Germany’s automotive industry organisation VDA has the new tariff regime that the US has introduced marks “a fundamental turning point in trade policy”. By Leatherbiz.

In a statement, VDA president, Hildegard Müller said the steps the US has taken since the start of April to control imports of cars and other products represented a departure from the rules-based global trading order and from “the foundation for value creation, growth and prosperity in many regions of the world”.

She accepted that the measures the US has announced, which include 25% tariffs on passenger cars, light commercial vehicles and certain auto parts will also represent “a massive burden and challenge for companies and the global supply chains of the automotive industry”.

The VDA president pointed out that, as a result of this globalisation, the German automotive industry employs around 138,000 people at more than 2,000 locations in the US.