President Donal Trump received the findings this week from a US Commerce Department investigation into whether or not imported automobiles pose a national security threat to the United States of America. The government is remaining tight-lipped on the findings of the report, but the European Union is already issuing warnings to the Trump administration with regard to auto tariffs.
Speaking to media in Brussels this week, European Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said the EU would “react in a swift and adequate manner,” if the Trump administration were to impose a tariff on vehicles imported from Europe. According to Bloomberg, auto industry experts expect the report to recommend the US impose a 20 percent to 25 percent import tariff on assembled cars and parts.
Germany would be hit the hardest by auto tarriffs, with Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen group all selling a large number of vehicles in the US that are manufactured in the EU. According to Bloomberg, the EU estimates that a 25 percent tariff would add just over $11,000 on average to the price of a car manufactured outside of the United States.
BMW plant in South Carolina
German chancellor Angela Merkel has spoke against the proposed tariffs and referenced BMW’s factory in South Carolina when defending the German auto industry.
“If these cars – which are no less a threat than those built in Bavaria – are suddenly a national security threat to the U.S., then that’s a shock to us,” she said.
According to National Automobile Dealer Association obtained by Bloomberg, auto tariffs could potentially raise the price of domestically-built cars by $2,270 on average, as suppliers are sometimes located abroad.
Trump said he was studying potential auto tariffs following General Motors job cuts and restructuring late last year – a move that could help save American jobs, he said.
The Trump administration has 90 days to decide whether or not to act on the findings of the US Commerce Department report.
(source: Bloomberg)
Comments
The ultimate driving machine can only compete with a 25-percent tariff on US made cars.
It’s not enough that we spend tens of $Billions each year to protect these countries in the European Union and they aren’t willing to be fair with us in business.. this is why Trump threatens to leave NATO and Germany’s Angela Merkel buys oil and natural gas from Russia instead of the United States which means Germany is putting money in Putin’s pocket to buy more weapons.
Europe is an American colony. The US wants Europe weak to prevent a repeat of WW1 or 2. Our leaders didn’t want to compete with a re-armed Europe or Japan.
Throughout the Cold War Germany bought gas from USSR. Geography is destiny and cheaper than shipped in fuel. Also the purchase gives Europe some power over Russia which would be lost if Putin only sold to China.
Trump makes things look way to simple and overlooks history in favor of child-like instant gratification.
Steve says:
“Europe is an American colony.”
ROFLMAO
Ever thought of becoming a comedian?
Not going to hurt GM much.
Taxes for US-built cars in EU are not only tarrifs mentioned here. In Poland there’s excise Tax for engines bigger than 2.0L and 23% VAT. IT makes every new US-car expensive as hell. I wish I Could afford a new ctsv aviator or vette here 🙁 and I wouldnt mind if usa treated imported vehicles the same way. Foreign automakers have still perfect conditions to build their cars in US. +americans will buy their every product. In Germany People are nationalistic and no matter if their car is crap or a reliable vehicle they will buy it.
Americans are a far more nationalistic and proud bunch than are Germans, yet it’s an American car company that had to be propped up with socialist means.
Maybe Germans prefer their own cars because they really aren’t crap? “Sure a Toyota is a bit more reliable but why buy it if my Passat from the home team isn’t crap either; it handles, is well put together.” Could we really say the same thing for, say, a Cavalier? If the ‘big 3’ had focused on quality, R&D rather than profits in the decades past, other brands would be but a side show in the US today.
Run it like you care about cars and people, not just money. If you do, the money will on its own. Other companies do it all the time.
The bailout was not “socialist”. Every capitalist nation has relied on governmental intervention during crisis.
Furthermore 2007 Detroit product planning was poor, design sub par with at best average quality. Marketing for brands like Pontiac and Chrysler was poor. This gave global brands an advantage.
In Germany VW is like a religion. In the US only fly over America is nationalistic mostly due to addiction to Faux News promoting policy against the America’s interest. We sane coastal people understand that participation in Flag Day is a silly artifact of yesterday and that GOP patriatism is just a scam for the sentimental and naive.
Steve says:
“The bailout was not “socialist””
The post office, the military, medicare, any type of government assistance including bailouts, food stamps…
The US is starting to look just as socialist as Communist China. Lol
Poor Steve, you are so confused.
one of the EU members just needs to nominate trump for a nobel prize in economics to appease him.
i’m looking at you luxembourg.
for all who think that is a stupid comment …
this is exactly what japan did(nobel peace prize) and trump asked them to nominate him.
it was his idea!!! pathetic isn’t it?
Let’s face it we have everything to gain they have everything to lose here.
