Europe Imperils U.S. Sales From Chemicals to PCs: Economy

American exporters from Dow Chemical Co. to Hewlett-Packard Co. are preparing for a further decline in demand from Europe as the region’s deepening debt crisis threatens to derail a source of strength for the U.S. economy.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its forecast for second-quarter growth to 2 percent from 2.5 percent last week, in part because of a deteriorating trade balance. Earlier this month, it lowered its third-quarter estimate to 2 percent from 3 percent, “with much of the downward revision accounted for by an expectation that the pace of export growth will slow,” chief U.S. economist Michael Feroli said in a June 1 research note.