TAORMINA, Italy: US President Donald Trump has launched a salvo against German car exports to the US, officials confirmed Friday, in the latest sign of simmering transatlantic trade tensions.
Speaking after German media reported the US president as having described the Germans as “bad, very bad,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker tried to play down the latest spat to erupt since Trump came to power pursuing a protectionist agenda.
Suggesting the comment attributed to Trump had been mistranslated, Juncker confirmed that Trump had raised Germany’s large trade surplus with the US in the automobile sector during trade talks in Brussels on Thursday.
“I don’t want to comment but I have to,” said the head of the EU executive, who is in overall charge of the giant economic bloc’s trading relationship with the rest of the world.
“It is not true the president was aggressive in his approach. This a translation problem,” he said in Italy at a G-7 summit attended by Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders.
“He did not say the Germans were behaving bad. He said we have a problem. It was not aggressive.”
Gary Cohn, Trump’s economic adviser, also insisted the exchanges had been amicable but that an important issue for the new administration had been put on the table.
“He said they are very bad on trade but he does not have a problem with Germany,” Cohn told reporters, saying Trump had highlighted his father’s German heritage.
“He (Trump) said: ‘I do not have a problem with Germany, I have a problem with German trade,’” Cohn insisted.
According to the German media reports Trump had complained bitterly about the likes of Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes selling millions of vehicles to the US and vowed to stop it.
Whatever the exact truth, the issue did not prevent Trump and Merkel enjoying a light-hearted moment together at the start of the G-7 summit, when they were seen laughing in the company of Britain’s Theresa May and EU President Donald Tusk.
Juncker aides were accused last month of feeding details of a dinner meeting he had with May about Britain leaving the EU. That leak also went to German media and prompted Tusk to warn a lack of privacy would make the Brexit talks impossible. He issued a similar warning on Friday.
“I do not want to be part of this new political culture of permanent leaks,” Tusk said.
“Today’s diplomacy needs professional plumbers rather than indiscreet diplomats.”
The issue of German cars blew up against a backdrop of concern among US partners in the G-7 club that Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda could lead to protectionist measures which could roll back decades of trade liberalization between the world’s most advanced economies.
During his election campaign, Trump accused China, Germany and other countries running trade surpluses with the US of destroying the jobs and prosperity of ordinary Americans with the help of manipulated currencies.
Since his election, he has yet to implement any significant protectionist measures and the EU has interpreted a liberalizing deal struck between Washington and China as a sign that flexibility and pragmatism are more likely to guide US trade policy.
Car wars: Trump-Germany salvo raises EU-US trade fears
Car wars: Trump-Germany salvo raises EU-US trade fears
Saudi environmental compliance sector unveils opportunities worth over $8bn
RIYADH: The Invest Saudi platform offers specialized opportunities with expected revenues exceeding SR30 billion ($8 billion), according to the National Center for Environmental Compliance.
In a statement, the center invited local and international investors to seize the listed opportunities and benefit from various incentives, ranging from administrative support to direct financing.
Saad Al-Zubaidi, executive director of business development, explained that this market size reflects the specialized nature of the environmental compliance sector as a supporting sector for all economic activities.
Sectors such as industry, energy, mining, construction, services, and infrastructure rely on it to comply with environmental regulations and enhance operational efficiency.
Incentive and financing packages
The center, in integration with various government entities, is working on developing comprehensive incentive packages for investors in the field.
These packages include direct financing tools, soft loans, and guarantee programs, in addition to regulatory and procedural enablers aimed at accelerating the investment cycle and reducing operational risks.
The payback period for investments starts from 4 years and does not exceed 7 years at most, according to the center.
The current market size stands at SR14 billion, according to Al-Zubaidi, who expects it to double within 5 years.
The market diversifies across fields including the manufacturing of pollution control systems, the manufacturing of air and water quality monitoring devices, soil and groundwater rehabilitation, and building specialized technical capacities in the environmental field.
Trend toward localizing environmental technologies
Al-Zubaidi confirmed that the announced opportunities have had their preliminary studies completed and are available for investors to review their details and to complete technical and financial feasibility studies according to various business models.
The focus is not limited to maximizing economic return but extends to localizing environmental technologies, transferring knowledge, and building local value chains capable of meeting the growing demand across various sectors.
