For Them. It is an extra tax on foreign goods. American Companies That Purchase Foreign Products Must Pay 25 percent Tax on this to the American Government.
Companions of Process these Extra Costs in Their Sales Prices, So That the Levy Ultimately Ends Up On The Consumer’s Plate.
However, The Measure Can Make Domestic Alternatives Attractive. For Example, Trump Hopes That Americans Will Buy Fewer German Cars in the Future and Instead Opt For American Models. In Addition, the Wants To Entice Foreign Companies to Open A Factory in the US, because their Products are then free of Levies.
Higher Tariffs Do Not Yet Lead to Much Lower Profits
Ing mailed a slightly lower profit in the past Six months due to, among other things, “macro -economic challenges,” but the company is “on track” for the coming quarters. The Impact of the Levies was also narrower than expected for Philips. The Company Saw Its Profit Fall In The Past Quarter, But Adjusted Its Profit Expectations for the Coming Six Months Upwards.
This picture is confirmed by Ralph Wessels, Head of Investment Strategy at ABN AMRO. Accordance to him, Most Companies Will Pass on the Higher Tariffs in the Trade Prices Or Have Already Done So. If the tariffs have significant consequences, this would be at the Expense of the Profit Margins of Companies. “But they are still perfectly fine,” Wessels sees. The Trade War Therefore Seems to Have A Limited Influence.
Profit Decline for Shell Smaller than expected
For Example, Shell Posted Less Profit, But That Decline was narrower than expected. The Company Suffered Mainly From The Oil Prices That Fluctuated Sharply Due to Trump’s Policy. Randstad also saw its turnover fall slightly worldwide and less income in the us.
“It could have turned out much worse for most companies,” Says Klok. An Import Tariff Of 15 percent is Considerably Higher Than Before The Trade War, But It Could Have Been A Lot Highher: percentages of 25 and equally 50 were also on the table.
“This does Make Dutch Products More Exensive for Americans Than American Products, So There May Be Less Trade Activity,” Clock Continues. “But for the time being, I have not seen trade with the us collapse.”