U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on January 16, 2026 in Washington, DC.
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US President Donald Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on several European allies, putting industries and businesses in the region on high alert.
President Trump on Saturday pledged to impose 10% tariffs on Britain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland by February 1, stepping up efforts to make the Danish territory of Greenland part of the United States.
President Trump said taxes on these countries would increase to 25% starting June 1.
European political leaders are expected to hold emergency talks in the coming days to consider their response, with retaliatory measures and broader punitive economic policies reportedly also on the table.
CNBC highlights some of the sectors expected to be most exposed to President Trump’s tariffs.
car
European automakers were hit hard last year by President Donald Trump’s volatile trade policies, and they are believed to be at great risk again.
The automotive sector is widely considered to be highly vulnerable to the levy, particularly given the high degree of globalization of its supply chain and dependence on manufacturing operations across North America.
german volkswagen, BMWand mercedes benz group As of Monday morning, all stocks were down more than 2.5%, with some listed on Milan. Stellantis The last seen was a decline of about 2.1%.
Mohit Kumar, chief European economist at Jefferies, said President Trump’s tariffs were a clear negative development for Germany’s economic outlook, traditionally seen as Europe’s growth engine.
“If tariffs are implemented, of course we’ll have to see what the geopolitical situation is, but the chemical, industrial and automotive sectors will be the most affected. That translates directly to German growth,” Kumar told CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition” on Monday.
Of the eight European countries threatened by President Trump’s Greenland tariffs, Germany has by far the largest trade surplus with the United States, followed by France and the United Kingdom, according to data from the EU’s statistics agency Eurostat.
luxury
Luxury stocks were seen as largely insulated from the U.S.-EU trade tensions in the first quarter of last year, given their strong pricing power and ability to pass additional costs on to consumers.
But analysts warned at the time that the tariffs could cause a broader economic downturn, with ripple effects even for the wealthiest shoppers.
July 22, 2025, Christian Dior luxury store in Paris.
Cyril Marcilhassy/Bloomberg via Getty Images
President Trump’s tariff proposal singles out France, home to industrial leaders, along with seven other European countries. LVMH and kering.
LVMH and Kering shares fell about 3.5% and 2.6% on Monday morning. Luxury group including Switzerland RichemontItalian brunello cucinelliand the British burberryalso fell.
pharmaceutical
Given that medicines and medicines are the EU’s largest exports to the US, Europe’s pharmaceutical sector could face significant impacts from the US tariff proposals.
EU pharmaceutical exports to the United States amounted to 84.4 billion euros ($98.1 billion) in the first three quarters of last year, more than machinery and machine parts (68.3 billion euros) and organic chemicals (66.3 billion euros) in the same period, Eurostat data showed.
Some of Europe’s biggest companies in the sector fell slightly following President Trump’s latest tariff threat on Monday morning.
Denmark’s Novo Nordisk fell 2.1% and Switzerland’s Novo Nordisk fell 2.1%. Roche France fell by 0.3%. sanofi Shares fell 0.9% in early trading. based in switzerland NovartisMeanwhile, the stock traded 0.3% higher.
energy
European oil and gas inventories may also be indirectly affected by President Trump’s recent tariff threats due to factors such as weak global demand, falling oil prices, and increased supply chain costs.
crude oil price Stocks fell slightly on growing concerns about the trade war between the US and Europe and what this could mean for global demand.
Norwegian Equinor was one of the sector’s leading decliners on Monday, falling about 3.4%. french total energyBritish shelland blood pressure Each decreased between 1% and 1.5%.
A storage tank at the Northern Lights carbon capture and storage project, managed by Equinor ASA, Shell and Total Energy SE, in Bromoina, Norway, Friday, January 19, 2024.
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Ozan Ozkrar, founder and managing partner of Tanto Capital, said President Trump’s recent tariff threats were not unexpected and warned of wider implications for the European sector.
“Welcome to 2026. I think this is going to be the year where we talk more about what it means for the United States not to play games with our traditional allies,” Ozkral said Monday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”
“It will affect oil prices, commodity prices, stock markets, bond markets, private credit. You name it, we have it,” Ozkral said.
