EU car makers ‘concerned’ about US probe into automobile imports

LONDON (ICIS)–The EU’s chemical-intensive automobile industry expressed on Monday its “concern” about a proposed investigation in the US into imports of vehicles and auto parts, according to trade group the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).

The US recently announced it plans to launch a national security investigation into imports of vehicles and auto parts as it seeks to promote its domestic automobile industry.

The EU is a large car exporter to the US. European manufacturers pay lower tariffs selling cars into the US than those that the country’s companies pay when selling into the 28-coutnry bloc.

ACEA said that EU-US auto-related trade currently accounts for around 10% of the total trade between the two regions.

“Automobile manufacturers active in both Europe and the US are truly global players with interests in both regions. Any trade-restrictive measure in the automotive sector will have a serious negative impact not only on the EU, but also on the US and the global economy,” said ACEA’s secretary general Erik Jonnaert.

The trade group highlighted how many European car makers have manufacturing facilities in the US which create “hundreds of thousands” of direct and indirect jobs.

The effect of higher tariffs on EU car makers, said ACEA, would not only affect direct imports to the US, but also the facilities European companies have in that country.

It added that a large part of their car produced in the US by European manufacturers is exported to third countries, including countries in the EU.

“The automobile industry is a major investor in both the US and the European economies, creating economic growth and employment. We are convinced that vehicle imports from the EU do not pose a national security risk to the US,” said Jonnaert.

Pictured: Car stockpile of import and export vehicles in Duisburg, Germany
Source: Hans Blossey/imageBROKER/REX/Shutterstock