US President Donald Trump has postponed its decision on whether the United States impose special duties on car imports from the EU. The deferment is valid for 180 days, according to a statement by the President. Such an extension is in accordance with US law. The trade representative of the United States, Robert Lighthizer, should lead in the next six months for more negotiations with foreign governments. For the time being, no special duties on cars and car parts from Europe or Japan to fall in order.
wanted to be running from this Saturday, for a period of 90 days, within the Trump originally on new duties to decide: In conversation import duties of up to 25 per cent. These taxes would mainly affect German manufacturers such as BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen. A large proportion of the exports of the German car manufacturer in the United States. In addition, several manufacturers own sites in the United States, from where they supply the Chinese market. The EU trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, had on Tuesday indicated that a shift of Trumps decision possible.
the European export surplus on the occasion of the disputes
As a trigger of the trade dispute between the US and the EU, the export surplus of the EU countries compared to the United States. To counter this, adopted imports the President of the U.S. duties on steel and Aluminium, to which the EU responded with tariffs on various U.S. products. In February, the US Department of Commerce had submitted a yet unpublished report that the car imports were classified from the EU to the USA as a possible threat to national security.
It means that Trump parts of this assessment and also the opinion was that the car imports, weakened the US economy in part. And this Conviction is not new: The presence of German cars on American roads seem to bother the current President as early as 1999. At the time, he threatened in an Interview with Playboy, to impose taxes on “every Mercedes, the rolls in this country”.
Actually, the EU does, on average, higher tariffs than the United States: According to the world trade organization the customs duties in the EU funding will be around five percent. For imports into the US charges of 3.4 per cent fall on average. This relation remains even if you weighted the tariff rates for individual goods with the imported quantities. For individual product groups, there are even greater differences: On cars, the EU collects about ten percent import duty.
Federal government welcomes the decision
Federal Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU), welcomed the fact that the US government has for the time being, shall not impose new import duties on vehicles from Europe. “It is an important Signal for the German and European economy, a renewed escalation of the trade conflict could be prevented, for the time being,” said Altmaier. The decision of the US President, Donald Trump is also the result of the “resolute and common action by the EU and the member States”.
Altmaier, said, “it is, and remains, our goal is to obtain also in the automotive sector, open markets, fair competition and free trade”. The EU is ready to work with the United States an industrial tariff agreement, by the car duties on both sides of the Atlantic will be reduced to Zero, added the Minister of economy.
