Trump's tariff terror and their impact on the renewable energy sector                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

U.S. President Trump recently announced an entire suite of new tariffs on almost every country and territory in the world - set between 10 & 50% depending on what seems like a confusing set of criteria - and that already have companies operating in a vast range of sectors panicking; tech companies, solar & wind developers alike are all waiting with baited breath to navigate the uncertainty that these tariffs could bring.

Expected to be hit the hardest, however, is the renewable energy sector - specifically wind, solar and even electric vehicles - as wind turbines rely on components obtained from all over the world, even if they’re usually assembled in the U.S.

The same is true for solar panels and batteries as a 25% tariff on imports could raise the cost of building onshore wind turbines by 10% and renewable energy overall by 7% where most of Trump’s tariffs actually exceed 25% so, in reality, a 7% industry rise is actually the best case scenario!

What’s more, tech companies who need to expand their energy-hungry data centres to accommodate increased demands - especially as AI advancements take the world by storm - will inevitably suffer due to increasing energy costs and declining supply.

Probably lesser known, the impact on the EV industry is also expected to be great as the metals and materials used to create batteries and other key resources associated with electric vehicles such as charging points come from all over the world and, as such, importing these materials will come at a significantly higher cost.  

This of course feels like a deliberate attack on the renewable energy sector in the wake of Trump’s Paris Agreement stunt - quitting the agreement just days after taking on the presidency - as well as his comments on ‘liquid gold’ and making it easier to drill for oil.

Indeed, Trump is famously pro-fossil fuels and, alongside these tariffs, comes tariff exceptions on imports of oil, gas, and refined products, alleviating fears for refiners that rely on crude oil imports.

Interestingly, however targeted the tariffs may or may not be towards deliberately failing the renewable energy sector and boosting fossil fuels, even fossil fuel companies are sweating at the news of the tariffs as - just 1 day after the announcement - oil prices plummeted as investors worry the tariffs will slow economic growth and lower fuel demand, not just in the U.S. but around the world.

A bizarre move from Trump, these tariffs have only so-far served to harm the U.S. economy, productivity and confidence in, not only Trump, but also U.S. markets - a potentially catastrophic introduction by a retrogressive and isolating President.