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German finance minister warns of tariff hit to U.S. and German economies
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 28, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 28, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
German Finance Minister warns that U.S. tariffs will harm both economies, urging measures to prevent a trade war.
By Christian Kraemer
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Finance Minister Joerg Kukies warned on Friday that U.S. tariffs would hit both the German and the U.S. economies and that Berlin was working to prevent an escalating trade war.
Kukies made the statement to Reuters after meeting his U.S. counterpart, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and other members of the Trump administration in Washington.
The United States announced late on Wednesday 25% duties on imports of finished cars and certain components from April 3, dashing hopes for lower rates or exemptions after several short-term policy changes suggested there might be wiggle room.
"Higher tariffs will hit German car manufacturers and the entire German economy particularly hard. But they will also harm the U.S. economy, because they will make imports more expensive and increase prices for consumers in the U.S.," he said.
Export-oriented car companies in Europe, most notably Germany's big automakers, are heavily exposed.
"At the European level, we will continue to work on measures to protect our own economy. However, it is also clear that there are only losers in a trade conflict," he added.
(Reporting by Christian Kraemer, writing by Tom Sims; Editing by Gareth Jones)
The article discusses the impact of U.S. tariffs on the German and U.S. economies, as warned by Germany's Finance Minister.
Germany is working to prevent an escalating trade war and considering European measures to protect its economy.
German Finance Minister Joerg Kukies and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are involved in discussions.
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