Trump launched a cannon against the European car market, stating that Europe is not importing American vehicles, and announcing a drastic increase in tariffs.
"We have made a decision, we will announce it soon, and it will be 25% in general, and it will concern cars and all things. They do not accept our cars, they do not accept our agricultural products properly, for many different reasons. And we accept everything and we have a deficit of 300 billion with the European Union" – stated president of the United States.
Against his dreams, according to data The European Vehicle Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) in 2022 the Union imported 272,000 cars from the US worth a full of $9 billion. The fact is that she has sold much more of hers to the States – 739,000 pieces worth $37 billion – but the origin is not where Trump points, playing for chaos and inciting antagonisms.
Why are we buying little cars from the United States?
For most Europeans, American cars are not peculiarly attractive. Our marketplace prefers smaller and more economical vehicles, adapted to the realities of urban life with higher density and higher fuel prices (in the end Europe is an importer of oil and the US an exporter).
By data The global Energy Agency (IEA) in 2017 average burning of fresh cars in the US was 8 liters per 100 km, while in Germany 6 liters and in Italy and France 5. It is so not amazing that EU producers specialise in segments B (small, urban cars – Fabia), C (compacts – Golf, Leon, Octavia) or D (family sedans and wagon), possibly "urban SUVs" (in my opinion they are oxymoron), and US producers in SUVs and pick-ups.
Indeed, European tariffs on passenger vehicles from the US are much higher (10%) than those applied by the another side (2.5%). It is not surprising, however, that they are so climatious – in this respect only diesels, mainly German, which were besides placed in Europe on censored, receive bans on entering the centres of many cities.
In addition European Commission indicatesthat in the most crucial section of passenger vehicles for the USA Americans already apply 25% tariffs to the EU. We are talking about pick-ups, which account for 1 3rd of their automotive market.
Also mentioned by the president of the United States, the amount of the US deficit in trade with Europe is heavy distorted. According to Trump, it amounts to $300 billion, and according to information provided by its own Executive Office – 236 billion (as of 2024). The boss is simply a small round. This second figure may besides be inflated – according to the same office in 2023 the US reported a deficit of $209 billion in trade in goods from the EU, and by Eurostat EUR 157 billion, or about $165 billion.
Let us not forget services
Commercial relations are not limited to the exchange of goods. Services are very important, and here the U.S. leads the primacy. Furthermore, promoted by the US for almost 3 decades – during Reagan's term, 2 Bushes and Clintons – the model of liberal capitalism has been focusing on expansion of services and offshoring industry, so the current grievances are truly insolent.
In the streaming industry, US films and tv series present have almost full hegemony – Netflix, Disney, Max (HBO), Amazon Prime or Apple tv are American companies. SkyShowtime, although created for the European market, belongs to the Americans too. Europeans only have Scandinavian Viaplay.
Also another digital services the Americans monopolized. The social YouTube video platform actually does not have competition, as does the Google search engine belonging to the same company. All major social networking sites but Chinese Tik-Tok are American. In the planet of gaming on individual computers digital sales dominated the American Valve corp Steam platform, and effort to compete with it American Microsoft store and Epic Games store (at 1 time in this segment, the Polish CD task GOG platform worked bravely but failed). Game Pass, owned by Xbox (Microsoft), enjoys no more serious competition in streaming games. In digital services, Europe's Spotify became dominant in music streaming.
The value of services should so be added to the fair assessment of Euroatlantic trade relations. By Eurostat data, in 2023 the value of those imported from the US by Europe amounted to as much as EUR 427 billion, which is small little than the value of the goods flowing the another way around (EUR 504 billion). In trade in services, the EU has a large deficit of € 109 billion. So in 2023, the Americans were only EUR 48 billion on the line. For the United States, it is simply a marginal amount -– the equivalent of little than 2 promoted their then GDP.
It's hard to tell what's worse: the intent or the means it justifies
There is no trade in services in Trump's narrative. Even the president's office keeps them quiet. They besides execute a akin selection of facts as regards tariffs. They only choose those cases where duties are actually unfavourable to the US, as in the case of passenger vehicles, to present the States as injured and exploited. Meanwhile, overall, the rates of work applicable to each another are very similar. "In practice, given the actual trade in goods between the EU and the US, the average tariff rate on both sides is around 1%. In 2023, the US drew around €7 billion from EU export tariffs and the EU raised around €3 billion for US export" inform the European Commission.
This does not prevent Trump from showing the European Union task as an anti-American scam. "The European Union was created to screw the United States. That's her goal, and they did a good job. But now I am the president” – stated the President. If we wanted to believe in the conspiracy, it should be considered spectacularly suicidal, due to the fact that post-war European integration was supported by the US – to mention only Marshall's Plan and the creation of NATO.
All this ridiculous anturaze shouldn't fool us. The American goals are clear – to pluck out as much as possible, even if it is highly unfair to partners (although now alternatively rivals, if not enemies). In trade in goods, they lose, so they forcefully push ridiculously advanced duties. In trade in services they dominate, so they powerfully argue any regulation and effort to force taxation preferences. They will talk and compose everything to accomplish what they want, due to the fact that people came to power there, for whom not only the goal justifies the means, but the goal itself is 100% partial.
However, it is rather likely that tampered with manipulations will overestimate their forces in Trump's commercial war. As a result, digital platforms can appear in Europe, which will replace duties and restrictions on giants from the US. Their launch requires much little investment and time than restoring industrial potential. The key to success is the usage of economies of scale, as the main attraction for users is another users, who together can make a snowball mechanism, inducing a given platform to the top even without the peculiar creativity of its creators (and frequently even despite their many mistakes). Meanwhile, the effect of the scale of American platforms was highly conducive to the existence of Pax American just leaving.
All of this, unfortunately, does not mean that industrial jobs will come back to Potomak in bulk – it will be much cheaper for most production stages to be carried out in Mexico or China, and in the United States only to be able to put the "made in US" description on.
