Moves Will Cost US Jobs, Spark Trade War
President Trump as soon as Thursday will announce a total ban on the sale of German luxury cars in America, and will also extend his steel and aluminum tariffs to top U.S. trade partners, including Canada and Mexico.
“Trump told French President Emmanuel Macron last month he would maintain his trade policy with the aim of stopping Mercedes-Benz models from driving down Fifth Avenue in New York,” CNBC reports, citing German weekly business news magazine WirtschaftsWoche.
“That German cars are a thorn in the side of US President Donald Trump has been known for some time,” a Google translation of the WirtschaftsWoche article says.
“Trump’s grudge against the German automaker – and especially against Mercedes models in New York – is not new. In January 2017, prior to his inauguration, he said in an interview, ‘When you walk down Fifth Avenue, everyone has a Mercedes-Benz in front of their house.’ But that’s not reciprocity. ‘How many Chevrolets do you see in Germany? Not too many, maybe none at all, you do not see anything over there, it’s a one-way street,'” the magazine added.
Meanwhile, The Associated Press notes “President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to impose tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports after failing to win concessions from the European Union, a move that could provoke retaliatory tariffs and inflame trans-Atlantic trade tensions.”
“If the U.S. moves forward with its tariffs, the EU has threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. orange juice, peanut butter and other goods in return.”
What does all this mean and why is Trump doing it?
International politics and markets expertDavid Rothkopf weighs in:
Image by CarSpotter via Flickr and a CC license