Trump threatens 20% tariff on EU car imports
US President posted his threat on Twitter the day European Union reprisals took effect against US tariffs on European steel and aluminum
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to escalate a trade war with Europe by imposing a 20 per cent tariff on all US imports of European Union-assembled cars.
Trump posted his threat on Twitter the day European Union reprisals took effect against US tariffs on European steel and aluminum. The EU targeted $3.2 billion in American goods exported to the 28-member bloc.
“If these Tariffs and Barriers are not soon broken down and removed, we will be placing a 20% Tariff on all of their cars coming into the U.S. Build them here!” Trump wrote. A month ago, the administration launched a probe into whether auto imports pose a national security threat.
The United States currently imposes a 2.5 per cent tariff on imported passenger cars from the European Union and a 25 per cent tariff on imported pickup trucks. The EU imposes a 10 per cent tariff on imported US cars.
German automakers Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG and BMW AG build vehicles at plants in the United States. Industry data shows German automakers build more vehicles in southern US states that voted for Trump than they ship to the United States from Germany.
The European Autos Stocks Index fell sharply after Trump’s tweet and closed down 0.5 per cent. Shares of US automakers Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co fell immediately after Trump’s tweet but rebounded and closed higher. The Commerce Department has scheduled two days of public comments in July in its probe of the national security implications of imported automobiles and auto parts. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Thursday the department aims to wrap up the probe by late July or August, but added the probe is in its “early stages.”
Last month, Evercore ISI said in a research note that a 25 per cent import tariff on auto imports “would pretty much destroy the business of importing cars from Europe/China” to America.
Major automakers and at least two dozen auto suppliers are gearing up to file written comments sharply opposing the tariffs before a June 29 deadline. US auto executives said privately they have spent months looking at the potential impacts to sales of new tariffs, and they view the presidential tweet as a sign significant new tariffs appear likely.
Trump has launched or threatened an array of trade measures, saying he aims to create US jobs and protect domestic industries.
He has threatened duties on up to $450 billion of imports from China. Such a move could raise prices for American consumers and businesses and hit global supply chains for industries like carmakers and electronics. Chinese reprisals have hit American farmers already.
Trump’s trade policies have also escalated conflict with Canada and Mexico as he seeks to renegotiate the $1.1 trillion North American Free Trade Agreement. German automakers did not comment on Trump’s tweet. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, representing major US and European automakers, said “tariffs raise vehicle prices... limit consumer choice and invite retaliatory action by our trading partners. Automakers support reducing trade barriers across the board.”
German auto industry association VDA said Germany exported 657,000 cars to North America, 7 per cent less than a year earlier, and 200,000 fewer cars than in 2013.
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