Volkswagen halted shipments to the United States due to new duties

Volkswagen has temporarily halted rail shipments of cars from Mexico to the United States due to the introduction of new import duties by the administration of Donald Trump. This was reported on April 3 by Automotive News with reference to a memo to dealers.

On April 2, Trump announced large-scale measures: base tariffs of 10% are being introduced for all products supplied to the United States. So, for the EU, this indicator has been raised to 20%, for Mexico and Canada — to 25%, and for China — to 34%.

According to the publication, prices for Volkswagen cars in the United States will increase significantly: the company will include the cost of paying a 25 percent duty in the cost of cars. For the U.S. market, Volkswagen produces ID electric crossovers at the Tennessee plant.4 and Atlas SUVs. Models such as the ID. Buzz and Golf are imported from Europe, while the Tiguan and Taos with the Jetta are shipped from Mexico.

It is noted that German automakers were among the most affected companies from Trump's high duties on car imports. The high demand for profitable crossovers and the slow transition of U.S. residents to electric vehicles make this market very lucrative for companies such as Mercedes-Benz AG and Porsche.

According to Bloomberg, Mercedes-Benz is already considering withdrawing its most affordable models from sale in the United States, as their sale on the market will be economically unprofitable due to new duties.

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He also declared a state of emergency in the United States due to the trade balance.

The day before, it was reported that the antimonopoly authorities of the European Union fined more than 10 automakers, including Volkswagen and Stellantis, for a total of €458 million for participating in a cartel in the field of recycling decommissioned cars.