President Donald Trump is poised to introduce a total ban on German luxury carmakers from the U.S. market, a report by the German magazine WirtschaftsWocheaccording claims, CNBC informed.
Citing several unnamed U.S. and European diplomats, the weekly business magazine informed that Trump told French President Emmanuel Macron last month he would proceed with his trade policy with the aim of stopping Mercedes-Benz models from driving down Fifth Avenue in New York.
The report comes less than two weeks after the U.S. Department of Commerce initiated a probe into automobile imports to determine whether they “threaten to impair the national security” of the U.S. That could lead to tariffs of up to 25 percent on the same “national security” grounds used to impose metal imports charges in March.
Europe’s autos sector was trading lower shortly after the report was published Thursday, with German automakers leading the losses during mid-morning deals. Shares of Daimler, Porsche and Volkswagen were all trading off around 1 percent on the news.
Volkswagen was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC Thursday, while Daimler refused to issue a statement.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
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