Last Thursday, United States president Donald Trump said the US would apply duties of 25% on imported steel and 10% on aluminium to protect domestic producers. This has sparked outrage from other countries and raised fears of a global trade war, which will surely bring no benefits to anyone.
Major automakers say the move will hike the cost of cars and trucks. Neighbour Canada said it will retaliate for any tariffs on the metals. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker told German television that “we will put tariffs on Harley-Davidson, on bourbon and on blue jeans (Levi’s).”
In typical fashion, Trump isn’t backing down and has instead kept up the pressure on trading partners, threatening European automakers with a tax on imports if the EU retaliates to his aluminium and steel tariffs plan, Reuters reports.
“If the EU wants to further increase their already massive tariffs and barriers on US companies doing business there, we will simply apply a tax on their cars which freely pour into the US. They make it impossible for our cars (and more) to sell there. Big trade imbalance!” Trump tweeted. He also said that trade wars are good and are “easy to win”.
“The European Union: brutal. They’ve been brutal to us. They’ve banded together in order to beat the United States in trade,” the president said at a Florida fundraiser. The US had a $22.3 billion automotive vehicle and parts trade deficit with Germany in 2017 and a $7 billion deficit with the UK, according to US government data.
The EU is of course unhappy at Trump’s “America first” protectionist measures. In a speech at Harvard University, European commissioner for competition Margrethe Vestager said the EU will respond to the tariffs “to defend European industry, and the world trading system,” calling Trump’s actions “one-sided protectionist measures, which hurt, not just jobs, but the whole system of rules that makes our global economy work.”
The report points out that the US currently imposes a 2.5% tariff on cars assembled in Europe and a 25% tariff on European-built vans and pick-up trucks. Europe imposes a 10% tariff on US-built cars. However, many cars do not cross the Atlantic, as Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW all build vehicles in the US. BMW employs more than 9,000 workers in South Carolina and its Spartanburg plant is one of the state’s largest employers, for instance.
China may now be the biggest car consumer in the world, but the US is still a large market. It accounts for about 15% of global Mercedes-Benz and BMW brand sales, while it accounts for 5% of Volkswagen brand sales and 12% of Audi sales, the report adds.
This is not the first time that Trump has threatened automakers. In January 2017, he warned German car companies of a 35% border tax on vehicles imported to the US market.
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So USA wanna protect oso? Isnt their requirement to sell there must have manufacturing plant in US?
35% is nothing. Rate for Malaysia is 70% duties & 6% GST on the CIF alone. Then add everything together and applies that 6% GsT again. This is not including impprt tax for CBU cars outside asean. Try beat that trump.
Mat Salleh with this new high tax also, Merc E350 class will be USD60k. CBu German made somemore
Fresh graduate there start with USD4500
Here RM400k for the car. Fresh grad earn RM2500
Boy you’re as ignorant as your name implies. Fresh grad salaries here in the States starts at USD2K. Maybe you should come here once in awhile to really know what goes on here.
Tenkiu murican. His fail-ry tales only works for those who has never been Stateside.
even so it is 400k car vs 60k car.
https://paultan.org/2017/12/20/nap-2014-eev-review-to-be-finalised-next-year-honda-city-price-dropped-from-rm90k-to-rm75k-madani/
Car prices dropped, MY pipu shud grateful.
USA alredi ruled must be Made in USA. No CBU, no AP, no impot cars. Here is still better got more choice as long RHD version.
until now still there pipu who don’t understand how GST work
They probably do. They just hope their audience dun.
Dun take others while own country worst tax busuk. Mesia oledi protect decades ago with (1)import tax 30% (2)Excise duty 105%
(3)Sales tax 6% –> sohai mesia oledi kena TOTAL 141% tax but busy body usa 10% tax. That why without tax SUZUKI SWIFT RM29K. VIOS RM35K. CITY RM38K.
What ever u said, the point is even the economy giant protect their industries. Free trade my a**. Why u so baik hati want free trade while those giant still ptotect thier own interest?
Msia need to impose import tax for foreign carmakers too
Ini semua salah Proton dan kerajaan malaysia..hahaha
>The EU is of course unhappy at Trump’s “America first” protectionist measures.
But they butthurt when Geely buy their Daimler and Volvo AB, cry for plotek plotek hurr durr.
Basher logic:
US/EU protek boleh. MY protek taboleh.
Tun M did this decades ago. X kecoh pun.
Because Malaysian market share is like a piece of nose goo to the US and EU.
https://paultan.org/2018/02/23/video-proton-is-too-big-to-fail-pm-najib-razak/
Nope. Malaysia is big
Take a chill pill ;)
happy for the counter policies, the world had been enriching the EU too much, they are already rich and they keep coming out with new regulations every year forcing everybody to comply to their rules driving up cost of automobile for everyone, forcing unproven new tech to be release and make us swallow the expenses and lemons.
i don’t like Trump either but for this issue, pressuring the EU will benefit us
Our steel go to US will oso be taxed lah.
we do not have any steel bro. all stolen already. all steel company also closed down.
Only 1 steel company kolos, so many others remain. Southern steel, An Joo, Mycron, Sarawak Pressed Metals, etc
all business men want a share of the deal. Consumers get conned at the end.
The reason US have a trade deficit with Germany to the tune of $22.3 billion in automotive vehicle is bcos the American prefer the German/European vehicles more than their own.
Mr Tramp is a hypocrite bcos he owns a fleet of RR, Lambo & Mercedes which is made in Europe. He should sell off his fleet now to buy American cars from now. Will he !!!
The eu has been operating like a cartel. They want to ban palm oil to protect their olive oil. Now uk exit the eu, greece is crumble, usa will go trade war with them, russia will keep ukraine in check, italy and spain in huge debt. Now go back to the dark age
And the horde from East r at their gates. EU will crumble and burn like Rome did. Only much faster.