Tariffs proposed by Trump could have a huge impact on the Merseyside economy, an expert has warned.
The world awaits President Trump’s announcement detailing the new tariffs at 9pm tonight (April 2).
The already proposed 25% tariffs being placed on aluminium and steel exports by the Trump administration saw a huge stock market reaction.
The new proposals tonight will discuss 25% tariffs on car and car part imports, set to come into play soon.
Dr Balazs Murakozy, senior lecturer of economics at the University of Liverpool, has said that the newly proposed tariffs could be devastating for the local economy.
The US is the UK’s second largest export market for cars built in the UK after the European Union.
Many manufacturers are within a one-hour drive from the Liverpool city region and include names such as Toyota, GM and Bentley.
America is Liverpool city region’s biggest export market, worth nearly £2 billion, and this is what Dr Murakozy believes will be the issue for the local economy.
“Merseyside is an important platform for UK-US trade.
“Large amounts of goods leave from the UK to the US through Liverpool’s ports and if that flow becomes smaller that will affect negatively the port and the people working there,” said Dr Murakozy.
Fellow experts have suggested that 25,000 jobs could be put a risk nationally and, with so many manufacturers being based close by, there are bound to be huge impacts on Merseyside.
However, there is a possible upside IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research) research fellow Pranesh Narayanan has said to the Independent that these tariffs could be a turning point for governmental industrial strategy.
He states that it could cause an increase in the production of green automotives and planes in Britain, which is a currently hugely untapped sector.
