‘Disastrous’: Trump’s car tariffs slammed by EU governments and industry groups

Sander Tordoir, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, said that the most likely outcome is a “mix” of car price increases in the US and a reduction in EU car manufacturers’ profit margins.

He also said that the fact that German manufacturers have plants in the US offers them potential “workarounds” to “dampen the blow” of the tariffs.

“They can subtract some of the cars they export from their American plants to the rest of the world,” Tordoir said.

He noted that Washington exports significant quantities of vehicles to the EU, which also means there is “some scope for retaliation on the EU side” – as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen threatened last night.