German automaker Mercedes-Benz has called for both Europe and the United States to abolish tariffs on car imports, as US President Donald Trump threatens to hike duties on EU goods.
Ola Kallenius, head of the German premium carmaker, said in an interview published Thursday that the EU levies a tariff of 10 percent on cars imported from America, while the United States has a duty of just 2.5 percent on vehicles from the bloc.
“Let’s lower these tariffs on both sides to zero,” he told the Handelsblatt business daily.
“That would be reciprocity and that would create growth instead of stifling it,” he said, adding that export-dependent European industries needed free trade more than their American counterparts.
“Europe has more interest than anyone else in ensuring that world markets remain open and there is a fair framework for international trade,” he said.
Trump has threatened to hit products from the 27-nation EU with 25 percent tariffs and has signed plans for sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” that could hit both allies and adversaries from April 2.
US tariffs on imported cars will create a major headache for Mercedes and other European manufacturers, as many of the vehicles they sell in the United States are imported.
Kallenius said Mercedes had been “producing on a large scale in the United States for years”, but said the carmaker was also preparing for the US duties.
“We’re paying attention to the procurement of each component, the logistics, the price and many other factors,” he said.