President Trump wants to impose a total ban on the imports of German luxury cars, according to a new report from German magazine WirtschaftsWoche.
Several U.S. and European diplomats told the news outlets that Trump told French President Emmanuel Macron about his plans last month during a state visit.
Trump reportedly told Macron that he would maintain the ban until no Mercedes-Benz cars are seen on Fifth Avenue in New York. Shares of Daimler, Porsche and Volkswagen were lower on Thursday, shortly after the weekly German business magazine published the report.
The report comes a week after Trump ordered Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to investigate auto tariffs and probe whether car imports are a danger to national security. A similar national security argument was used when Trump placed steep tariffs on aluminum and steel imports in March.
Trump and congressional Republicans are preparing to clash over the proposed tariffs, which could be as high as 25 percent.
A number of German automakers have plants in the U.S., including Mercedes-Benz in Alabama and BMW in South Carolina.
