American customs duties impose pressure on the Austrian auto industry
Vienna on April 27 / WAM / American customs duties imposed pressure on the Austrian auto industry, which raised concerns about the future of the supply of car components in Austria, which is a basic link in the European supply chain for the auto industry, despite its lack of popularity as a car manufacturer compared to leading European countries in this field such as Germany.
The Austrian Federal Economy Chamber warned of serious economic consequences and repercussions, and called for the adoption of a strategic, studied European response to confront the new protective commercial policy, which is recently pursued by the United States, as the new customs definitions law includes the increase in the fees imposed on cars and its parts produced outside the United States, by a rate between 2.5% to 25% in the future.
The representatives of the European Union sector demanded the urgent action to avoid competitive defects and avoid declining production and job loss, as the new American customs tariffs pose a major threat to the manufacture of supplying car components in Austria.
The latest official figures showed the success of the auto supply industry in Austria, during the past year, in achieving a production value of 28.5 billion euros and providing about 81.700 jobs directly, as Austria is one of the most important players in the market of supplying the components and supplies of European car, through a group of companies such as “Magna Steyr”, which is one of the most prominent international companies in the field of car manufacturing, and the company “BMW Motoryn, which specializes in the export of auto engines to the United States, the company “Pierer Mobility” in the field of vehicle manufacturing, and the company “AVL List” specializing in the development of auto payment systems. “The United States represents the most important export market for Austria after Germany, and pointed out that the Austrian companies are producing and treating a large part of the components of cars produced in Germany, which later arrive in the United States across Germany.
Totner called for the adoption of a unified approach by the European Union, towards the new US tariffs, and called for equal negotiations with the United States. Hansioerg Totner, a spokesman for the auto industry in the Economic Chamber, said that Austria exported the components of cars and engines directly to the United States with a value of 2.8 billion euros last year 2024, and in return the value of Austria’s imports from the same sector amounted to about 0.8 billion euros.
The Austrian official stressed the importance of finding a quick solution to the commercial conflict through negotiation, to avoid customs duties and the negative consequences of the commercial conflict.
Gabriel Felbermaeer, director of the Institute of Economic Research “WIFO”, expected that the auto supply industry in Austria is exposed to negative repercussions and consequences, and said, “American customs duties are harmful to the German auto industry and the Austrian cars supply industry that relies heavily on Germany.”
The results of a recent study conducted by the institute showed a decrease in the production of the auto sector in Austria by 2.29%, and incurred a loss of 616 million euros. The latest figures revealed that Austria’s total exports decreased by 0.76%, due to the American customs tariffs, with expectations that a decrease of up to 1.4%in the long term, and also monitored negative effects that affected other important industrial sectors, most notably the equipment and machinery industry, whose exports decreased by 1.27%, and lost about 400 million euros, in conjunction with the decline in exports of the metal products sector The manufacturer of 1.73% is equivalent to losses of 373 million euros, and the iron and steel industry offered losses of 422 million euros due to the decline in exports by 2.5%.
The Economic Research Institute “WiFo” expected the decrease in the GDP in Austria in the short term by 0.23% and in the medium to long term by 0.33%, and the decrease in Austrian exports in the short term by 0.76% and in the medium to long term by 1.4%.
The Austria government is counting strongly on the speed of the European Union’s response and its ability to protect the chains of supplying the auto industry, and the solution of the commercial conflict through the Atlantic through dialogue and a negotiating solution, due to the importance of the auto component supply industry sector for the Austria economy, which suffers from recession for the third year in a row.
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