An important NYT editorial:
“Another of Mr.
Trump’s trade bugbears is the relative difference in the tariffs that the
United States and the European Union apply to automobile imports. He points out
that the American government charges a modest 2.5 percent tariff on imports of
luxury sedans that BMW and Mercedes produce in Germany and elsewhere. But
American-made Lincolns or Cadillacs are charged a 10 percent tariff when
exported to the 28 E.U. countries.
This makes it sound
like the United States is getting played by Machiavellian Europeans. But the
American government also uses tariffs to protect its auto market — it has just
chosen to protect a specific segment of the market (a far larger segment than
luxury cars) and with much higher tariffs. President Lyndon Johnson imposed a
25 percent tariff on imports of pickup trucks in 1963, which remains in place
today.”