Wall Street bosses fear anti-American backlash as Trump's trade war intensifies

NEW YORK/LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - Wall Street bosses are girding for Europe to sideline American investment banks in response to the tariff war unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump, fearing client boycotts and in a worst-case scenario, even formal restrictions.

More than half a dozen senior bankers and advisers told Reuters they are bracing for European Union governments and companies to do more business with home lenders, which could quickly dent their market share.

Two bank industry groups have discussed how Europe could act to restrict U.S. banks' activities in the region, two people said, and at least two major banks have also held internal talks on the matter, according to two senior executives. All requested anonymity because the discussions are private.

One such tool at the EU's disposal is the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), conceived in 2021 amid rising concerns at the time about the weaponization of trade by the U.S. and China. The ACI enables the bloc to place restrictions on foreign financial services companies, limiting their access to EU markets.

Meanwhile, in a sign of possible anti-U.S. sentiment, French President Emmanuel Macron called for European companies to suspend planned investment in the United States following Trump's sweeping tariffs.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, asked if he was seeing any anti-American sentiment among clients in an interview with Fox Business’ "Mornings with Maria" on Wednesday, said:

"We've lost a couple of bond deals already...they simply say that, you know, we'd rather just do this with a local bank than with a U.S. bank."

EU countries on Wednesday approved the bloc's first countermeasures against the United States, joining China and Canada in retaliatory moves that could tip the world into recession. Following those announcements, Trump said he would temporarily lower new tariffs o...
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