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Germany’s powerful car lobby has warned that delays in implementing a new EU-US trade agreement are costing manufacturers billions of euros, urging both Berlin and Brussels to press Washington to deliver on its commitments.
Hildegard Mueller, head of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), told Handelsblatt that the deal signed in late July by US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had so far offered “no clarity and no improvement” for carmakers. She said the industry was already facing losses in the billions, with costs continuing to rise.
The agreement was intended to cut US auto tariffs from 27.5% to 15%, but Washington has yet to lift its sector-specific duty on European vehicles. Mueller insisted that the United States must remove these tariffs entirely for both European and German manufacturers, calling on the EU Commission and the German government to intensify their efforts to secure the change.
At a press briefing, EU trade spokesperson Olof Gill confirmed that the US had pledged the lower tariff rate would apply to cars but could not provide a date for when the change would take effect. “We know that it will happen,” he said, “but we don’t know precisely when.”
