Amsterdam stock exchange down 2% following Trump's latest tariff hike
The AEX index in Amsterdam fell by almost 2 percent at the opening on Thursday, responding to the latest American import tariff hikes announced by Donald Trump on Wednesday. Almost all funds started in the red. Banks ABN Amro (-4%) and ING (-3%) took the biggest hits. Chip machine companies ASML, Besi and ASMI were also in the red.
Trump announced a minimum duty of 10 percent on imports to the US for all countries worldwide. For the EU, that is double. For several other countries, the percentage is considerably higher. Vietnam, for example, is looking at 46 percent. The minimum duty takes effect on Sunday, the rest on Wednesday. The previously introduced tariffs on steel and aluminum will remain in effect and will not increase.
The announcement was felt by stock exchanges worldwide. The AEX was listed at 887.56 points in morning trading, well below the 900 mark. The MidKap fell 0.2 percent to 847.89 points. Frankfurt and Paris lost up to 1.9 percent. The London stock exchange fell 1.2 percent.
Chip companies ASML, Besi, and ASMI lost up to 3.5 percent, despite the fact that Trump’s new import duties do not apply to chips and pharmaceutical products. Trump previously said he wanted to introduce specific import duties for these goods.
ABN Amro and ING fell due to fears that the trade war would damage the economy. Steel company ArcelorMittal, which is sensitive to import duties, fell 2.5 percent.
Adidas plummeted 9 percent. The German sports brand makes many of its shoes in Vietnam, which is facing an American import tariff of 46 percent.
