ZCZC
BCN-20
GERMANY-AUTOMOBILE-US-EU-TRADE
German carmakers slam ‘incomprehensible’ steel tariffs
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, June 2, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – German carmakers voiced dismay
at the “incomprehensible” US steel tariffs that took effect Friday, adding to
a chorus of criticism from global trade partners over the protectionist move
by US President Donald Trump.
Auto giant Volkswagen expressed “regret and concern” about the 25-percent
duty slapped on steel imports to the United States, as well as a 10-percent
duty on aluminium.
“We have to fear that this is the start of a negative development of
measures and countermeasures, at the end of which there will be no winners,”
it said in a statement.
Luxury carmaker BMW stressed its commitment to free trade, saying
“barrier-free access to markets” was crucial to global growth.
The Bavarian company added that it only imported 30 percent of the steel
used at its Spartanburg factory in South Carolina — a 10,000-employee plant
that is the company’s biggest worldwide.
The German auto industry association VDA called the US tariffs
“incomprehensible”.
“In a connected, global economy, customs barriers don’t benefit anyone,
including the United States,” said VDA president Bernhard Mattes.
The European Union, Canada and Mexico have all vowed to take retaliatory
measures against the swingeing tariffs, bringing the world’s economies to the
brink of an all-out trade war.
EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker said the 28-nation bloc “will announce in the
next coming hours counter-balancing measures” in response to the US action.
Brussels has previously threatened to slap tariffs on US products
including bourbon, motorcycles and blue jeans.
Far more worrying for the German auto industry than the metals tariffs is
Trump’s threat that levies on car imports to US could be next.
Last year, the car sector accounted for nearly 29 billion ($34 billion) of
Germany’s 111.5 billion euros in exports to the US, according to figures from
the Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK).
German carmakers exported nearly half a million vehicles to the US in
2017, but they also built over 800,000 vehicles at American factories where
they employ some 36,500 people — and car parts producers around 80,000 more.
BSS/AFP/HR/1010