Following the submission to the White House of the US Department of Commerce’s report on the Section 232 national security investigation into motor vehicle and auto part imports, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has cautioned that the application of additional duties on imports of passenger cars and parts would not only severely affect the EU industry, but also the US economy and consumers alike. It would mean that all automobile manufacturers in the United States, whether domestic or international, would face a significant increase in costs, ACEA said.
ACEA indicated that this cost increase would have to be mitigated by lowering margins, reducing production costs or passing additional purchase and repair costs on to consumers. Such measures would make American automobile manufacturing less competitive and hit US consumers in their pockets. In other words, the imposition of tariffs would have a counter-productive effect on the US economy.
European auto makers produce close to one million vehicles in the United States per year, of which roughly 60 percent are exported. All in all, EU manufacturers directly and indirectly employ more than 470,000 Americans, which means that European auto makers are major investors in the US economy, ACEA stated.