The additional import tariffs on cars and trucks from the EU announced by US President Donald Trump are expected to hit Germany particularly hard, according to experts. The planned increase to 25% could be interpreted as "the beginning of an economic war against Germany," declared automotive expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer on Saturday.
The German automotive industry association VDA described Trump's announcement as "a renewed and serious strain on transatlantic relations" and called for "de-escalation." Trump justified the tariff increase by claiming the EU states violated the existing trade agreement, though he provided no further details to support this claim.
Industry expert Dudenhöffer warned that the expected additional costs are likely to further intensify pressure on German manufacturers to relocate automobile production facilities out of Germany. While strong German brands could presumably pass some of the costs on to US buyers through price increases, automakers would be affected to varying degrees.
The head of the CAR research center in Bochum explained that for new cars produced in Germany and exported to the USA alone, the increase in tariffs from the current 15 to 25% represents an additional financial burden of approximately €2.5 billion per year, bringing the total to around €6.14 billion. The measures could be interpreted as specifically targeting Germany, since exports from other European automakers to the USA are "negligible."
While BMW and Mercedes possess a certain "tariff protection" through their large facilities in the USA, the measure fully impacts brands without their own US production, such as Porsche and Audi. Dudenhöffer therefore expects that the tariff increase will accelerate corresponding plans for building new factories in the United States.
VDA president Hildegard Müller described the threatened additional costs for German manufacturers from the tariffs as "enormous." However, these would likely also have an impact on consumers in the USA. "The automotive industry urgently calls on both sides for de-escalation and prompt talks," Müller stated, referring to the EU and USA.
US President Trump had announced a significant increase in import tariffs on vehicles from the EU on Friday. "Since the European Union is not complying with our agreed trade agreement, I will increase tariffs on cars and trucks imported into the USA from the European Union next week," he wrote on his Truth Social platform. "The tariff rate will be increased to 25%."
However, the US president provided no information about how the EU, in his view, is violating the agreed trade agreement. At an event in the US state of Florida on Friday evening (local time), Trump accused German automakers such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW in particular of taking advantage of US citizens.
Trump's tariff announcement came shortly after he sharply criticized Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU). Trump called on Merz to focus on ending the Ukraine war instead of "interfering" in Iran affairs. Additionally, Merz should "fix his dilapidated country," the US president stated on Thursday in online media.
The US president's words followed Merz's statements about the Iran war. "An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership," Merz said on Monday, referring to the USA's negotiations with Iran to end the war, which has global economic impacts particularly due to rising fuel prices. Furthermore, the chancellor expressed the view that the USA apparently has "no strategy" in the Iran war.
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