Donald Trump’s so-called ‘Liberation Day’ has arrived, and one country, in particular, is bracing for the impact of a confirmed tariff.
If you’ve missed Trump’s repeated references to ‘Liberation Day,’ it’s the name he’s given to today, April 2, as he prepares to take the White House Rose Garden stage to announce sweeping tariffs on nations around the world.
Trump kicked off the day with a Truth Social post declaring: “IT’S LIBERATION DAY IN AMERICA!”—a clear sign of his enthusiasm. But not everyone is celebrating.
While details remain scarce, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has hinted that the tariffs will include reciprocal measures, meaning the U.S. will match other countries’ tariffs dollar for dollar.
Now, the big question remains: which country will feel the most pain from Trump’s latest trade move?
Trump is set to announce his tariffs at the White House (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
However, Trump has already confirmed one new measure that comes into effect today; new import taxes of 25 percent on cars coming into the US. Charges on businesses importing vehicles are set to start tomorrow (April 3), while taxes on car parts are expected to begin sometime after May.
The POTUS claimed the tariff would result in ‘tremendous growth’ for the automobile industry in the US, spurring both jobs and investments, but the potential benefits in the US come at a huge cost for one country in particular – Germany.
Germany is the top car producer in Europe, having manufactured approximately 4.1 million cars, including almost 1.3 million electric vehicles, in 2024.
Economists have now admitted that the country is in the ‘eye of the storm’ when it comes to the new measures.
Germany is Europe’s biggest car producer (David Hecker/Getty Images)
According to NBC News, economists Inga Fechner and Rico Luman, from Dutch bank ING, said: “Germany’s car industry is in the eye of the storm and by far most exposed in terms of value, with major players like Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche likely getting hit by tariffs.”
Oliver Chapman, Group CEO of supply chain management firm OCI, also spoke about the impact of the tariffs on Germany as he told The Express: “The automotive industry will be heavily impacted by ‘Liberation Day’ as described by Trump’s tariffs announcement.
“Germany will likely be impacted the most with a 25 percent tariff on foreign-made vehicles. This is an effort to get more Americans to buy domestically produced vehicles.
“The US is a major importer of BMW and Mercedes-Benz,” Chapman continued. “It consistently ranks as one of the top two purchasers of these makes, regularly swapping places with China. Both of these car manufacturers could be seriously impacted on Wednesday.”
Though Germany is expected to be hit hard by Trump’s move, Fechner and Luman made clear that it’s not the only country that will be impacted.
They added: “Slovakia – home to several car plants – is most exposed in terms of total US export volume.”
