Germany said it “will not surrender” and that Europe should “respond firmly” as US President Donald Trump is aimed at import cars and car parts with 25% tax in his last rates.
Other major global economies have promised to avenge, such as France branded this move “very bad news”, Canada calls it a “direct attack” and China accuses Washington of violating international trade rules.
At the beginning of Thursday, the shares in Frankfurt for Porsche, Mercedes and BMW fell sharply with the French company Stellantis, the manufacturer of Jeep, Peugeot and Fiat.
Trump has threatened to impose “far larger” tariffs if Europe is working with Canada to do what he describes as a “economic harm” of the United States.
Fresh car tariffs will come into force on April 2with fees for enterprises importing vehicles starting the next day. Part taxes should start in May or later.
Trump has long maintained tariffs are part of the desire to help us produce and say that if cars are being made in America, there will be absolutely no tariff.
Tariffs are taxes charged on goods imported from other countries.
Although measures can protect local business, they also increase the cost of businesses relying on parts of abroad.
Companies that introduce foreign goods into the country pay the government's tax. Businesses can choose to hand over some or all customer rates to customers.
The United States imported about eight million cars last year – representing about $ 240 billion (£ 186 billion) in trade and approximately half of the total sales.
Mexico is the best car supplier to the United States, followed by South Korea, Japan, Canada and Germany.
Analysts have considered that the tariffs for parts of Canada and Mexico alone can lead to an increase in costs by $ 4,000 to $ 10,000 depending on the vehicle, according to Anderson's economic group.
German Minister of Economy Robert Habek said the European Union should “respond firmly”.
“It must be clear that we will not succumb to the United States. We have to show strength and confidence,” he added.
France supports this joint approach, with its finance minister Eric Lombard saying that the “only solution” in Europe is to avenge the tariffs for US products.
“We are in a situation where we are directed. Either we accept it, in which case it will never stop or react,” Lombard added.
He emphasized the need for “balancing playing conditions” so the US was “forced to negotiate.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the tariffs “direct attack” on his country and his automotive industry, adding that it would “harm us”, but discussed the opportunities for trade.
In the UK, the Automobile Industry Authority SmMT said the announcement of Trump's tariffs on Wednesday “is not surprising, but still disappointing.”
Uniparts founder John Neal said Trump's tariffs are a “gift for the Chinese” because international consumers will respond to a trade war by buying Chinese alternatives.
Meanwhile, China has accused Trump of breaching the rules of the World Trade Organization.
“There are no winners of a trade war or a tariff war. The country's development and prosperity have not been achieved by imposing tariffs,” a foreign ministry spokesman said.
There are warnings from Japan that it will have a “significant impact” on economic relations it shares with the United States. A government spokesman described the measures as “extremely regrettable” and said the employees had asked the United States to release.
In South Korea, the day before the last tax, Hyundai has announced it will invest $ 21 billion (£ 16.3 billion) in the US And build a new steel plant in Louisiana.
Trump welcomes the investment as “a clear demonstration that tariffs are working very hard”.
Bosch – based in Germany – says it has confidence in the “long -term potential” on the market in North America and will continue to expand its business there.