Already taking aim at Mexico, President-elect Donald Trump is now warning he might enact a 35 percent "border tax" on Canadian and German automobile imports, NBC News reported.
"You can build cars for the United States, but for every car that comes to the USA, you will pay 35 percent tax," Trump told the German newspaper Bild, in an interview published Monday.
"In the long term, the United States would be shooting itself in the foot by imposing tariffs or other trade barriers," said Matthias Wissmann, president of the German automotive industry association VDA.
Trump specifically focused on BMW, noting that it is building a plant in Mexico that would produce vehicles for the U.S. market. But BMW would not be alone among German automakers. Audi last year opened a Mexican plant that is now the sole global source for the newly redesigned Q5 sport-utility vehicle. And Mercedes-Benz is preparing to set up a joint venture with Nissan's Infiniti brand in the Mexican city of Aguascalientes, where it will produce some of its new entry-luxury models.
