European industry hits out at Trump’s ‘ludicrous’ demands over Greenland | Trump tariffs
European industry has hit back at Donald Trump’s “ridiculous demands” to cede Greenland or face a trade war.
A new round of tariffs on European exports would cost Germany and Europe dearly, the president of the German automobile industry association said, calling for a “smart” response coordinated by Brussels.
“The costs of these additional customs duties would be enormous for German and European industry, especially in these already difficult times,” said Hildegard Müller, president of the VDA trade organization.
“What is crucial now is an intelligent and strategic response from Brussels, coordinated with the countries concerned,” she added.
Trump’s shocking threat on Saturday to impose additional tariffs of 10% in February and another 25% in June derailed a period of relative transatlantic trade calm following the EU-US deal struck at the US president’s Scottish golf course last July.
European leaders are expected to meet in Brussels on Thursday for an emergency summit to discuss the possibility of imposing tariffs on U.S. exports on Feb. 7 that would hit everything from liquid gas to planes and machinery.
Germany’s engineering trade grouping, which counts key machine tool exporters among its members, urged the EU to confront Trump. “If the EU gives in here, it will only encourage the US president to make a new ridiculous demand and threaten new tariffs,” said Bertram Kawlath, president of the German engineering association VDMA.
The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) said Trump was wrong to link economies to his political ambitions. “Very controversial political goals are unacceptably linked to economic sanctions,” said DIHK board member Volker Treier.
The EU issued a diplomatic note on Monday, calling for calm from all sides as leaders tried to work among themselves and with the White House to prevent the crisis in Greenland from escalating into a full-blown trade war in two weeks.
Manufacturers have been scrambling to determine whether they would try to bring more products into the United States before the tariffs, as they were forced to do in April last year when Trump announced his “Liberation Day” levies. However, a senior British car industry official said the short deadline meant there was limited time to ship cars to the United States before taxes.
An executive at a major automaker that exports to the US said they are “looking at the same golf bag and bringing out the same clubs again”, although this is still a “wait and see” attitude given the lack of formal guidance on how the tariffs will be implemented – or whether it is simply an opening negotiation tactic.
The automaker is considering how it can “buy time” in the hope that negotiations between governments will avert the threat, the source said. “We didn’t see it coming,” they added.
Stephen Davies, chief executive of Welsh whiskey maker Penderyn, which exports to 20 US states, said the tariffs would add more costs than they could absorb. “It’s just not going to work,” he said.
He added: “People will disappear from the market and hold the fire until conditions improve. But you’ve been working for years to build your reputation and grow your product knowledge with consumers and you don’t want to stop doing it.”
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said Trump’s tariffs “threaten to destroy the UK’s key manufacturing sectors and jobs”. “That’s why [the British] The Government must continue to prioritize a closer trading relationship with the EU. In an increasingly volatile and unpredictable global economy, it makes sense that we forge stronger ties with our closest neighbors and our largest trading partner.
