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Topics: Donald Trump, Germany, US News, Cars, Money
Emily Brown
Topics: Donald Trump, Germany, US News, Cars, Money
Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' is here, and there's one country in particular that's bracing for the impacts of one of the tariffs that's already been confirmed.
In case you've missed Trump's repeated references to 'Liberation Day', it's the name he's designated to today, April 2, as he's set to appear in the Rose Garden of the White House to announce a number of huge tariffs against countries across the globe.
The president's first Truth Social post of the day marked his excitement for the event as he wrote: "IT’S LIBERATION DAY IN AMERICA!"
Needless to say, however, not everyone is so excited about the imminent announcement.
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The tariffs set to be imposed by Trump largely remain a mystery at the moment, though White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has suggested that they will include reciprocal tariffs which will match other countries’ tariffs dollar for dollar.
However, Trump has already confirmed one new measure that comes into effect today; new import taxes of 25 percent on cars coming into the US. Charges on businesses importing vehicles are set to start tomorrow (April 3), while taxes on car parts are expected to begin sometime after May.
The POTUS claimed the tariff would result in 'tremendous growth' for the automobile industry in the US, spurring both jobs and investments, but the potential benefits in the US come at a huge cost for one country in particular - Germany.
Germany is the top car producer in Europe, having manufactured approximately 4.1 million cars, including almost 1.3 million electric vehicles, in 2024.
Economists have now admitted that the country is in the 'eye of the storm' when it comes to the new measures.
According to NBC News, economists Inga Fechner and Rico Luman, from Dutch bank ING, said: “Germany’s car industry is in the eye of the storm and by far most exposed in terms of value, with major players like Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche likely getting hit by tariffs."
Oliver Chapman, Group CEO of supply chain management firm OCI, also spoke about the impact of the tariffs on Germany as he told The Express: "The automotive industry will be heavily impacted by 'Liberation Day' as described by Trump's tariffs announcement.
"Germany will likely be impacted the most with a 25 percent tariff on foreign-made vehicles. This is an effort to get more Americans to buy domestically produced vehicles.
"The US is a major importer of BMW and Mercedes-Benz," Chapman continued. "It consistently ranks as one of the top two purchasers of these makes, regularly swapping places with China. Both of these car manufacturers could be seriously impacted on Wednesday."
Though Germany is expected to be hit hard by Trump's move, Fechner and Luman made clear that it's not the only country that will be impacted.
They added: "Slovakia – home to several car plants – is most exposed in terms of total US export volume."