BLG Logistics​ CEO Speaks Out Against New 25% Tariff On Imported Vehicles

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The CEO of a major German logistics company with a sizable presence in Tuscaloosa County is speaking out after the White House on Thursday announced a new 25% tariff on all car imports.

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President Donald Trump on signed a proclamation today invoking Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which will impose a 25% tariff on imports of automobiles and certain automobile parts, claiming this will address a "critical threat to U.S. national security."

BLG Logistics Inc. — an American subsidiary of Bremen, Germany's BLG Logistics — has its headquarters in Northport and also operates the 120,000-square-foot Supplier Logistics Center on the campus of Mercedes Benz U.S. International in Vance, which provides warehousing and Just In Sequence delivery services to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) production line.

The White House Fact Sheet sats the 25% tariff, which will go into effect at midnight on April 3, will be applied to imported passenger vehicles — like sedans, SUVs, crossovers, minivans, cargo vans — and light trucks, as well as key automobile parts such as engines, transmissions, powertrain parts and electrical components.

The Trump administration then said there were processes to expand tariffs on additional parts if necessary, with the expressed goal being to address stagnate production in the United States due to "foreign automobile industries bolstered by unfair subsidies and aggressive industrial policies."

BLG Logistics CEO Matthias Magnor commented Thursday on the possible consequences of the new tariffs announced by the Trump White House while also calling for a strong European response.

"The EU must respond to the 25% tariffs announced by U.S. President Trump with a clear and decisive response and the immediate start of negotiations," he said. "Such a high tariff burden would have a significant economic impact on the automotive industry."

Magnor said as Germany's leading automotive logistics provider, the company will also feel the effects, going on to point out that the company's AutoTerminal global transshipment center in Bremerhaven, Germany is only partially dependent on the European-American trade route.

Indeed, Magnor explained that the United State market accounts for around 30% of the vehicles imported and exported by Germany.

He said BLG Logistics is actively calculating various scenarios for a possible decline of up to 15%, before saying the reactions of its customers — the car manufacturers — the German government, the European Union and consumers will be crucial.

"Protectionist trade barriers such as punitive tariffs or non-tariff barriers have a direct impact on demand and therefore on exports, imports and ultimately the prosperity of both economies," he said. "As an international logistics provider and seaport operator with Hanseatic roots, we stand for free and fair global trade."

Magnor then reiterated the company's position that trade barriers impede economic exchange and jeopardize growth and prosperity in the long term.

"BLG was founded in 1877 and in almost 150 years has experienced numerous economic upheavals and trade conflicts — not only with the USA," he said. "As a service provider with many years of experience, it is our job to adapt flexibly to new market conditions. But protectionism and nationalist isolation are not the answer. Free trade remains indispensable, especially for Germany as an export nation.”

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