BILLIONS of pounds were wiped off the value of European car giants yesterday as shares slid in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The President triggered a car crash for the industry by announcing a 25 per cent blanket tariff on all foreign-made vehicles.
The move also impacts British car makers with the US accounting for 16.9 per cent of all exports, worth £6.7 billion.
British luxury car brands Range Rovers, Bentleys, Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce, Lotus and Minis are all popular with American drivers.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves yesterday said that there were “intense negotiations”; with the US amid hopes that the UK can still wangle some exemptions from the tariffs.
London-listed James Bond favourite Aston Martin, which shipped 1,928 cars to the US last year, skidded to a record low after losing 6.6 per cent
Shares in Vauxhall owner, Stellantis, dropped by 4.2 per cent while German manufacturers Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen all dropped.
Andrew Griffith, the shadow trade secretary, said: “This auto tariff announcement is concerning. The sector is under pressure and British jobs are clearly now at real risk.”;
It is embarrassing for Business Secretary Johny Reynolds who last week flew to Washington in the hope of smoothing out concessions in a global trade war.
Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos yesterday slammed European politicians for failing to negotiate a better solution. “This is what happens when politicians sit on their hands”;, the Grenadier maker said.
