Interview: U.S. tariff measures leading to trade war with no winner, says Croatian analyst

ZAGREB, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The tariff measures introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump are fueling a trade war with no winner, and the American middle class will bear the brunt of the consequences, a Croatian economic analyst has said.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Damir Novotny, professor and head of the Department of Management and Marketing at the Edward Bernays University of Applied Sciences in Zagreb, warned that the tariffs and trade barriers imposed by the Trump administration are triggering a "huge confrontation" between the United States and the European Union, as well as a looming trade war among the world's major economies.

"There will be no winner in a trade war," Novotny said, adding that history has shown that this old-fashioned mercantilist policy never yields positive results.

While the Trump administration argues that tariffs will stimulate U.S. economic growth, protect jobs, and benefit American companies and workers, Novotny believes the opposite is more likely to happen.

"I do not see any positive outcome in terms of the goals set by the Trump administration to increase investment and employment in the United States. It will not happen," he said. "Therefore, I would say this policy makes no economic sense at all."

Novotny pointed out that tariffs are already driving up prices in the United States, fueling inflation, and unsettling financial markets.

"If the Trump administration continues on this path, in the end, it is the middle and working class in the United States that will suffer the most," he said. Citing U.S. media reports and economic research, he noted that most of the economic burden falls on American consumers, with the negative effects of tariffs already evident in the U.S. market.

As the trade tensions escalate and domestic economic pressures mount, Novotny said he believes the Trump administration will eventually be forced to shift course and seek a compromise with the world's major economies.