German industry associations are calling on the European Union to respond ’clearly and quickly’ to US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose additional tariffs on certain European countries. According to German industry bosses, the EU must not give in to Trump. In their opinion, the US president would interpret any weakness as an invitation to make further ’absurd demands’.
The US President Donald Trump’ threat to impose additional trade tariffs on selected European countries from February 1, 2026 has not yet received a unified response from Brussels. However, individual states that would be affected by these tariffs are speaking out. A strong voice is now coming from Germany, the EU’s strongest economy, which would also be affected by Trump’s ‘revenge’.
United, decisive
“Europe must not give in to blackmail, not even by the United States,” said Bertram Kawlath, president of the Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA), on Monday, 19 January. VDMA (Verein Deutscher Maschinenbau-Anstalten in German) is an association of 3,600 German and European mechanical and plant engineering companies. It is one the biggest and most influential organizations of its type in Europe.
Now it is important for Europe to act in unison. – Peter Leibinger, president of Federation of German Industries
President Kawlath is not the only one. Peter Leibinger, president of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), said that it is now important for Europe to act in unison. He described the threat of new tariffs as an inappropriate escalation.
Germany is one of the countries that the US president threatened with additional tariffs over the weekend. The reason is that Berlin had sent a small contingent of soldiers to Greenland a few days ago at Denmark’s request. In recent weeks, Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened that the US “must acquire Greenland” for strategic reasons. The US president has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this goal.
Enormous tariff costs
Some representatives of German industry are more cautious in their statements. They point to the already high costs associated with existing US tariffs. “The costs of these additional tariffs would be enormous for German and European industry, especially at this difficult time,” said Hildegard Müller, president of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). The automotive and steel industries are among the sectors that already have to cope with previously imposed US tariffs.
Ms Müller added that a smart, strategic, and coordinated response was needed. “Hasty reactions lead to escalation and a possible spiral that would only have losers,” she said.
