Sales of metalwork products to the US fall 15%

The Executive Vice President of the Association of Metallurgical, Metalworking and Allied Industries of Portugal (AIMMAP), Rafael Campos Pereira, says that direct exports from the sector to the United States fell by about 15% in the first half of the year.

The Portuguese sector’s exposure to the US market is just 3% overall, but there is a “potential negative impact” because of indirect exports to markets such as Germany, France, and Italy, among others.

“This impact is very difficult to calculate, particularly in short cycles”; says Rafael Campos Pereira.

He said that the 15% tariff from the United States on the European Union “affects” some steel products, but warned that a 50% tariff applies to many other products exported by Portugal’s metallurgical and metal-mechanical sector.

In his view, this commercial policy followed by the Americans “strongly restricts” access to the US market, and also aims to “protect” the US industry in general and some clusters in particular.

Rafael Campos Pereira recalls that more than 57% of the sector’s exports to the US comprised metallic products, machinery and equipment.

The executive vice president of AIMMAP places Metal Portugal (the AIMMAP brand) as the “main industrial force” in a sector that is responsible for “fundamental contributions” to wealth creation, job creation, investment, and innovation, among other key indicators for the economic development of the country.

“It is therefore crucial that the negotiations between the European Commission and the Trump Administration come to fruition, fulfilling some of the aims presented in the recent Joint Declaration made by the two blocs.”

Source: Jornal Económico