We have been pinned down with unfair taxes and cost in Europe that prevent imports cheap or easy. Added emissions that also drive up cost.
These things have hilled the import of American products at competitive prices. Most imports are generally what military members sent to protect their country ship in on the goverment dime and leave there.
At this point how will they counter as they send up little we can not work around. On the other hand they need our market as we are a great source of income for them.
Just as with China we need to work a better deal as it is so one sided as China steals our markets not just jobs by driving out many of our production facilities in our country by low balling prices. The also steal our designs and product by making their own versions using out technology paying nothing in return.
Everyone in both parties have let this go on for way too long taking lobbiest money and looking the other way.
You want to talk about collusion you had better look at the folks in DC and China.
The ones pushing the Trans Pacific deal exspecially.
While many sit here and piss and moan over the Buick Envision you had better look at the real larger picture of what is going on.
Yes China can make junk but they also can make I phones and Samsung phones easily. They under cut us at every corner with state sponsored capitalism that supplies cheap labor. Our hope is their middle class would tire of their restrictions but they are still afraid to rise up.
It is now we make a stand or we will continue to fall to just be a nation of service jobs and consumers with declining income and standard of living.
We are the land of opportunity not goverment aide we should preserve that opportunity to out chindren of the future. Life should be what you make of it not just being a panhandler to the government.
It is sad so many come to this country with nothing and make a good life here yet so many who live here only want entitlements.
entitlements and government aid like that trillion dollar tax cut that was supposed to pay for itself or how about those handouts trump is doling out to the farmers. or maybe the handouts states/cities give to corporations bribe them to set up shop.
DC is paid by lobbyists/pacs who in turn are paid by corporations/businesses. china didn’t do anything to us without their help and agreement. so if you want to blame anyone, blame them but that would mean you’d have to look at yourself because you supported them.
so after decades of trickle down economics that has seen the middle class shrink but the rich get insanely rich, some people are finally waking up and they’ve put their faith in trump. he has already conned you with the trickle down tax cut. whatever the outcome, i’m sure he’ll tout it as the greatest deal in american history.
You tend to only address what you want to address as there is dirty money on both sides. The left take just as much or more money than the tight. They not only get Libby money but money from George Soros and all his many tentacles.
They got a lot of support from Maurice Strong. You may be asking who? He is the man who created Hlobal Warming and made billions from it. He also was busted in the UN Sudan food scandal. He moved to China and held out there to push his global warming agenda as he made more money protected by China.
The royal fact is a Trump is not part of the scam that has been going on and it has scared the Hillary Vlintons who thought they had it sewn up. I feel even John Macain was part of all this BS.
Trickle down works if like anything it is managed properly but over the last so many years it has not. I even feel the Bush family is tied to this mess too.
Now we have progressives pushing for more Legal drugs! Like that is going to fix things. Free Collage with no way to pay for it, this week reparations to buy votes.
This country only owns people freedoms with in the conforms of society, they are owed the freedom of opportunity to try to make a life for themselves if they are willing to make the sacrifices and do the work to make it.
Just look to the many Koreans that come to America with nothing but they have a good family core that pushes good work ethics and education. This often leads to most being very successful in this country yet the get attacked in many city areas because they prove the system works. Not something that want people dependent to know.
Like him or not a Trump has exposed those who are out to control us as their plans were disrupted. We see how they have infiltrated our society with preaching late night comedians to news organizations that try to smear what hat you wear vs finding out the true story,
We need to stand our ground in the world. No matter the country when there has been trouble we go in and offer aid. If we fall who will go in?
I am proud of our country and there is no better place to be. It has given me the ability to be a no one from no where to educate myself and make a good living for my family with just persistence, hard work and no goverment aide.
I tire of this country of lazy people on drugs claiming it is an illness or because they are disadvantage. Just watch live PD and see how many warrants are out there because people just will not get their lives together.
My last two generations of family were a mess but my father taught me and showed me the way out. If I can do it anyone can.
1)i’m not going to argue with you about maurice strong and sudan food relief. give me a break.
2)what’s wrong with free college. we found plenty of money for that trillion dollar tax cut or that iraq war disaster. i’m sure you weren’t complaining about paying for those. what is wrong with health insurance for all? america pays 2x as the rest of the world. most civilized countries have solved that problem already.
3)trump is a con artist. pure and simple. he is surrounded by grifters and criminals. but you’ve convinced yourself that he is the turd blossom on the pile of manure that is his presidency.
4)you said you didn’t get any government aid. i doubt that. if you went to college, you got government aid. if you went to college after serving in the military, you got government aid. if you use medicare, that is government aid. everyone thinks government aid is unnecessary until they need it. after a natural disaster, you think anyone is turning down government aid?
