Trade war with Europe puts $9.5 tn at risk, U.S. firms say

The escalating trade war between the U.S. and Europe threatens a commercial relationship that is worth an estimated $9.5 trillion in two-way trade and investment, say American businesses caught in the crossfire.

- Kim Mackrael

The American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union, which represents U.S. companies that operate in Europe, said tariffs risk damaging far more than just sales of goods that are directly taxed. They could also harm trans-Atlantic investments, which are more than three times as valuable.

Two-way trade in goods between the U.S. and Europe, including the U.K., hit a record of about $1.3 trillion last year, while total trade in services between the two economies was estimated at more than $750 billion, AmCham EU said in a report published Monday.

But sales by companies that have invested across the Atlantic were far higher, the report said. European affiliate sales in the U.S. were likely above $3.5 trillion and U.S. affiliate sales in Europe were likely more than $4 trillion last year, according to estimates from the report's authors.