Chip machinery maker Besi, medical technology company Philips, oil giant Shell and semiconductor specialist ASM International were among the biggest losers on the AEX blue chip index on Wednesday, which was down 3% by mid-afternoon as the escalating trade war rattled markets.

EU leaders have now agreed a €22 billion package of retaliatory measures in response to US president Donald Trump’s 25% import tariff on steel products, introduced last month.

All 27 member states except Hungary voted in favour of imposing “rebalancing” duties of between 10% and 25% on a range of American products, said to include tobacco, meat, cosmetics and soy.

“The EU considers US tariffs unjustified and damaging, causing economic harm to both sides, as well as the global economy,” the European Commission said in a statement. “The EU has stated its clear preference to find negotiated outcomes with the US, which would be balanced and mutually beneficial.”

The new tariffs will take effect in the coming week, with a second round planned for May and a third in December this year.

Klaas Knot, president of the Dutch central bank, also called on the European Union on Wednesday to remove internal trade barriers between member states in response to the US measures.

“In name, we have a single market,” he said at a central bank conference. “But in reality, there are many trade barriers that make it difficult for companies to operate across borders in Europe.”

The Dutch medicines industry has expressed deep concern about the additional tariffs on pharmaceuticals that Trump is now threatening to introduce. Companies such as Janssen, Organon and MSD have major production facilities in the Netherlands, employing thousands of people.

Relocation

These firms cannot simply relocate to the US, said VIG, the lobby group for the innovative medicines sector. The Netherlands also plays a significant role in packaging US-manufactured medicines and re-exporting them to other countries.

Meanwhile, the Dutch trade and logistics group Evofenedex told news agency ANP on Wednesday that global bookings for sea containers bound for the US had slumped by 67% since the start of the trade conflict.

The decline coincides with the tariffs announced by Trump on 2 April. In the week before the announcement, 516,000 containers were booked for shipment to the US, but the following week that figure dropped to just 169,000.