Auto Powers Plotting Response to Trump Tariffs

Canada, the European Union, Japan, Mexico and South Korea will meet in Geneva next week to discuss how to respond to threats by US President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on US imports of autos and car parts, officials familiar with the talks said, Reuters reported. The Trump administration has come under heavy criticism from automakers, foreign governments and others as it considers tariffs of up to 25%, a levy critics warn will hike vehicle costs, hurting auto sales and global industry jobs. Several auto manufacturing powers have been talking to each other in recent days about their fears and a possible coordinated response to Trump’s “Section 232” investigation, which he ordered on May 23, into whether auto imports are a threat to US security, sources say. It was not immediately clear what kind of response the countries could be looking at, although Canada, the EU and Mexico retaliated with their own tariffs after Trump imposed levies on steel and aluminum imports in March. Another option is to fight the United States at the World Trade Organization.