Trump’s tariffs threaten to crush Germany’s struggling car industry

“This isn’t a headwind for German carmaking, it’s a full-on storm,” says Sander Tordoir, the chief economist at the Centre for European Reform think-tank. ...“Germany, as a manufacturing hub, is being squeezed between China and the US,” Tordoir says. “It’s very tough for them.”

Tordoir, at the Centre for European Reform, believes the German car giants can weather the storm.

However, this will require Berlin and the rest of Europe to boost domestic demand, probably with EV subsidies and for Germany to foster closer economic ties with countries such as the UK or South American nations that are still pro-free trade, he argues.

Tordoir has also argued that the EU should bolster domestic carmakers by only allowing “made in the EU” vehicles to qualify for support.

Still, he admits that this type of trade protectionism is at odds with the frictionless global trade that Scholz seems determined to cling to.