The EU is poised to retaliate against Trump. The Financial Times editorial board endorses the idea.
The Financial Times reports EU Warns of $300 Billion Hit to US Over Car Import Tariffs.
The figure roughly corresponds to the amount of EU imports of autos and parts. The document, which the FT did not post or link to, warned of “likely” countermeasures to “a significant volume of trade”, as much as $294 billion accounting for 19% of US goods exports in 2017. The measures could apply “across sectors of the US economy.”
Lovely.
Accompanying the article is a silly FT Editorial video saying the world should “push back” with retaliations.
Here is the most laughable statement: “It is especially key for the EU to not let issues like immigration divide it on its commitment to free trade“.
Excuse me for asking, but what commitment to free trade is that?
Tax on Consumers
A good way to view tariffs is “a tax on consumers”.
Autoblog reports Tariffs Could Cost American Consumers $5,800 Per Vehicle.
An automotive trade group said on Tuesday it would tell the Trump administration that a U.S. threat to impose a tariff of up to 25 percent on imported passenger vehicles under national security grounds would cost American consumers $45 billion annually, or $5,800 per vehicle.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a group representing General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, and other major automakers, will file written comments with the U.S. Commerce Department later this week, spokeswoman Gloria Bergquist said.
“Nationwide, this tariff would hit American consumers with a tax of nearly $45 billion, based on 2017 auto sales. This would largely cancel out the benefits of the tax cuts,” Bergquist said, previewing the comments. Consumers would also face higher costs of imported auto parts when buying vehicles from both U.S. and foreign automakers, she said.
