Mercedes-Benz’s CEO has proposed a tariff deal to the U.S. in favor of the EU

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alteregooo@reddit

nobody’s gonna buy american cars in Europe lol

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InvasionOfScipio@reddit

The BMW X3 is built in South Carolina and exported.

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7148675309@reddit

And X4,5,6,7,M…. they are not all made exclusively in the US but majority of them in Europe are built in the US.

X3 for the UK is from South Africa - don’t know about the rest of Europe. Weirdly google says some X3s are exported from South Africa to the US - which given it it also made in the US I am not sure why they would do that….

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09Customx@reddit

Could be certain trims like the hybrid or X3M that are exclusive to the US factory.

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su1ac0@reddit

so are most Merc SUV's and some sedans.

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alteregooo@reddit

didn’t know, thanks!

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sailornewport@reddit

Tesla?

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xTatamo@reddit

build near berlin in that new factory

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alteregooo@reddit

not doing so hot in Europe I am afraid

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ur_sexy_body_double@reddit

Ford...?

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StatusCount7032@reddit

When they were designed and made in eu. RS500, for example.

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ur_sexy_body_double@reddit

The design teams and supply chains are global these'n days. BMW builds X3 and X5 in South Carolina. Subaru has a huge factory in Indiana (that's where my Legacy was built). Are those American cars? Same X3 you can buy in Europe, built is South Carolina.

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7148675309@reddit

X3s in Europe are largely built in South Africa.

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Candlemass17@reddit

Ford’s European branch has historically had a totally different lineup than the US market that was designed and built there. It’s only recently that they’ve begun to standardize models across both markets, and even then many are built in the market that they’re sold in even if they otherwise share a supply chain.

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bigev007@reddit

Now they're unstandardizing again because the US doesn't buy small and the RoW is reluctant to buy big

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ur_sexy_body_double@reddit

Well yeah traditionally we haven't had to worry about the price of fuel since we are an energy exporter. Why pinch pennies for marginal benefit when you can afford to fuel up a large car? I did some Googling and am estimating the price of fuel in UK, Belgium, France, and Czech Republic (just pulling a few for comparison) to be between the equivalent of $5.85 and $7.25 USD per US gallon. Correct me if I'm way off, but that means it costs me half what it costs a Western European to drive. I filled up this morning for $3.09/gallon (it does help I'm not in California).

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bigev007@reddit

It's more about taxes than raw fuel costs. Take out the taxes and plenty of energy importing countries have lower prices than the US.

Still, yeah, why not buy a suburban when gas is $3/gal

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ur_sexy_body_double@reddit

care to show your math on the first statement? I'll show you mine if you show me yours. As a Minnesotan, I'm paying about $0.52/gallon in taxes on my fuel ($0.138/liter). Looking at the UK, it's translated to $2.72 USD/US gallon in taxes.

So I'm paying $3.09/gallon for fuel, of which $0.52 is taxes, leaving $2.57/gallon just for the fuel (and inputs). In the UK, that's $6.69 USD/US gallon of which $2.72 is fuel duty, leaving $3.97/gallon.

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themasterofbation@reddit

Years back, I used to see Ford Mondeos, Focus', Fiestas and Ford Transits often.

Now, I can't even tell you what the 2025 models look like, because they just aren't "here".

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2braincellsarguing@reddit

All the nordic countries will carry Europe on it’s shoulders in buying US cars, lol

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Imakeshittycardesign@reddit

Maybe American brands but Merc or BMW export a shit ton of Amercian made SUVs to Europe. BMW is actually the biggest car exporter of the US in terms of revenue.

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Quick_Coyote_7649@reddit (OP)

Right lol

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bishopredline@reddit

Can we please stop calling it a tariff... it is a federal sales tax that American buyers pay to the federal government.

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caterham09@reddit

A legitimately fair deal that should be totally unnecessary

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ChrisTosi@reddit

Since Feb 2025, US has been offered 100% tariff free trade by some trade partners and US has completely ignored those offers.

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DreamBiggerMyDarling@reddit

cause it's not about tariffs it's about trade deficits. They want these countries to source more of their imports from the U.S to balance it out, right or wrong just sayin' that's the motivation.

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ChrisTosi@reddit

No, it's actually about shifting the tax burden to a regressive system that taxes the poorest the hardest and gutting US soft power across the globe but potato potatoe right.

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DreamBiggerMyDarling@reddit

gunna take a lot of shifting for that to occur, the wealthy pay damn near all taxes in the U.S right now lol, not sure the poor could even cover the bill despite there being a metric fuck ton of them comparatively.

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ChrisTosi@reddit

Who do you think is pushing for this? It's not the poor or "they all hate on the rich".

It's the rich people pushing for this. Wonder why.

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

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Formber@reddit

The discussion is about politics. Go away, stupid bot.

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PerryTheRacistPanda@reddit

I mean, many are willing to take that gamble.

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dnyank1@reddit

that's what they say their motivation is.

