Donald Trump Elected President - Sheffield Chamber Reaction

9th November 2016

Richard Wright, Executive Director of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce said: "Donald Trump's election as President of the United States can only bring more uncertainty to markets building on those already existing in the world economy.

It's very difficult to say what will actually happen, or where it will all end up after things settle down. "Mr Trump has made some interesting commitments through his campaign including a prediction that the US will grow at 5%, that he will renegotiate - or even cancel - the national debt, and that he will drastically cut taxes and expenditure. Obviously, any of these will have fundamental effects on the world economy because, despite Mr Trump's protectionist approach, the world is now an integrated economy. "An area where I do have some sympathy with him is his concern about the trade deficit and its effect on national debt. Both the USA and the UK are trading in the world at a loss and ultimately this has to catch up with us. I have listened to many politicians of all parties in the UK talking continuously about the distribution of wealth, demanding that we spend more on health, education, welfare and infrastructure but what happens when there is no wealth left to distribute. In my opinion we are operating as a country with our head in the sand. "Europe is no better and possibly worse because of the differentials across it. Getting new agreements in Europe is far too difficult because there are too many countries with different vested interests. We are on a course to leave Europe albeit probably not completely. Mr Trump has spoken about cancelling, or re-negotiating, the free trade agreement proposal between Europe and the USA. Could that mean we are in a better position to get a deal with the USA on our own? -The USA election and the Brexit referendum were surprises to lots of people but voted for by people who had had enough of the establishment, felt they had nothing to lose, and want something different. Are our political establishments here, in Europe and in the USA capable of delivering that change? "Mr Trump's election will not make our challenges go away. It is certainly not an excuse for us to lose focus on tackling them."

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