5)so you escaped your family’s cycle of poverty … good for you. it is easy to be judgemental when you are looking down at others. but just remember, life can throw you a curveball and you might be the one looking up one day seeking kindness from strangers.
What does any of this have to do with the selling of cars?
Europe as a “nation” or customs union has every right to maintain high standards by way of refusing genetically modified foods, factory farming & protecting the continental environment.
European cities are old, with tiny roads, so it’s in the public interest to encourage use of mass transit and penalize traffic conjestion via costly regulations and high petrol prices.
This has nothing to do with harming America. The entire planet need not abide by US regulations or face Trump’s wrath. If anything our Federalization standards are protectionist just like the truck Chick tax.
Furthermore we see that economic nationalism plays a huge part in EU auto sales with France buying primarily PSA and Renault, Spain with Seat and Germany with VW, Benz and BMW.
This notion that we are a benevolent nation protecting Europe as charity is silly. Europe is an American colony kept weak due to US interests. The EU with a robust independent nation interest backed up with a navy would be very expensive for us.
The US has seen their last new European plant on US soil and BMW/Mercedes are crafting plans to transfer production outside the US. They are both the largest exporters of US made vehicles because they are the only desirable vehicles made on US soil. In the long-run expect both plants to be shut down as the US quickly deteriorates into a 3rd world country as it rightly deserves.
Ignorance and arrogance has finally caught up to the US.
The real problem is the US allowed the automotive companies access to the most affluent market in the world!
Our country should of told the rest of the world to stay away, we can take care of ourselves! They need us way more then we need them!
Brian,
If that was the case, you would still be driving the garbage cars of the 70’s which would cost 200Gs and last 2-3 years.
Competition builds excellence.
The US is becoming increasingly isolationist and irrelevant.
Until the next Hitler shows up and the rest of the world needs our help! I mean missiles!
No it would not! Our cars would have been just fine! The fact of the matter is that the rest of the world need the US money! The US doesn’t need your money!
Want proof, will stop selling cars in your country if you stop selling cars in ours! Is that a deal you would be interested in? Probably not because you know your profits would go down and we would be just fine!
China’s plan is to double to size of the US military by 2050 and since they have the money and the leadership, it will happen. The world is increasingly turning to China for leadership.
Your car example is a poor one since no country in the Western world buys American cars in quantity. With the exception of Ford in Europe with a rapidly shrinking market share.
The only reason the US “has the money” at the moment is due to having the title of reserve currency and being able to borrow and run trillion $ deficits. Once that goes, and it will, the party will be over. When Britain lost this status , the pound lost 85% of its value. So enjoy the false sense of security of living on borrowed money, for now.
https://usa.greekreporter.com/2011/01/11/third-world-america-by-arianna-stassinopoulos-huffington-book-review/3rd-world-america-photo-2/
BTW Brian,
You do know that Russia and especially China are far ahead of you on missile tech and cyber… You may be the one seeking help when the new Asian Hitler manifests himself. With all the insults being thrown around by your orange carrot at traditional allies. This may be the response:
…………………./´¯/)
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………./’/…/…./……./¨¯\
……..(‘(…´…´…. ¯~/’…’)
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……….”…\………. _.·´
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Sounds just like a commie, how many 70’s Soviet Bloc POS or even Western Euros are still on European highways?, because it’s many American vehicles from that area are still around.
Interestingly, the EU must think the US needs the EU more then the EU needs the US.
I really think we need many more tariffs , everyone loves tariffs..
Tell that to the people who were in line for soup kitchens in the 30’s.
If you were even partly aware of history, you would know that tariffs and protectionism caused the great depression of the 30’s. It was a hard learned lesson that ignorant, incompetent and just plain stupid people would repeat.
If they didn’t bailout GM lords town would still be open, the only ones effected would’ve been the hire ups
Stupid,
If they hadn’t bailed out GM and FCA, the major suppliers would have gone down dragging down the entire US industry. Bill Ford said exactly that.
Without a bailout, all US brands and major suppliers would now be owned by Chinese STate Owned companies. Is that what you prefer?
Get the facts first instead of reading propaganda posts. Garbage reporting like Trumps own tweets. Facts: WE impose a 25% tariff on imported TRUCKS TODAY. Every wonder why only American Made Trucks are on the road? I guess the report simply forgot to mention this. Another thing they forgot to mention: The EU already agreed to ZERO tariffs on all auto and trucks. Seems it’s just not good enough. Trump wants them to purchase the GMO commodities also. Oh yeah, get this, the EU also agreed that USA can keep some sort of tariff on TRUCKS! WOW! Trump (rejected) it immediately.