Half of the companies from the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association say that the tariffs on the import of commodities announced by US President Donald Trump are not going to affect their businesses directly.

One-third of the employers questioned say that the 20% tariffs will affect them negatively, 10% say they will be affected negatively by the 25% tariffs on cars and auto parts, and the tariffs on steel, aluminium and their derivatives. The representative survey was conducted among 620 companies, and was posted on the Association’s website.

Around 150 companies say that the tariffs announced by the US president affect their business because they are part of the chain of supply towards the Netherlands, Germany and Austria which export Bulgarian textile products, auto parts and stationary lifting machines and equipment. There are around 120 Bulgarian companies with direct exports to the US – mostly manufacturing cosmetics, hydraulic cylinders, knitwear etc. In accounting for the direct effects to businesses, 180 employers predict a drop in production, with half of them expecting the drop to be no more than 5%. However, the remainder fear that this drop may reach up to 30%.