Hard to believe they're actually that stupid - "running a trade deficit" means we trade fake pieces of paper for goods and services our people need, more than the reverse. That's a great fuckin deal and everyone in government knows it - right, left or sideways.

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SB_90s@reddit

It's also sided in favour to the US technically, because the Europe exports many more cars to the US than vice versa. So basically every US car export will be tariff free but not all of the European cars.

I really hope this deal doesn't go through because every concession and net benefit secured for US trade is simply justifying Trump's mafia shakedown tactics, and will only make him emboldened to keep pushing the limits.

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Realistic_Village184@reddit

How does that work in practice? Like say that the US plans to export 100,000 cars to Europe in 2030 and Europe plans to export 300,000 cars to the US in the same year. Which specific EU cars would qualify for the 100,000 duty-free status? Would it just be the first 100,000 imported? What if, later in the year, things shift and there are fewer than 100,000 that are ultimately exported by the US?

It sounds like a possible idea, but I would want to see an actual robust proposal rather than just floating a vague idea.

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Quick_Coyote_7649@reddit (OP)

I think in that case theyd be able to get the 300k cars there without charge and the U.S. would be able to get their next 200k there without charge

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Realistic_Village184@reddit

What you're saying makes no sense.

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Quick_Coyote_7649@reddit (OP)

Why doesn’t it?

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desf15@reddit

The only remotely sensible solution would be separate balance per manufacturer. If Mercedes import one car from US to EU thne Mercedes can import one car from EU to US.

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Realistic_Village184@reddit

Huh so the goal would be to balance manufacturing across both the US and EU? It seems like that accomplishes the same thing as just building vehicles in the US or EU and selling them there as a way to avoid tariffs, which a lot of manufacturers already do.

I guess they're looking for creative ways to placate the arbitrary US tariffs, but it just doesn't seem like a good long-term solution otherwise.

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Lo2NL@reddit

This is far more beneficial to the US than the EU. Keep the American shitboxes from our roads, we don’t want them here!

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su1ac0@reddit

Europeans tend to buy the cheapest. possible. model and it's impossible to deny there's any causation from the EU's incredible taxes on cars, emissions, fuel, etc. The percentage of cars on the road there that are 3 cylinders with a manual is not because "they like those better."

Even just having an automatic transmission is considered a luxurious feature. If your average European could just as easily afford to drive an automatic ecoboost 4 cylinder Mustang they would jump at it in a heartbeat.

My best friend is German and when he visited to tour the US, he did it in a rental, convertible, automatic V6 Mustang and that was a "bucket list" car for him. A 300hp V6 mustang was far and away the most powerful car he's ever touched and he was in awe.

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ur_sexy_body_double@reddit

What makes something an American car? The best selling car in the UK has been a Ford and last time I checked their corporate headquarters are in Dearborn, Michigan. They may have an office in Essex, but what makes a car "American" or "Europen?" Where it's produced? Where it's headquartered?

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Oh_ffs_seriously@reddit

The best selling car in the UK has been a Ford

Now do Europe, instead. Hint: Ford was the 12th best selling brand in 2024, with a 16% drop vs 2023. It was beaten by such mainstays of the US roads as Volkswagen (duh), Renault, Skoda, Peugeot and Dacia.

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ur_sexy_body_double@reddit

Not really my point. Are you acknowledging then that Ford is an American company?

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Oh_ffs_seriously@reddit

Sure is. It's also an outlier in Europe, along with Tesla and Jeep.

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Lo2NL@reddit

You have USA Ford and EU Ford. Its subsidiary that resides in the UK and for decades designed cars better suited to the EU, like the Sierra and other sedans and more recently the Focus and Fiesta. Those smaller sedans and hatchbacks are sadly now killed off because of the stupid crossover trend.

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ur_sexy_body_double@reddit

What you're describing is market-specific models. It's still the same company.

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RusBot9000@reddit

I mean in america European cars are known to be unreliable over engineered and require lots more maintenance than most other vehicles.

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Lo2NL@reddit

No, they just need regular maintenance just like almost all machines. American cars are built to withstand years of zero maintenance because Americans are either too lazy or stupid to maintain their cars. Example: high mileage EU BMW’s are most often in much better shape than in the US, because Europeans actually maintain them (and in part due to our milder climate).

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bridgepainter@reddit

American cars are built to withstand years of zero maintenance

So the American manufacturers design a sturdier, more robust product, and Euro stuff is finicky and requires constant attention, got it. So much for the fabled gErMaN eNgInEeRiNg

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PRSArchon@reddit

Yearly oil change is not constant attention.

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bridgepainter@reddit

You only change your oil YEARLY?

