10 Biggest Losers of a Global Trade War

Only time will tell whether a much-ballyhooed global trade war will end up becoming a reality.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Only time will tell whether a much-ballyhooed global trade war will end up becoming a reality. While President Donald Trump exempted Canada and Mexico from significant tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, he otherwise didn’t back down, at least setting the stage for a commerce-based battle.

Canada’s trade relationship with the United States still isn’t exactly on a firm footing following an accusation from Boeing (BA) that Canadian-based aircraft maker Bombardier dumped underpriced jets in the U.S. market. Meanwhile, the European Union has threatened to impose stiff tariffs on U.S.-made peanut butter and orange juice should the United States press the matter. Russia is less than pleased with trade sanctions levied against it in August of last year.

Perhaps the fiscal brouhaha is already underway ... just in a very veiled fashion.

Whatever the case, with a wave of populism sweeping over most of the world’s top country-based economies (Brexit was ultimately about money, and even China’s President Xi Jinping brings his own unique brand of populism to the communist state), trade wars on some level are at least a real possibility going forward.

That naturally could have a significant effect on several popular publicly traded companies. Here are 10 stocks that could be most vulnerable to a prolonged, trade-based conflict.

Disclaimer

Data is as of March 12, 2018. Click on ticker-symbol links in each slide for current share prices and more.

James Brumley
Contributing Writer, Kiplinger.com
James Brumley is a former stock broker, registered investment adviser and Director of Research for an options-focused newsletter. He's now primarily a freelance writer, tapping more than a decade's worth of broad experience to help investors get more out of the market. With a background in technical analysis as well as fundamental analysis, James touts stock-picking strategies that combine the importance of company performance with the power of stock-trade timing. He believes this dual approach is the only way an investor has a shot at consistently beating the market. James' work has appeared at several websites including Street Authority, Motley Fool, Kapitall and Investopedia. When not writing as a journalist, James works on his book explaining his multi-pronged approach to investing.