WEB DESK
The European Union warned today that nearly 300 billion dollars worth of US exports would face counter-measures if President Donald Trump went through with his threat to slap duties on auto imports.
Trump has singled out the Europeans as a problem as great to the US on trade as China and laid out threats to fight the EU with a 20 per cent duty on EU auto imports, a particular source of his scorn.
Trump’s threat was the latest salvo in an escalating trade war that saw the EU slap duties on US-made jeans and Harley Davidson motorcycles in a tit-for-tat response to US tariffs on European steel and aluminium exports.
The European Commission said the US investigation into auto imports “lacks legitimacy, factual basis and violates international trade rules.”
European car manufacturers in the United States export 60% of their cars, which helps the US trade balance — a number Trump has been focused on.
The commission also pointed out that European car companies employ 120,000 Americans in manufacturing plants in the United States.
General Motors (GM) has taken a similar position as the European Commission. On Friday it warned Trump that his tariffs could force it to cut jobs and raise the price of cars, perhaps by thousands of dollars.