WTO warns of trade crisis as German car bosses face US tariff talks
Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen chiefs summoned to the White House to discuss potential duties on imports of luxury cars
The global system of international trade is in crisis, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) warned on Tuesday, as German car bosses gathered in Washington hoping to stave off potential tariffs on US imports of luxury cars. Top officials from Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen have been summoned to the US to meet White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow to discuss US efforts to rebalance global trade. The meeting comes after months of warnings from President Donald Trump that he might impose big tariffs on imported cars, and days after he agreed to a truce in a broader trade war with China. “The system is in crisis mode and how this plays out remains to be seen,” WTO deputy director-general Karl Brauner told the Handelsblatt automotive summit in Wolfsburg, Germany. Global trade and welfare cannot continue when large countries take unilateral action which deviates from common rules and principles, he warned. “You need legal certainty and predictability, and if everybody just does whatever the...
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