German Chancellor Angela Merkel has labeled as “frightening” the prospect that European car imports could be declared a national security threat to the United States. Two people familiar with the matter earlier told AFP that the Commerce Department report has concluded that auto imports pose such a threat. As part of his “America First” agenda, US President Donald Trump has already imposed a range of tariffs against allies, as well as China. In 2017 just under half of the 17 million cars sold in the United States were imported, most of them produced in Canada and Mexico. German automobile groups last year exported 470,000 cars from Germany to the United States, according to the VDA manufacturers’ federation.

Source: The Guardian February 18, 2019 11:15 UTC