BRUSSELS — One of Europe’s most powerful business lobby groups is worried a second Trump presidency will punish the European Union’s businesses for being green — warning the so-called Brussels effect might not be enough to protect them.
Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for U.S. president, has promised to increase tariffs on foreign imports if he wins the election on Nov. 5. That’s “a major concern” for European companies, said Luisa Santos, deputy director general at the industry association BusinessEurope.
These tariffs “will impact everything, including potentially green goods or goods that could be used also in addressing climate change,” she said, noting that it will also increase competition with China.
The competition with Chinese producers on sustainability is already “very harsh,” Santos said, taking the example of the production of electric vehicles.