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mach1alfa@reddit

bmw produces their SUVs in america and pretty sure export it to the EU

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bigev007@reddit

Biggest US vehicle exporter by $$

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bigev007@reddit

Lol. This isn't about F-150s, it's about the GLE/GLS, X5/X7 that are made in the US and sold around the world. Merc and BMW are massive exporters FROM the US, and this tariff could actually cost US manufacturing jobs

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Quick_Coyote_7649@reddit (OP)

I wouldn’t say so really and American cars are already on Europe roads and although European cars are the precedence of a lot of Europeans there’s still a lot of American cars on the roads there so it’s not like some new ones coming would make a huge impact. Speaking in a hypothetical sense too, if Europe sells a lot more cars in the U.S. in a year then the U.S. sells in Europe all it will mean is that a ton of U.S. cars have been pre vouched cost wise. It’s not going to mean that Europeans who didn’t want an American car before the tarriff dea was finalized are going to all of sudden buy an American car

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Lo2NL@reddit

We see more and more huge American Dodge RAM’s and other pickup trucks that our infrastructure is not built for. They congest streets, dont fit in regular parking spaces and are always driven by loud, obnoxious assholes (that even think it makes them look cool instead of a garbage human being) They want to drive an oversized tank while the rest of the country is forced to adopt anti pollution measures that ruin actually good cars. They should be banned by law or at least slapped with 500% tariffs.

Don’t forget that the utterly stupid full-size SUV and crossover craze was also imported from the USA. We are now in an arms race who can build the largest cars to ruin our streets, because seniors and douchebags think they suddenly all need a lifted car or truck, while that is nonsense in 90% of EU regions.

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bridgepainter@reddit

Lmao. Reminder that it is your own European citizens choosing to buy those vehicles, you guys aren't special.

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AppMtb@reddit

lol I love it when a euro discovers people regardless of geographic location prefer larger cars, not the little shit boxes.

Guess you’ll have to regulate your way out of this one

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Lo2NL@reddit

Americans may prefer large cars but most Europeans don’t. The bestsellings cars in Europe have always been hatchbacks, for example the VW Golf/Polo, Ford Focus/Fiesta, etc.

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Quick_Coyote_7649@reddit (OP)

I could see it making sense to have a default tariff exclusively to American cars of a certain size

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V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit

What about 25 year imported ban in America and 15 year imported ban in Canada ? Your former company leaders were very greedy and asked this rule to destroy two local gray markets.

Many Mercedes buyers from North America used to buy your Mercedes from gray market for cheaper because Mercedes wanted building upscale prestige and only sold expensive in North America.

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7148675309@reddit

Well - it was a combination of (a) BMW and Mercedes didn’t offer all their cars in the US and (b) the strength of the US dollar vs European countries. As an example in 1985 the dollar and pound almost reached parity - $1.05 to £1 - only since repeated once when Truss was briefly Prime Minister in 2022.

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SSLByron@reddit

It's not the corps. It's the dealers.

Mercedes just wants to sell cars. They don't care who buys them. It's the dealers who don't want to lose business to grey market imports.

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Snazzy21@reddit

Yep, can't have that because it threatened regional pricing. Good to remind everyone that Mercedes was the leading force behind that dumb law.

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reacTy@reddit

I mean that's your problem, corporations will always act in their interest. The real question is why are your politicians so easy to bribe and why is bribery legal nowadays? If you keep quiet with inaction they will run over you, even better if you are in culture wars, then you can't even pay attention to what they are doing and just vote based on feelings.

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bridgepainter@reddit

You only change your oil YEARLY?

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jasonlitka@reddit

That seems fair, though maybe do it by value and not count since that's what this whole BS has been about, trade deficits.

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Parcours97@reddit

No idea how that would work out. The US car brands just refuse to adapt to EU taste and needs, except Ford.

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desf15@reddit

It's very simple, and even already explained in the comments - Mercedes and BMW are exporting tons of SUVs from US to EU.

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Parcours97@reddit

The EU exported 800.000 cars to the US while importing about 200.000 cars in 2024. Please explain to me how that is going to work.

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desf15@reddit

I've described first thing that comes to my mind in other comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/1l4jk7i/comment/mwbc95g/

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Parcours97@reddit

Won't work either. 550.000 of the 800.000 exported cars are made by Mercedes, BMW and Audi.

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desf15@reddit

So? All cars don't have to be duty free, even if they manage to get some percentage of them duty free it's a big saving for company.

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MBenzthusiast@reddit

Okay this is funny. GLE/GLS lease deals for EU markets incoming!

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bartosaq@reddit

Would be nice to import Lexus IS 350 duty free.

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Spicywolff@reddit

“"For every car that leaves the USA or Europe, a car from the other side comes in duty free," Ola Kaellenius told Spiegel. "We have put this idea to both sides and it is a possible component of the negotiations between the USA and the EU."

Seems a fair way to do it. You know an amicable trade agreement where both sides can make a profit, the consumer gets the car they want, and the consumer isn’t gouged by some tariffs with the whims of wind.

I don’t see it happening with current administration stance on tariffs and “deals”. So eu won’t get the cars we send And we won’t get the cars from eu we want.

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