President Trump’s sweeping tariff for cars sparked a sharp reaction on Thursday from Germany, which called on the European Union to return with a “steady response” to measures that would “harm the United States and the European Union, and global trade as a whole.”
Mr. Trump announced on Wednesday that it will impose a 25 percent tariff on cars and auto parts that are shipped to the United States, putting pressure on the best trade allies in America all over the world. The customs duties, which he said are permanent, will enter into force on April 3.
The United States is a decisive car manufacturer in Germany, which ships vehicles from car manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen to American merchants.
“It should be clear that we will not back down,” Robert Habik, Minister of Economy in Germany, He said in a statement about x. “Power and self -confidence is required.”
He added that Germany will support the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, because it is negotiating with the United States to find a solution that achieves an introductory cycle.
France’s Finance Minister Eric Lombard described Mr. Trump as “very bad news” and said that the only alternative is to increase Europe from the tariff of its cars on US car imports.
The announcement of Mr. Trump, which will be applied to the final cars and trucks that are shipped to the United States and to imported auto parts, have sent shares from German auto manufacturers on Thursday. The shares of the Italian luxury automotive company Ferrari and the Swedish manufacturer Volvo also declined. ROUTH included European auto parts as well as Pirelli and Continental tire producers.
One of the companies facing the largest pain is the German car maker BMW. He said in a statement on Thursday that the trade war “will not have any benefits”, and called on the European Union and the United States to “find a deal across the Atlantic Ocean immediately, which creates growth and prevents a whirlpool from isolation and commercial barriers.”
The possibility of the War War set will have widespread effects. “The effects of this step are clearly harmful, and they are likely to lead to more revenge and second procedures by the affected countries,” analysts in Bernstein said in a note to customers.
Analysts indicated that car manufacturers have a choice of absorbing the cost of definitions or transferring them to consumers. They wrote that prices may rise to $ 12,000 per car, and “the resulting inflation may pressure the Trump administration to decline.”
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association said in a statement that Mr. Trump’s tariff strikes the European auto industry at a time when it faces a shift and increased international competition.
“European auto manufacturers have been investing in the United States for decades, creating job opportunities, enhancing economic growth in local communities, and generating huge tax revenues for the US government,” said the group’s general manager, Sigrid de VRIES. “We urge President Trump to consider the negative impact of definitions not only on global auto manufacturers but also to US local manufacturing.”
Hildgard Muller, head of the main lobby group in the automotive industry, VDA, described customs duties as a “fatal signal of free trade and bases.”
In a statement, the definitions “represent a great burden of both companies and global supply chains closely intertwined for the auto industry – with negative consequences for consumers in particular, including in North America.”
She added: “The danger of World War War, with negative consequences for the global economy, growth, prosperity, jobs and consumer prices is very high.”
Melissa Edi The reports contributed.