German politicians, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, strongly condemned U.S. tariffs on EU goods, viewing them as a threat to global order and hinting at reciprocal measures. The German auto industry, particularly Volkswagen, faces significant challenges with expected multi-billion dollar losses due to new 25% tariffs on cars and auto parts manufactured outside the U.S. Other car manufacturers are also bracing for financial impact.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Yes, strongly opposed the reaction here in Germany. We'll start off with what the politicians
00:05have had to say. And Chancellor or caretaker Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that these were
00:10fundamentally wrong, these tariffs against the EU, the 20% that will be levied on all
00:15goods, saying that they were a threat to the global order and that Europe was prepared
00:23to retaliate. Now, we heard a similar message from the the vice chancellor and caretaker
00:29economy minister Robert Habeck, who said that these were the the most destructive tariff
00:34hikes in 90 years, but said that Europe had cards in its arsenal that it could play when
00:41it came to reciprocal tariffs. We haven't heard as of yet as of me coming to to speak
00:45to you from the chancellor and waiting Friedrich Merz, but he has been fundamentally opposed
00:49to these in the past. In terms of industry here in Germany, the the BGA, which is a big
00:54trade association, said all this is going to result in is higher costs for consumers
00:58here in Germany and in the United States. But it's the auto industry that looks set
01:03to take the biggest hit here in Germany, because not only do they have to put up with the 20%
01:08tariff that was announced by Donald Trump most recently, but also on Thursday, a new
01:13tariff of 25% on all cars and auto parts manufactured outside of the US comes into effect. Now,
01:19for Volkswagen, this is particularly worrisome. The huge German car manufacturer, 80% of their
01:25cars are eligible for tariffs on this. In fact, they've just announced they're going
01:29to stop all all shipments of cars coming into the US for now. And they're hoping to come
01:34up with a strategy in the coming weeks. Other car manufacturers announcing multi billion
01:39dollar losses that they expect to take because of these new tariffs. I had a look at what
01:44the German car industry is facing and what potential reciprocal tariffs what potential
01:50options remain for Germany and the European Union.