Germany’s economy minister and the auto industry criticized United States President, Donald Trump’s plan to impose a 25% tariff on car imports, calling it a “fatal signal” for free and rules-based trade.
On Wednesday, Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on all imported vehicles and foreign-made auto parts, set to take effect on April 2.
The tariffs, part of a broader push on levies starting next week, mark a significant escalation in the ongoing global trade dispute.
German Economy Minister, Robert Habeck, urged the European Union to deliver a “decisive response,” warning that the tariffs would harm both the U.S. and the EU, as well as global trade.
“The announcement of high tariffs on cars and car parts is bad news for German carmakers, for the German economy, for the EU, but also for the US,” Habeck said Thursday in a Google-translated statement.
“It is now crucial that the EU delivers a decisive response to the tariffs – it must be clear that we will not back down in the face of the US . Strength and self-confidence are required,” he added.
European auto stocks fell sharply on Thursday morning, following a decline in Asian auto shares overnight.
French car parts supplier Valeo was down 5%, on Thursday, while Milan-listed Stellantis and Germany’s Porsche fell around 4%.
“The announced additional US tariffs of 25% on all passenger cars and light commercial vehicles not manufactured in the US send a fatal signal for free, rules-based trade,” Hildegard Müller, president of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), said in a statement out Wednesday.
VDA’s Müller emphasized the economic importance of free and fair trade for both sides of the transatlantic partnership and urged immediate U.S.-EU negotiations on a bilateral agreement.
