The European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association (ACEA) has reiterated its concerns about new tariffs that could be imposed on vehicles imported to the United States.
The ACEA represents car manufacturers including BMW, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Honda Motor Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, Renault and others. In an official statement, it asserts that the application of additional duties on imports of passenger cars and parts into the U.S. will impact the EU industry as well as the U.S. economy and its consumers.
It’s no secret that tariffs will increase costs for manufacturers, meaning they will either need to lower their profit margins, reduce production costs (possibly even laying off employees), or pass any additional costs on to consumers.
The ACEA’s statements come a couple days after President Donald Trump received the findings of a probe into whether imported vehicles pose a national security threat to the United States.
Bloomberg reports that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross submitted his recommendations to Trump and that the president has 90 days to decide whether to act on the findings. The findings haven’t been made public but Trump has previously threatened tariffs as high as 25 per cent on foreign-made vehicles.
“Imports of cars and auto parts from the EU clearly do not pose a national security risk to the United States,” ACEA Secretary General Erik Jonnaert said. “Any trade restrictive measures in our sector will have a serious negative impact, not only on EU manufacturers but also on US manufacturers.”
Approximately 13.3 million people in the European Union, or 6.1 per cent of its population, work directly or indirectly in the automotive sector, and EU automakers also have more than 470,000 U.S. employees.
