The prospect of Donald Trump imposing a raft of new tariffs if he wins next month’s US presidential election has hit the shares of export-sensitive European companies such as carmakers and luxury goods groups. A basket of 28 European stocks exposed to US tariffs compiled by Barclays has tumbled 7 per cent since late September as the former president’s odds of an election victory shorten.
Trump has said he will introduce steep levies on imported goods, setting tariffs at 20 per cent for Europe and 60 per cent for China, prompting the IMF to warn that his policies would endanger global growth. Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy at Barclays, said markets were being driven by the growing likelihood implied by prediction markets that the Republicans will secure a so-called red sweep, taking the presidency and both houses of Congress.