It appears that President-elect Donald Trump is not yet done with carmakers. After shaming Toyota and lauding Ford and Fiat Chrysler, Trump has now turned his attention to German carmakers.
Shares of German carmakers promptly fell after Trump disparaged them for not making more of their cars in the U.S., Reuters reported. The president-elect has been calling out companies and manufacturers for choosing other countries for their plants.
The president-elect warned German carmakers, including Daimler, Volkswagen and BMW, that he will impose a 35 percent tax on every car imported in the U.S. He threatened the carmakers that they will not be able to sell any of their cars made outside of the U.S. without the tax.
German carmakers and regulators expressed alarm at the idea. The tariff could really cut into the profits of German carmakers especially since the United States is one of the biggest car market in the world.
As Bloomberg News reported, German carmakers pointed out that they have been growing their U.S. operations ever since. BMW noted that its largest factory is in South Carolina. While German carmakers were not exactly surprised with Trump's threat, BMW specifically said it will not withdraw its plans to build production factories in Mexico.
The president-elect also criticized how Germans are not buying as many American cars as Americans buy German cars. He called the relationship a one-way street.
Jobs & Hire previously reported that Ford and Fiat Chrysler quickly drop their plans of manufacturing cars outside of the U.S. after Trump shamed European carmakers and Toyota for their lack of expansion plans in the country.
While it is not certain whether Trump will impose the import tax, it appears that more companies have chosen to be safe than sorry. As president of the United States, Trump will have considerable power to implement what he wants to especially with a largely Republican Congress.
© 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
