German industry groups warned on Sunday that threatened new US tariffs linked to President Donald Trump’s push to acquire Greenland could severely damage trans-Atlantic relations and inflict heavy costs on European firms.
Germany’s mechanical engineering association VDMA said Europe must take a firm stance after Trump announced forthcoming tariffs on goods from Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Britain, the Netherlands and Finland.
The measures would start at 10% from February 1 and rise to 25% from June 1 unless an agreement is reached on what Trump described as the "complete and total purchase of Greenland."
"Europe must not allow itself to be blackmailed, not even by the United States," said VDMA President Bertram Kawlath. "If the EU gives in here, it will only embolden the American president to make the next absurd demand and threaten further tariffs."
Kawlath said Europe must confront what he described as US expansionist policy with unity and determination, and called on Brussels to examine whether the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) could be deployed. The tool allows the bloc to impose countermeasures when economic pressure is used to force political decisions.
Germany’s automotive industry association VDA also warned that the proposed tariffs would place a heavy burden on German and European industry.
"The costs of these additional tariffs would be enormous for German and European industry at a time that is already extremely challenging," VDA President Hildegard Mueller said.
She urged the European Commission to pursue a “smart, strategic and coordinated response” with affected countries, adding that the United States must respect Greenland’s right to self-determination.
The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) echoed calls for European unity, saying Brussels must not allow itself to be divided by economic pressure against individual member states. “Economic coercion can only be countered with a clear and common European position,” said Volker Treier, the DIHK’s head of foreign trade.
Treier said sharp countermeasures should remain a last resort, but stressed that all EU trade defence instruments, including the Anti-Coercion Instrument, should now be examined.
The dispute has also cast doubt on a provisional EU-US trade agreement reached last year aimed at easing transatlantic tariff tensions. Under the deal, which still requires approval by the European Parliament, most European goods would face a US tariff of 15%, while tariffs on US industrial products would be scrapped and barriers to certain food imports removed.
German industry representatives said approval of the agreement now appeared unlikely. "Given the current threats, it is hard to imagine reducing EU tariffs on many American goods to zero," Treier said.
- German industry
- EU
- Trump
- Tariffs
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
