The Next Trump Trade Target - Germany
Münster, Beresa, Mercedes-Benz C-Klasse Cabrio -- 2018
Image by
Dietmar Rabich

U.S. President Trump has another trade target in his crosshairs - Germany.

Trump has long complained that the EU, and especially Germany, is taking advantage of the United States with its tariff policies against America. The U.S. Commerce Department is scheduled to deliver to POTUS this weekend a report of the national security implications of the trade imbalance with Berlin. This would start a 90 day comment period before a 25% tariff could be enacted.

Proposed 25 percent import tariffs on cars by the United States could cut German car exports to the U.S. by 50 percent in the long-term and heavily affect exports to other countries, a study by the German Ifo institute showed on Friday, reported Autoblog.com.

"These tariffs would cut total car exports from Germany by 7.7 percent, which would amount to 18.4 billion euros," Gabriel Felbermayr, foreign trade expert at Ifo, said in a statement.

There is strong Congressional opposition to any tariffs on imported cars from the European Union. Germany charges a 10% tariff against the United States while America charges a 2.5% tariff on imported cars. The U.S. charges a 25% tariff on imported trucks.