I m trade dispute with the European Union (EU), the United States is now working on German media, according to a media report. The American ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, has offered the bosses of BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen a solution in the conflict over imminent punitive tariffs, reported the “Handelsblatt” on Wednesday evening with reference to participant groups. At a meeting on Wednesday at the American Embassy in Berlin, Grenell told the managers that he was tasked with finding a solution with Germany and the EU. Grenell has said that the United States is ready for a zero solution, so a complete waiver of car duties, even if Europe renounce it.
A Daimler spokesman did not want to comment on the report on request. “No comment”, it said only. Volkswagen commented accordingly. at BMW At first, no one was available for comment. Even a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Economics did not want to comment on the report.
On trade issues, the EU is the sole negotiating partner; individual Member States such as Germany can not make individual agreements. The EU Commission also did not want to comment on the content of the report. A spokeswoman said, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will address the topic of trade in his upcoming visit to Trump in Washington.
At the meeting in Berlin, according to the newspaper, Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche, BMW boss Harald Krüger and VW boss Herbert Diess as well as unnamed chiefs of major auto parts suppliers took part. In the conversation, Grenell is said to have spoken of a “momentum” that should be used.
Trump has threatened to impose 20 percent import duty on European cars if the EU does not reduce their trade barriers. At the moment, EU car imports to the United States amount to 2.5 percent, and pick-ups have to be cleared by 25 percent. The EU levies ten percent duty on imported cars from America. In May, the US government launched an investigation into whether car imports pose a threat to national security. In that case, she could impose punitive measures. Trump has expressly German several times carmaker criticized.
The Association of the German Automotive Industry (VDA) is watching the development with concern. VDA President Bernhard Mattes had said only on Tuesday, as threatened by Trump to one-sided tariff increases in America on cars from Europe, must also follow a backlash. The unity of the EU is important, there is no industry proposal for unilateral concessions.