A senior executive at Mercedes-Benz, Ola Källenius, has called for the elimination of tariffs on cars in the trade dispute between the United States and the European Union.
According to Källenius, speaking to the German business newspaper Handelsblatt, the current tariffs of 10 percent on imported cars from the US to the EU and 2.5 percent in the opposite direction, hinder growth and should be abolished. “Let’s just set these tariffs on both sides to zero. That would be reciprocity and would create growth, not stifle it” Källenius said.
US President Donald Trump previously rejected a similar proposal in 2018 and more recently, Trump announced plans to impose a 25 percent import tariff on cars from European production, effective from April 2. Mercedes-Benz, the Stuttgart-based DAX company, would be significantly affected, as it exported over 190,000 compact cars, business limousines, SUVs and off-road vehicles from Germany, Austria and Hungary to the US in 2024, according to data from the automotive data service provider Marklines, as reported by Handelsblatt.