Euro risks falling into parity with dollar amid trade war fears | World | News

The euro could crash to its lowest value since late 2022 as fears mount Donald Trump will impose brutal import tariffs on European Union imports when he takes office in January.

The bloc’s currency has shown some jittery signs in response to the President-elect’s pledges on international trade, with the euro sinking below $1.04 against the dollar on Friday, the Guardian reports.

There are fears the value of the currency could plummet further to level-pegging with the US dollar if Mr Trump’s feared economic protectionist policy becomes a reality.

Brussels is worried Washington will hit EU goods heading to the US with a tariff of at least 10 percent next year which could seriously harm manufacturing economies such as Germany, the richest nation on the continent.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a bid to placate the incoming President Trump by announcing Europe could start importing liquefied natural gas from the US instead of from Russia.

Mr Trump has mooted the idea of a 10 percent to 20 percent levy on European goods, and a huge 60 percent to 100 percent tariff on imports coming from China, sparking global jitters in the markets.

However, some analysts are seeing Mr Trump’s choice of Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, as a potential moderating influence on any extreme trade tactics.

Mr Bessent, 62, a billionaire hedge-fund manager, has spent his career in finance and his nomination has been one of the most anticipated by financial markets in recent days.

The proposed choice of Mr Bessent has been interpreted “as a sign that President-elect Trump might adopt a more measured approach to tariffs and fiscal policy”.

Stephen Innex, from SPI Asset Management said: “Bessent’s influence is expected to bring nuanced economic strategies to the forefront, potentially easing concerns over abrupt policy shifts.”

Ivan Rogers, the former British ambassador to the EU, said that Britain has to make a choice between the EU and the US in the coming months when it comes to international trade focus.

He told the Observer: “Any free trade agreement that Trump and his team could ever propose to the UK would have to contain major proposals on US access to the UK agricultural market and on veterinary standards.

“It would not pass Congress without them. If the UK signed on the dotted line, that’s the end of the Starmer proposed veterinary deal with the EU. You can’t have both: you have to choose.”