Oh boy.
One of Donald Trump's cornerstone pushes since he's become President of the United States has been his focus on encouraging local manufacturing by increasing taxes on imported goods. And it's the motoring world that's feeling this more than other industries, in the form of a 35 per cent tax “for every car that comes to the USA,” in Trump's words.
And while some of his focus has been on the likes of Ford, it was German marques like BMW that have been in his sights this weekend at the latest North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) political summit overnight — featuring some of the EU's heaviest hitters.
This came in the form of a quote that the President said in a private meeting between a 'circle of participants', according to German news outlet Der Spiegel:
“The Germans are bad, very bad... Look at the millions of cars they sell in the US. We will stop this.”
Other German journalists and news outlets have corroborated the quote in further stories published overnight and earlier today.
It's ironic, of course, considering that the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen (plus a few Japanese marques like Toyota) already produce a huge volume of cars in the US.
And the irony snowball continues when you consider that many of 'America's' manufacturers like General Motors produce their cars overseas.
Trump's focus on local manufacturing is an admirable one, but quotes like those from the latest NATO summit... Well, you can finish that sentence.
Popcorn time.