Reciprocity is better.
Germany urges EU unity after Trump unveils sweeping tariffs – The EU’s Ursula von der Leyen has warned that the bloc is prepared to respond to new US tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration. Germany also criticized Trump’s trade measures. DW has more.
We’ll just give up. Probably next week some time.
But we will not give in!
Germany leads defiance of Trump car tariffs, saying it ‘will not give in’ – President Donald Trump targets imported cars and car parts with a 25% tax in his latest tariffs.
Other major world economies have vowed to retaliate, with France’s president branding the move “a waste of time” and “incoherent”, Canada calling it a “direct attack”, and China accusing Washington of violating international trade rules.
Talking is always good. But action is better.
Until today, the EU imposed import tariffs on US cars five times higher than the tariffs imposed by the US on European imports.
That’s changed now.
German minister, autos lobby call for urgent EU-US talks over tariffs.
That means timing is everything.
Germany’s trade surplus with US reaches new record – Germany’s trade surplus with the United States reached a record level, data from the statistics office showed, as countries wait to learn how US President Donald Trump will impose tariffs on imported goods.
Germany’s trade surplus with the U.S. expanded to €70 billion (HK$563.1 billion) in 2024, well above the previous record of €63.3 billion reported for the full year 2023.
“It would be hard to imagine worse timing,” said Holger Goerg, from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Trump substantially raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on Monday to a flat 25 percent “without exceptions or exemptions.”
That means trade surplus.
As Trump threatens EU with tariffs, Germany announces trade surplus worth $74.1 billion with U.S. – Germany logged a record trade surplus with the United States last year, data showed Friday, news that could stoke tensions with US President Donald Trump as he threatens the EU with tariffs.
The United States also returned as the top trading partner for Europe’s biggest economy last year, it showed, overtaking China which had been in the number one spot since 2016…
Germany accounts for a hefty chunk of the European Union’s large trade surplus with the United States, which has been a source of anger for Trump.
Why is it that big German automakers are worried about Chinese retaliation?
Because they voluntarily put themselves in the position to be retaliated against. Think Germany’s voluntary dependency on Russian gas recently. That didn’t work out very well either. But for whatever reason, this is what Germans do.
Germany launches 11th-hour bid to avert trade war with China – Germany wants the EU to set tariffs on electric vehicles at a low level to avoid severe retaliation from Beijing…
Germany’s position was “problematic,” he said: While big German automakers still entertain good ties with Beijing, that’s not necessarily the case for smaller businesses, meaning “the German economy as a whole has an interest in a more assertive policy towards China.”
America’s relationship with Germany may never be the same again, Berlin warns.
Defense spending, a brewing trade war between the U.S. and Europe and the threat of U.S. tariffs on German car exports are all bones of contention, as well as the mega gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 (a German-Russian project) and, most recently, the Group of Seven (G-7) alliance and the U.S.’ decision to withdraw troops from Germany.
The Germans don’t want to cooperate, not in any of these areas and they’re playing the victim by putting all the blame on Dr. Evil. It’s a pretty easy tactic to see through and its been quite successful up until now. They got themselves into this mess, however. Germans always want an Extrawurst (an extra sausage, something for nothing). Trump sees this and is pointing the finger in the right direction. The Germans know that he sees this and they don’t like having been caught.
“We’re protecting Germany and they’re delinquent. That doesn’t make sense.”
German-U.S. Ties Are Breaking Down – Never since the founding of postwar Germany have relations between Berlin and the United States been as fragile as they are today. There is virtual radio silence between Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Donald Trump and U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell is doing more to agitate the situation than to mediate.
It’s quite easy to explain, really: “I’m making them pay their bills” and the Germans don’t want to pay these bills. They’ve never paid them in the past, they’re thinking, so why should we pay them now? If there’s anything else I can do to straighten any of this up for you here, just ask.
“There is no understanding, but there are also no misunderstandings.”
President Donald Trump just announced a new deal under which the EU will accept a high number of American beef exports, a move that will surely increase profits for US farmers and related industries. The EU will accept 45,000 tons of hormone-free beef from foreign countries every year, and America will be allowed to fulfill 35,000 tons of that quota after seven years — roughly 80 percent of the total.
“America has great beef. We’re selling more.”
German auto sector could drop as much as 12% if Trump announces tariffs, analyst says.
Gee, I wonder if there is anything the Germans/Europeans could do to prevent that from happening? I dunno. How about like maybe lowering their tariffs? Just thinking out loud here, people.
Germany’s automotive sector could fall as much as 12% over “three bad trading days,” if President Donald Trump imposes tariffs on European car manufacturers, one analyst told CNBC.
Trump has until Friday midnight (Washington time) to decide whether to impose duties on car imports. This would likely hurt Germany, the EU’s traditional growth engine, given that it is one of the largest direct car exporters to the U.S.
“If indeed we get U.S. car tariffs on imports from the euro zone — not just their announcement, you could forget our economic forecasts completely. No chance of a sustained pick-up in activity throughout the second half as we expect.”
Observing Hermann 