The German car giant issued the gloomy warning in response to the US president’s recent threat to hit European cars and trucks with tariffs. Donald Trump threatened to impose new duties in a fierce tit-for-tat tariff battle initiated by Washington in May.
German car manufacturer BMW has offered its point of view on the ongoing transatlantic trade standoff in which the United States and the European Union have hit each other with a raft of tariffs.
In a letter seen by AFP on Monday, BMW told President Donald Trump’s trade minister, Wilbur Ross, that additional taxes on cars would have far-reaching consequences on investments and jobs in America.
The company said that it adds $15.77 billion to the US economy, employing over 120,000 people directly and indirectly.
BMW recalled that the US’s openness to trade encouraged it to open a 10,000-job factory in South Carolina, adding that the facility adds $6.3 billion to the US economy a year.
Trump has ordered the US Department of Commerce to launch a probe into tariffs on imported cars, under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. The law gives the US president power to restrict imports of goods, citing national security concerns.
BMW’s statement comes amid an ongoing tariff war between the US and EU. Donald Trump threatened to put a 20 percent tariff on European automobile imports if the EU doesn’t remove its own trade barriers.
The threat prompted a backlash from the bloc, which had earlier retaliated to US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports with duties on American goods like jeans, bourbon, and motorbikes.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
