Economics
Trump’s $25 Billion Problem With Germany’s Carmakers
- Germany’s automotive export surplus could fuel trade tension
- Trump is weighing tariffs on auto imports on security grounds
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As Volkswagen AG and other German automakers await President Donald Trump’s decision on whether to impose tariffs on vehicles imported into the U.S., new figures on Germany’s trade in cars will do little to ease the tension.
The home of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche generated a surplus of 22 billion euros ($25 billion) in automotive trade with U.S. last year, according to a breakdown of data from the Federal Statistics Office. That’s roughly in line with the previous two years, but down from the 27 billion-euro surplus in 2015.