The German automotive industry reports no discernible relief from the recently agreed-upon trade deal between the European Union and the United States. Hildegard Müller, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), stated in an interview published Tuesday that the agreement has yet to deliver clarity or improvement for German automakers. She indicated that costs incurred due to tariffs currently total billions of euros and continue to rise.
Müller urged the United States to roll back sectoral tariffs specifically impacting the European – and by extension, German – automotive sector, calling for vigorous advocacy from both the European Commission and the German federal government to achieve this.
Despite the lack of formal signature from Washington, the European Commission maintains confidence that the US will soon implement the agreed-upon reduction of automotive tariffs from 27.5 percent to 15 percent. A Commission spokesperson stated Tuesday that finalizing remaining details is now the priority and anticipates the tariff reduction will follow a joint statement. However, the Commission indicated it does not intend to issue a deadline to the US administration for fulfilling its commitments at this time.