“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary is predicting that President Trump’s recent trade moves will bring Germany to the negotiating table.
“My bet is that the Germans are going to come and say, ‘OK, we want to work something out,'” O’Leary told Hill.TV “Rising” co-host Buck Sexton on Tuesday. “That’s the beginning of seeing this policy work.”
The Canadian businessman and U.S. television personality also said during the interview that he hopes that Europeans review their tariffs on imported vehicles.
The U.S. currently imposes a 2.5 percent tariff on passenger cars from the European Union, compared with the EU’s 10 percent tariff on cars imported from the U.S.
In June, Trump threatened tariffs on all European cars entering the U.S. amid escalating trade disputes with various countries after his administration moved forward with tariffs against the EU, Canada, Mexico and China, prompting calls for retaliatory tariffs.
“If these Tariffs and Barriers are not soon broken down and removed, we will be placing a 20% Tariff on all of their cars coming into the U.S. Build them here,” Trump tweeted last month.
Such a move could have a particularly devastating impact on German automakers like Volkswagen, Mercedes and BMW. All three companies boast auto plants in the U.S., and together, they employee more than 20,000 American workers.
But it’s unclear whether Trump will follow through on his threat to impose auto tariffs.
The president is expected to meet with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday. The two leaders plan to discuss Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum and his threats to extend those measures to cars imported from Europe.
“We don’t know what the Germans are going to say when they get here next week or whenever it is, will they wave the white flag on automotive tariffs,” O’Leary said on Hill.TV. “That would be a really good outcome.”
— Tess Bonn
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