Trump wants to dominate everything
The automotive industry is growing steadily globally. In 2017, 97.3 million cars were manufactured, 2.4% more than the previous year. The main producing country, clearly highlighted in the world ranking, is China, with more than 29 million cars produced in 2017, 3.2% more than the previous year. NAFTA, which includes the United States, Canada and Mexico, reduces its production by 3.8% to 17.4 million cars, which is burdened by the fall in manufacturing in the first two countries.
For its part, in the European Union, car production reached 18.7 million units, which is almost a 1% increase. Spain holds the eighth position in the world, with 2,848,335 cars manufactured, representing a reduction of 1.3% compared to 2016.By 2030, the challenge in Europe is even greater, as the European Commission stipulated a 30% reduction.
According to the International Organization of Automobile Manufacturers (OICA), in a sector in full revolution for technological change, digitalization, environmental debate and the real problem, which constitute trade barriers, the manufacturers of the world remain restless.
The reason for this concern is the shift towards protectionism that has been undertaken by one of the main markets, the United States. According to Matthias Wissmann, president of the OICA, in a press conference at the International Motor Show in Geneva, they also have elections in Italy. Both the right and the left, when they are populist, challenge the free market, and we need a Common front: keep markets open. In spite of everything, the sector does not stop growing, the world employers have detailed that in 2017, 97 million vehicles were sold in the world, 2.4% more.
Spain, for instance, maintains the eighth position in car production with 2.8 million, although Brazil distances. According to OICA, the main challenge for the world automotive industry lies in the promises with which Donald Trump won the presidency of the United States. The protectionism with which Trump seeks to shield American products from what it considers trade imbalance, in this case, punctual cars, has alert manufacturers around the world.
Trump announced a few days ago that he would exalt tariffs on steel and aluminum, and threatened on Twitter to use a tax on European cars sold in the United States. The president of the OICA and also president of the German Association of the Automobile Industry (VdA) disagreed, adding that access to the free market and the elimination of trade barriers are vital for the global growth, employment and prosperity of the industry.
There is no country in the world that can compensate for the many and varied demands of citizens in terms of automotive. The businessman also warned that although protectionism gives people the feeling that everything is going well when bad times come there is no way out. The demand for an open market is proven by the simple fact that last year there were more than 2,200 violations of the principles of free trade, according to the calculations and studies of the World Trade Organization.
Wissmann has argued that European companies are in favor of a trade agreement to protect the free market and that countries such as Argentina and Canada are making a common front in the face of the threat posed by protectionism in the United States.
