Automotive News Europe — 2025-06-05
Automotive Industry
Mercedes-Benz has proposed a deal under which U.S. cars could be imported into Europe duty free in exchange for tariff waivers on the same number of vehicles that EU automakers export to the U.S.
“For every car that leaves the USA or Europe, a car from the other side comes in duty free,” Mercedes CEO Ola Kallenius told Spiegel magazine. “We have put this idea to both sides and it is a possible component of the negotiations between the USA and the EU.”
Such a deal could act as a precedent for other industries, Kallenius said.
Mercedes, and German rivals BMW and Volkswagen, are in talks with Washington over a possible import tariff deal, sources told Reuters last month.
In a separate interview with the Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, Kallenius said Mercedes was available as a “sounding board” for — and to contribute ideas to — EU and U.S. trade talks.
“As a company, we hold talks with political decision-makers in the EU as well as in China and the U.S.,” Kallenius said.
“However, negotiations take place at EU level because trade policy falls within the EU’s remit. We are available as a sounding board, contributing ideas and presenting scenarios showing how certain decisions would affect us,” he said.
German automakers have been in the cross hairs of President Donald Trump, who has put in place tariffs of 25 percent on car imports into the U.S., the biggest export market for VW, BMW and Mercedes.