Europe Has $200 Billion Treasury Leverage Over US, Study Argues

Europe’s outsized holdings of US Treasuries give it significant sway in any future standoff with President Donald Trump, according to new research.

If nations in the region including the UK were to end the privileged treatment of US government debt in banking and insurance regulations, demand for those bonds would fall by about $200 billion over a decade, a study by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy said on Tuesday. That would add as much as $42 billion per year to US fiscal costs because of rising yields.

“Europe holds significant and under-appreciated financial leverage over the United ...