US President Donald Trump has postponed a decision on the possible imposition of special tariffs on auto imports for six months. The tariffs would also hit the EU states.
For the time being, the US will not impose special tariffs on imports from the European automotive industry. President Donald Trump decided to postpone the decision for half a year. Trade Commissioner Robert Lighthizer is expected to conduct further negotiations over the next 180 days.
According to insiders, the US president has thus joined the view of his Ministry of Commerce. This had stated in a test report that special tariffs on car imports would hit also the domestic economy and would affect the national security.
Deadline for decision would have expired tomorrow
Trump had had time to decide the matter by tomorrow, Saturday. Tariffs of up to 25 percent on the import of cars and car parts would hit German manufacturers such as BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen hard. They account for a large proportion of EU exports to the US.
The US president has always bothered by the presence of German cars on American roads. Already in 1990 he threatened in a newspaper interview with impose taxes on „every Mercedes that rolls into this country“.
Trump rejects EU trade policy
EU trade policy is also a thorn in the side of Trump. He believes that European car makers, for example, have a much easier time exporting to the US than vice versa.
In fact, Europe charges slightly higher tariffs than the US on average. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the EU average is around five percent, and in the US, on average, almost three and a half percent is due.
