Trump Reportedly Wanted to Ban Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Other German Luxury Car Imports
U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly seeking an eventual ban on the sales of German luxury vehicle imports in the country.
According to sources, via a report from a German publication, the president intends to ban the selling of Mercedes-Benz, Audi and other German imports in the country. This piece follows a new push by the administration for heavier tariffs on car imports starting last week.
Anonymous sources placed in diplomatic channels claimed that Trump reportedly told French president Emmanuel Macron that he would make his administration's trade policies such that "no Mercedes models rolled on Fifth Avenue in New York."
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The trade policy that Trump is referring here, according to an article by WirtschaftsWoche via Fortune, would also hinder not just Mercedes-Benz but also other German automakers who are dependent on U.S. sales.
German car manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Daimler and Volkswagen, along with its Audi luxury brand, make up the largest group of European exporters to the U.S. when it comes to cars.
The Trump administration has begun to push for heavier tariffs, which could be as high as 25 percent, on car imports. These tariff hikes are reportedly being pushed under national security laws.
"There is evidence suggesting that, for decades, imports from abroad have eroded our domestic auto industry," U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in an earlier statement.
Earlier last week, Trump himself hinted at new changes that will benefit U.S. automakers, as he posted on Twitter on May 23.
"There will be big news coming soon for our great American Autoworkers. After many decades of losing your jobs to other countries, you have waited long enough!" Trump wrote on his social media post last week Wednesday.
While an outright import ban would severely affect luxury German brands like Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, at least two of them could simply switch to manufacturing their cars in their facilities in the U.S., as Ars Technica pointed out.
Both BMW and Mercedes-Benz, to name two carmakers, have large manufacturing presences in the U.S., and any car they manufacture and sell domestically are exempt from current import tariffs.
BMW, for one, has a huge facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina that employs more than 10,000 workers. It also rolled out more than 371,000 cars last year. It's a similar case with Daimler and its Mercedes-Benz factory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Still, Trump has always taken a protective stance against German import brands. Just before his inauguration in 2017, Trump had a short rant against what he perceived as unfair trade.
"When you walk down Fifth Avenue, everyone has a Mercedes-Benz in front of their house. But that's not reciprocity. How many Chevrolets do you see in Germany? Not too many, maybe none at all. You do not see anything over there; it's a one-way street," Trump said at the time.
