- Title: German automobile industry chief defends German trade surplus
- Date: 26th May 2017
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (MAY 26, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF GERMAN ASSOCIATION OF THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY (VDA) MANAGING DIRECTOR OF GERMAN ASSOCIATION OF THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY, KAY LINDEMANN, BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (German) MANAGING DIRECTOR OF GERMAN ASSOCIATION OF THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY, KAY LINDEMANN, SAYING: "If you look at the manufacturers that is at the export and import of finished cars then there is currently a trade surplus of around 17 billion euros. It has recently shifted in favour of the U.S... But we have to look at the framework conditions: we (Germany) export premium vehicles, which have a certain value. And in general there is no reason why the U.S. cannot make efforts on its own part to reduce the trade surplus, by becoming more competitive, by producing more. There are many legitimate means for doing this, but protectionism is not one of them." CLOSE OF LINDEMANN SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) MANAGING DIRECTOR OF GERMAN ASSOCIATION OF THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY, KAY LINDEMANN, SAYING: "The U.S. exports lots of cars too. If you look at the number of German cars produced in the United States alone, two-thirds of them are exported. That means over 60 percent of German cars made in the U.S. are exported, so the U.S. is also dependent on open markets in Europe, Asia or Canada." DOLLAR BILLS ON ARTWORK ON WALL (SOUNDBITE) (German) MANAGING DIRECTOR OF GERMAN ASSOCIATION OF THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY, KAY LINDEMANN, SAYING: "Since 2009 the production of cars in the U.S. by German manufacturers has quadrupled to around 850,000 vehicles. That is a significant contribution to value creation in the U.S... The (German) suppliers for their part have also invested heavily and have over 250 locations in the U.S... That shows that our countries and continents are tightly intertwined. For us, the U.S. is not just a market, but also a production site." VARIOUS OF MODEL CARS ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (German) MANAGING DIRECTOR OF GERMAN ASSOCIATION OF THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY, KAY LINDEMANN, SAYING: "We are relatively relaxed because our interests are tightly interwoven with those of the U.S... We are interested in the U.S., and the U.S. on its part must be interested in having good trade relations with Europe and the rest of the world. In recent weeks the debate has become more objective in many respects, which we welcome. We do not expect any hasty conclusions or decisions which would damage the U.S... We want dialogue and in this regard we are actually very optimistic and confident."
- Embargoed: 9th June 2017 15:26
- Keywords: German Automobile Industry Donald Trump German trade surplus
- Location: BERLIN, WOLFSBURG, GERMANY / UNKNOWN LOCATION
- City: BERLIN, WOLFSBURG, GERMANY / UNKNOWN LOCATION
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Government/Politics,International Trade
- Reuters ID: LVA0016IH5UTJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The German Association of the Automotive Industry on Friday (May 26) defended Germany's trade surplus with the U.S., after a top adviser to Donald Trump confirmed that the U.S. president had criticised Germany as "very bad" on trade at a meeting with EU officials in Brussels on Thursday (May 25).
The association's managing director Kay Lindemann said the U.S. was free to make efforts to reduce the surplus by increasing its own productivity, but that protectionism was not a legitimate means for doing so.
He added that the German car industry was "optimistic and confident" that German manufacturers in the U.S. were not going to face barriers under the Trump administration, as the U.S. was also an export country dependent on good trade relations.
The German trade surplus, which reached a record 253 billion euros ($283 billion) in 2016, has also been a source of contention within Europe, with Berlin's partners encouraging it to do more to promote domestic demand.
Germany has pushed back, describing the surplus as a consequence of its competitive products, particularly cars, and the independent European Central Bank's loose monetary policy, which has pushed down the value of the euro, making German goods more attractive abroad. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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