Europe’s car exporters remain in limbo over U.S. import tariffs despite last month’s trade deal, according to Wallenius Wilhelmsen, one of the world’s largest car-carrier operators.
The U.S. and European Union agreed in late July to set import tariffs on most European goods, including vehicles, at 15%, down from the 27.5% rate imposed earlier this year by President Donald Trump. However, the reduced rate has yet to take effect for cars, as the White House has not issued the required executive order.
Wallenius CEO Lasse Kristoffersen said the lack of clarity is unsettling the industry. “So far we actually do not know exactly what the tariff level will be.
Our customers do not know either, so it is too early to say what they’ll do,” he said, noting that BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo Cars are among those affected.
Kristoffersen explained that earlier this year, carmakers rushed to ship vehicles to the U.S. before the tariff hike took effect, but the trend reversed at the start of the second quarter. “We saw that they held more back in the start of the second quarter, but that volumes increased throughout the quarter,” he said.
Until the new rate is formally implemented, exporters and shipping firms remain braced for potential last-minute policy shifts that could again disrupt transatlantic auto trade flows.
Written By Rodney Mbua
