How to get your Dodge cheaper
With those sky-high American import duties, it’s no wonder that representatives of European car manufacturers are working long days to improve the situation as quickly as possible. Mercedes is making a striking proposal that could also mean ‘free’ import of American cars into Europe.
You can bet that some evenings are being worked through in various offices in Europe and the US. Currently, an import duty of 25 percent is in effect for cars built in Europe that are destined for the US, which is a very expensive joke for many German car manufacturers in particular.
Today we hear via Reuters and Automotive News once again about a plan that has been whispered before: offset the American import of a European car against the European import of an American car. This proposal comes this time from Mercedes and means that a zero tariff applies to the mutual supply of cars, provided that the numbers in which this happens are in agreement with each other. In recent years, the EU applied a levy of 10 percent on cars (and other goods) from the US, while there was only a 2.5 percent import duty the other way around. In the meantime, that last rate has been increased tenfold, although negotiations are ongoing for a more definitive solution.
The ‘compensation method’ sounds like a deal that could mainly work in favor of the US, because at the moment far more cars go from Europe to the US than the other way around. Nevertheless, Mercedes apparently sees merit in it, if only to have at least part of the exported cars make the crossing ‘for free’. Such a deal could also serve as a starting point for companies in other industries, according to Reuters.