Lisbon, April 9, 2025 (Lusa) - The secretary general of the Portuguese Automobile Association (ACAP), Hélder Pedro, said on Wednesday that although Portugal only exports 1% of its car production to the US, if the EU is affected by Trump's tariffs, the country will be "indirectly penalised".
"Exports to the American continent are about 1%. [But] if it affects the engines of the European Union, which are Germany and France, where we export to, we will naturally be indirectly penalised," said ACAP's secretary-general.
The association's leader spoke to journalists at the end of a meeting with Economy Minister Pedro Reis about the impact of US policy on Portuguese companies.
Hélder Pedro also believes that the tariffs announced by the US will cause "damage to the economy as a whole" and added that "Gross Domestic Product (GDP) worldwide has grown in recent decades because customs barriers have been eliminated".
In this vein, the secretary-general considers the negotiation "fundamental" because "tariff wars never work" and that this was the message passed on to the minister during the meeting.
However, he said that the "European Union must show firmness" and calls on the European Commission (EC) to "speed up the support plan for the car industry launched on 5 March".
"We think that the European Union should have a position of some restraint at the moment in order to attempt this negotiation and we welcome the fact that the Portuguese government has received us, as well as other sectors and other industry associations, to be able, let's say, with us, to see what the best solution will be, the best plan if the tariffs are implemented and remain in force for a longer period," said Hélder Pedro.
The Ministry of Economy is meeting with business associations from various sectors between Tuesday and today to assess "the impact and mitigation measures" of the tariffs that US President Donald Trump announced a week ago, of 20% on products imported from the European Union and in addition to those of 25% on the automotive, steel and aluminium sectors.
Following the government's meetings with business associations, Thursday's cabinet meeting will discuss the issue of the tariffs applied by the president of the United States of America and debate possible responses.
AJR/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
