European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker believed that US will refrain from imposing auto tariffs on EU cars for now. He told Stuttgarter Zeitung newspaper that “Trump has given me his word that there will be no car tariffs for the time being. I believe him.” But Juncker warned that “should he renege on that commitment, we will no longer feel bound by our commitments to buy more US soya and liquid gas. However, I would very much regret that”.
The US Commerce Department submitted the Section 232 national security report on auto imports to the White House on Sunday. Trump Trump has 90 days to make a decision on whether to act up the recommendations, which could include tariffs. The Commerce Department refused to disclose any details of the report to the public nor the industry.
Germany’s BDI industry association urged the US to release information on the report. BDI President Dieter Kempf said “the U.S. Department of Commerce should now publish its report on automobile imports quickly, so as not to further increase business uncertainty for companies.” He also reiterated that “The import of automobiles is not a threat to U.S. national security, and U.S. President Donald Trump must abide by applicable trade law, and he should refrain from imposing any tariffs or quotas.”
