Germany says it ‘will not give in’ as Trump announces 25% car tariffs

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4vjwzv22eo

36 comments

  2. Good. Strength is the only thing bullies understand…

  4. To give some perspective: ~10% of car exports from Germany go to the US, 40% to EU, 35% to China, and around ~15% to the rest of the world.

    For the largest company, Volkswagen Group, this is 6%.

    If I am allowed to give my opinion: US tariffs would have been a much bigger threat back in 1955, when the US economy was 50% of the world economy. But in 2024? Not so much. And then they’ll say Europe is the continent that is stuck in the past…

  5. You can’t give into a bully, once he knows he can work you over he’s not going to stop doing it. Once you submit he knows your weak and will exploit it.

    Trump didn’t get rich(was born with a silver spoon though) because he was smart or made great products, he got rich by being a bully, lying and cheating, etc.

  6. “Fine. Our superior German cars can sit in storage for three years while American cars continue to disadvantage and disappoint their citizens. Let us know when Fat Orange Voldemort…retires.” 

  7. Living in a timeline where Germany are leaders of the free world and the US are the fascist right-wingers. A lesson for everyone that the only thing constant in life is change.

  8. Can the UK please take a leaf from this playbook and stop fucking bending over for Trump

  9. 25-50-100 are all numbers …… let the idiot screem

  10. America is one market on the planet. Why would anyone give in? The rest of the world should work together until Trump comes to his senses or a new administration is elected. At which point everything will have changed for the rest of the world and the Americans can join in with us without ever being in a position to harm us economically again.

    Canada and Germany should work together to fill gaps left by America. Send us your cars, we will send you our energy.

  11. At this point, the words should start considering sanctions against the US, justified by human rights violations against prisoners.

  12. Just impose a 25% of revenue tax on social media giants.

    They’ll back down immediately.

  13. As prices for new cars will rise dramatically in the US the silver lining may be fewer obnoxious pickup trucks on the road.

  14. Trump is making everyone a lot poorer. E.g. blood bath in my 401k.

  15. Russia must be laughing their ass off right now.

    “Dominating the US and tearing apart NATO shouldn’t have been this easy”

  16. I’d say tariff them back, but do Germans want American cars when they can have, well, German cars?

  17. Putin, Xi and Kim must be rolling on the floor, laughing. Trump is doing more damage to the US than any of them could have dreamed.

  18. The threat is.. Americans won’t buy German cars because the price will go up. But the alternative is American-made cars that will also cost more because they’re full of components that are made outside the US.

    Trump is really playing 1-D chess here.

  19. Trump’s only power is with Executive Orders which he can implement without consent of the House in cases of perceived threats to national security. And he’s allowed to implement tariffs. What he’s trying to do now with tariffs is to have every nation on the planet respond with retaliatory tariffs which he will then massage into threats to national security thereby allowing him free reign to do whatever he wants with Executive Orders. The House no longer matters and Don McLean’s iconic song can be re-written “The Day Democracy Died”. He need to be stopped before he starts WW3.

  21. surely germany could just stop sending mercedes and audis and america would start crying that they cant get them anymore. this could easily be turned into amazing marketing for them

  22. For all the people arguing about how the EU is unfair to the US: you have to look at the whole picture instead of focusing on a single sector. Yes the EU imposes higher tariffs on cars than the US, but they impose lower tariffs on light trucks than the US. If one looks at the total trade volume the tariffs are pretty much equal between the two parties.

    Taken from the [EUs website](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_25_541):

    “**What is the current average tariff rate charged by the EU on imports from the US? What is the current average tariff rate charged by the US on imports from the EU?**

    For technical reasons, there is not one “absolute” figure for the average tariffs on EU-US trade, as this calculation can be done in a variety of ways which produce quite varied results. Nevertheless, considering the actual trade in goods between the EU and US, in practice the average tariff rate on both sides is approximately 1%. In 2023, the US collected approximately €7 billion of tariffs on EU exports, and the EU collected approximately €3 billion on US exports.”

    And:

    “**Doesn’t the US have a point about an asymmetry in tariffs, such as the EU’s 10% tariff on cars compared to the US’s 2.5% tariff?**

    Tariff structures vary between economies, with some EU tariffs higher than those of the US and many others lower. Both the EU and the US have equally low tariffs overall.

    While the EU applies a 10% Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariff on cars, it’s important to note that the US imposes a 25% tariff on pickup trucks—the largest segment of the US auto market, accounting for about one-third of all vehicle sales. In fact, the best-selling vehicle in the US is a pickup truck, the Ford F-150.

    The EU remains open to balanced negotiations that foster a level playing field for both sides.”

  23. Who is going to be paying the higher tarrif? US Citizens… That’s who.

  24. lol, TURD is uniting the world against a divided ‘murka.

    Sad

  25. These tariffs along with high interest will crater the car industry in the US. He will about-face on the tariffs claiming he made some sort of negotiation and won cause he is a supreme business man. I’m the end consumers will foot the bill and nothing will actually change. I hate this guy.

  28. cant wait for all these people who voted for Trump to have like 30% higher prices on everything

  29. I’m okay with other countries blocking US imports and exports to the US. Donny boy wants to fuck around let’s find out how unimportant we are to global trade.

  30. Yeah, because that’s what the American people want, less affordable cars.

  32. Well, I kind of feel sorry for American car manufacturers (employees really), the already minimal overseas sales they had are going away. Leopards/face, yada, yada….

  33. We should unite and bully the bully as hard as possible.

  34. Don’t worry America.

    You’re not headed for a Great Depression with Hoovervilles.

    No, you’re going to have a Great Depression with Trumptowns.

  35. Wont give in, Canadian here, the problem with this is there is no way to give in. Trump has given the countries facing these tariffs no way to appease. So we wait for the tariffs to destroy his economy, as they certainly will, then they will be removed.

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