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Trump Threatens to Hike Tariffs on European Cars
President Donald Trump has escalated the possibility of a global trade war by threatening to boost taxes on European cars.
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President Donald Trump has escalated the likelihood of a global trade war by threatening to boost taxes on European cars.
On Thursday Trump said he intended to impose import tariffs of 10% on aluminum and 25% on steel, beginning today. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker responded on Friday by declaring the EU would retaliate with its own tariffs on American-made blue jeans, bourbon and motorcycles.
That prompted Trump to revive an earlier threat to hike taxes on vehicles imported from Europe. Cars and trucks assembled there currently face U.S. levies of 2.5% and 25%, respectively. The EU levies a 10% tax on vehicles imported from the U.S. and elsewhere.
Last year the U.S. trade deficit on cars and components from Germany was $64.3 billion, compared with $65 billion in 2016 and $75 billion in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Trump didn’t specify the size of the automotive tariff he has in mind. But early last year he threatened to slap a 35% “border tax” on German-brand vehicles.
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