LONDON (Reuters) -The sharp increase in U.S. trade tariffs on European Union member countries won't trigger immediate sovereign rating cut, but could compound existing pressures, Fitch said on Tuesday.
One of Fitch's top sovereign analysts, Ed Parker, said the U.S.'s baseline tariff of 15% on imports from the EU was in line with assumptions the rating agency has had since March and therefore did not "materially shift" its economic forecasts.
Nevertheless, the 15% rate is a huge increase relative to the 1.2% rate of last year, he said.
"We don’t expect the increase in the tariff rate to directly drive EU rating changes on its own, but it could compound existing credit pressures," Parker told Reuters.
(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Amanda Cooper)
