Audi halts US deliveries amid tariff turmoil under Trump
Audi, a car manufacturer based in Ingolstadt, is halting vehicle deliveries to the USA due to tariffs on cars imposed by President Donald Trump, reports Germany's "Der Spiegel".
"President Trump's tariff regime not only causes losses in stock markets," we read in the electronic edition of the German daily. "Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, is currently one of the first large corporations to pull the strings."
It's worth noting that Audi's parent company, Volkswagen, has also warned its dealers in the United States and announced additional costs. This was reported last week by the "Wall Street Journal." Jaguar Land Rover also suspended car deliveries to the United States for the entire month of April, as the company announced on Saturday.
On Thursday, the automotive giant Stellantis announced that it will temporarily lay off 900 employees at its plants in the USA. It will also suspend operations for two weeks at its plants in Canada and Mexico.
"In light of the new tariffs in the automotive sector coming into effect, we will need our collective resilience and discipline to survive this difficult time," said Antonio Filosa, head of Stellantis America, in an email to employees quoted by ABC.
"American tariff mania"
Starting April 3, car imports to the USA are subject to tariffs at a rate of 25%. These are in addition to the existing tariffs of 2.5%. Beginning in May, 150 categories of car parts will also be subject to additional tariffs.
"American tariff mania could trigger a spiral that may also drag countries into recession and cause enormous damage worldwide," stated German Economy Minister Robert Habeck on Thursday, quoted by the "Bild" newspaper portal. In his opinion, these measures will have "bad consequences for many people."
