German minister, autos lobby call for urgent EU-US talks over tariffs

Record ID: 1986284

  • Title: German minister, autos lobby call for urgent EU-US talks over tariffs
  • Date: 27th March 2025
  • Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (FEBRUARY 3, 2025) (REUTERS) WTO LOGO AND SIGN / SIGNS READING (English, French and Spanish): WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION EXTERIOR OF WTO WTO LOGO AND SIGN OPENED GATES AT WTO ENTRANCE WTO LOGO AND SIGN WTO ENTRANCE WTO LOGO AND SIGN WTO SIGN CARS PASSING IN FRONT OF WTO PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC LIGHT / WTO LOGO AND SIGN WTO BUILDING WTO LOGO AND SIGN BASE OF ST
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Audi BMW Mercedes Porsche US Tariffs automobile car industry
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Europe,Economic Events
  • Reuters ID: LVA003204027032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Germany's economy minister and its autos association slammed Donald Trump's newly-announced 25% tariff on imported vehicles to the U.S. as bad for European and U.S. economies, calling for urgent negotiations to ward off a spiraling trade war.
    Shares in Volkswagen, the most exposed among German carmakers to tariffs because of its large supply base in Mexico and lack of U.S. production for its Audi and Porsche brands, dropped 5.1% in pre-market trade.
    Other autos stocks including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Daimler Truck dropped around 3.5%, with autos supplier Continental down 2.9%.
    Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the EU must give a firm response to the tariffs - it must be clear that Germany will not back down in the face of the USA.
    Germany's VDA car lobby called the new levies a "fatal signal" for free, rules-based trade, warning they would harm companies as well as global supply chains.
    Still, research by the IfW economic institute found that Germany would not be the hardest-hit economy by U.S. tariffs, the FAZ newspaper reported. The institute estimates that German gross domestic product will be 0.18% weaker in the first year after the introduction of the tariffs in real terms, compared with a 1.81% hit in Mexico and a 0.6% blow in Canada. "Overall, the export losses are limited, as cars are often produced close to the sales market," IfW trade economist Julian Hinz said in comments carried by FAZ.
    (Production: Lena Toepler)
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