The largest German carmakers, including Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes, are in talks with the US to eliminate or ease import tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump, Handelsblatt reports.
According to the publication, German carmakers can hope for a deal. BMW and Mercedes are in intensive talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to sources close to the talks. The newspaper notes that the tariffs introduced by Trump are very costly for the German car giants. According to the current state of negotiations, a so-called an export offset model that would offset German exports from factories in the US with imports from Europe, the newspaper said.
The idea was presented to Trump by the heads of three automakers during a visit to the White House in late April. The automakers emphasize that they are in close contact with the German government and the European Commission during the negotiations. By using the export offset model, Trump, as Handelsblatt notes, could save Germany's reputation and performance.
According to the publication, the German auto giants would prefer an agreement between the EU and the US that would eliminate all tariffs. However, at the moment, neither the Europeans nor the Americans want this. For this reason, a reduction to 10% would be acceptable, especially considering that the EU is also imposing a 10% tariff on car imports from the US, Handelsblatt summarizes.
The US Federal Court of International Trade had previously blocked the implementation of Trump's decision to impose import tariffs, claiming that he had abused his presidential powers. The court blocked not only the retaliatory tariffs on products from 185 countries and regions that the head of the White House announced on April 2, but also the tariffs previously imposed on imports from Canada, China and Mexico. At the same time, the court ruling does not apply to tariffs on the supply of cars and spare parts for them, steel and aluminum. The Trump administration has already indicated that it will appeal the verdict to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.