President Donald Trump threatened to levy a 20 percent tariff on cars imported from Europe if the European Union refused to take down duties imposed on American-made cars.
Trump made the announcement in a Twitter message on Friday morning.
“Based on the Tariffs and Trade Barriers long placed on the U.S. and it great companies and workers by the European Union, if these Tariffs and Barriers are not soon broken down and removed, we will be placing a 20% Tariff on all of their cars coming into the U.S.,” Trump wrote. “Build them here!”
Trump’s message triggered a fall in share prices in Daimler, the maker of Mercedes, BMW, and Volkswagen. Meanwhile, shares in Ford and GM notched up.
The president brought up car tariffs earlier this month in a public tiff with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trump slammed Trudeau for announcing retaliatory tariffs on the United States shortly after Trump departed the G7 meeting and pulled his signature from the G7 communique.
“Based on Justin’s false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our U.S. farmers, workers and companies, I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
The 20 percent tariff on cars is lower than the 25 percent the president threatened to levy previously. The president campaigned on a promise to place American interests first. He has frequently criticized both allies and adversaries for imposing tariffs and trade barriers on American goods.
On June 18, Trump escalated a trade battle with China, announcing that he has instructed the U.S. Trade Representative to determine a list of Chinese goods worth $200 billion on which the United States will impose a 10 percent tariff.
The president’s announcement came after China announced that it will impose dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs in response to Trump’s prior tariff on $50 billion of Chinese goods.
Late last month, Trump followed through on a threat to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. The United States now charges a 25 percent duty on steel and a 10 percent duty on aluminum imported from the EU, Mexico, and Canada.
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