During the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Washington, which took place in May, it was said that restrictions on the import of German cars were being prepared. The American counterpart therefore primarily wants to support the domestic automotive industry.
Last week, Trump tasked his administration to think about how to achieve the aforementioned goal. German news agency Wirtschaftswoche reports that there could be an import tax increase of up to 25% on European cars.
If that were to happen, the German brands, whose premium models control 90% of the American market, could come to the conclusion that exporting cars to American soil is no longer financially worthwhile. In addition, Germany is the largest exporter of automobiles to the U.S. In terms of numbers, that means automakers produced 804,000 vehicles in America last year, and 657,000 were imported.
And why is Trump suddenly so outraged? It all started in January of last year, when he said in an interview that he was very dissatisfied when he saw how many Mercedes were parked on Fifth Avenue in New York. He literally said, “If you walk down Fifth Avenue, everyone has a Mercedes-Benz in front of their house. How many Chevrolets will you see on German streets? Maybe not even one…”
If Trump really keeps his word and takes appropriate steps to limit imports, it could be the beginning of a trade war, as Germany itself has already pointed out.
