Summary
Germany vows not to “give in” as Donald Trump imposes a 25% tariff on imported cars, effective April 2, with parts tariffs starting in May.
France, Canada, China, and Japan criticize the move, warning of economic harm and trade disruptions. European leaders call for retaliatory tariffs to maintain a balanced trade field.
Automakers’ shares, including General Motors and Ford, dropped significantly.
Trump argues tariffs will boost US manufacturing, while critics claim they will increase consumer prices and hurt global economic ties.
Good point, China alone can get India driving in EV’s . One nagging thought Is that if US can’t have dominance by alliance, market control or coercion it will try to create dependence through war. If the world is at war, it knocks all directly involved parties way down the economic ladder, needing financial and industrial support from the US. Removes competition, creates highly indebted dependants , not unlike WW2. Speaking to some old timers , it’s clear that whenever the US economy falters they export war. Why would this be any different. Perhaps what we’re seeing with abandoning Europe to deal with Russia is a setup for EU to get economically degraded again. But if US is really trying to corner China as they say, leaving Europe vulnerable is counter productive as China will benefit.