Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson said the European Union should reduce duties on U.S. car imports as Brussels works toward a trade agreement with Washington.
“If Europe is for free trade, we should be the ones showing the way and going down to very low tariffs first,” Samuelsson said after Volvo posted a 10 billion Swedish kronor ($1 billion) operating loss in the second quarter.
European automakers do not need protection from U.S. competitors, Samuelsson said. “I think it’s absolutely unnecessary, the European car industry definitely does not need to have any protection from American auto builders,” he told Reuters.
Controlled by China’s Geely, Volvo is one of the most exposed European automakers to U.S. tariffs as the bulk of its cars sold there are imported from Europe. In addition to a 27. 5 percent tariff imposed on European-made Volvo cars entering the U.S., it has also been hit by a 25 percent tariff on auto parts as well as on steel and aluminum. (....)