EU prepares to hit back if US puts tariffs on car imports

Earlier this month, the EU published an analysis of the potential economic impact of U.S. tariffs on the auto industry and estimated that it could lead the EU and other U.S. trade partners to retaliate with tariffs on $294 billion worth of American goods, or about 19 percent of total U.S. exports.

It noted that EU car companies are big employers in the U.S., providing jobs to about half a million people through direct employment and dealerships. The tariffs, the bloc said, would hurt U.S. GDP by between $13 billion to $14 billion.

For Europe, there is a lot at stake as companies like BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen, and Fiat Chrysler send $46.6 billion worth of vehicles every year to the U.S. Some 13.3 million people, or 6.1 percent of the employed population of the EU, work in the automotive sector, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.


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