The European Union (EU) must “stand up” to the imposition of tariffs of up to 25% announced last Wednesday by US President Donald Trump, according to the latest statement from the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E), published this Friday.
For T&E, yielding to Trump’s demands to recognise US car standards as equivalent to European ones would be a serious mistake.
The organisation acknowledges that EU car manufacturers are in a difficult situation, and that the tariffs announced by Trump will affect their global supply chains and increase costs.
“After losing millions of car sales in China due to their poor electric vehicle offering, they now find themselves at a disadvantage in another major market,” it adds.
The statement, signed by the Director-General of T&E in Brussels, William Todts, highlights that Donald Trump’s position on tariffs has two aspects.
On one hand, he believes the tariffs will force the relocation of car manufacturing.
On the other, “he is annoyed that Europeans don’t accept US cars, in other words, he’s frustrated that US cars don’t sell well in Europe.”
In response, T&E argues that “there is a good reason for this: generally, they don’t meet EU safety and environmental standards.”
“Perhaps, trade negotiators thought, could we persuade Donald Trump to remove or reduce the tariffs if we solve this problem for him? So, in recent weeks, Commission officials have been considering the idea of removing EU standards and equating US vehicles, with their lower safety and environmental performance, to those of the EU,” the organisation states.
In this regard, Todts insists that the EU Executive cannot “seriously” consider opening the door to trucks like RAM models, the Ford F150, and “gigantic” SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade or the Chevrolet Silverado.
T&E argues that with vehicles having such high and “blunt” fronts, “it’s no surprise that pedestrian deaths on US roads have increased by 83% since 2009.”
Meanwhile, it points out that Trump “is destroying the weak regulations in place and shutting down federal agencies that have the ability to verify whether self-certified US companies comply with them.”
“This highlights the risk that the European Commission’s Clean Industrial Pact becomes a cover to do whatever it takes to accommodate the big corporations’ demands,” the organisation adds.
A DISCREET RESPONSE
T&E also criticises the EU leaders’ response to Trump, calling it “too discreet,” and claims that the US president is “in collusion with Europe’s enemy,” Vladimir Putin.
The environmental group insists that the response “cannot be simply giving the other party what they want,” and that Europe “must recognise that its interests do not always align with those of multinational carmakers.”
“Companies are more than willing to fight against Europe’s long-term strategic interests if their short-term profits are at risk (just look at the debate on the CO2 Regulation),” the organisation adds.
Thus, T&E reaffirms that European leaders “must not only stand up to Putin, but also to Donald Trump.”
“Taking him on in the car war would be a good start. Let Trump build a wall to protect expensive, gas-guzzling SUVs. Meanwhile, Europe and China can compete and collaborate in the race for fully electric, software-defined, and automated vehicles,” it concludes.
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