WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday declared that some imported vehicles and parts pose a national security threat but delayed a decision for as long as six months on whether to impose tariffs to allow for more time for trade talks with the European Union and Japan.
Trump's decision, at least for now, averts what was shaping up to be a new dramatic escalation in the Trump administration's trade disputes around the world, including a trade war with China.On Friday, Trump continued his rhetoric attacking foreign imports from the EU."They have trade barriers. They don't want our farm products, they don't want our cars. They send Mercedes-Benz's in here like they're cookies," he told a group of real estate agents.
A group representing major German and Asian automakers including Daimler AG, Volkswagen AG, Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co, called the suggestion some auto imports are a national security risk"absurd." The group said that since 2017 automakers have invested US$22.8 billion in new and existing facilities in the United States, but"increased auto tariffs threaten to undo this economic progress. At the end of the day, you can have tariffs or investment, but you can't have both."