Economics
Trump's Auto Tariffs Threat Targets Heart of German Economy
- VW, BMW, Mercedes have most at stake from potential car levies
- German business leader labels Trump’s warning a ‘provocation’
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U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to levy tariffs on imported vehicles aims at the heart of Germany’s export-led economy, further straining relations between the two long-standing allies.
While Trump didn’t specifically point to Germany when calling for an investigation into protections for the U.S. auto industry on national security grounds, he didn’t have to. Past statements have made clear that he resents the country’s trade surplus, which amounted to 14.2 billion euros ($16.7 billion) last year for Germany’s auto industry. That means any levies on imported autos stands to hit Volkswagen AG, BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG especially hard. Shares of all three companies dropped.