Associated Press
President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he departs after the presentation of the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point football team, in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, May 6, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
- President Donald Trump's tariffs have already had a significant affect on companies operating across several industries.
- These multi-industry companies will suffer further declines in profitability should the trade war escalate, according to a report from RBC.
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The companies that operate across multiple industries are likely to suffer from an escalating trade war.
President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to raise the tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 25%, and slap a fresh 25% tariff on another $325 billion worth of Chinese goods. The new tariffs are set to go in place on Friday.
In response, China has decided to continue trade talks scheduled for this week in Washington, after previously threatening to cancel them. Stock-market volatility has increased markedly on the news, with the S&P 500 falling sharply at Monday's open before recovering throughout the day. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down more than 1.5% as trade worries persisted.
Multi-industry companies are particularly at risk to new tariffs as many have significant sales exposure to China, according to RBC analyst Deane Dray. These include US conglomerates such as 3M and Honeywell, as well as several other smaller companies.
"We emphasize that most Multi-Industry companies had already conservatively included the List 3 tariff hike in 2019 guidance frameworks," Dray wrote. "We also have no visibility on the goods that would fall under the newly-revealed $325 billion bucket,"
She added: "That said, the bottom line is that the deterioration in US-China negotiations threatens to prolong the pain of the global trade war and exacerbate the slowing economic growth across both countries."
Markets Insider has highlighted companies from RBC's report below, ranked by sales exposure: