Volkswagen seeks audience with Trump, dangling more than $10 billion in U.S. investments in exchange for tariff exemptio

Source: Fortune

Volkswagen seeks audience with Trump, dangling more than $10 billion in U.S. investments in exchange for tariff exemptions

Christiaan Hetzner
Fri, July 25, 2025 at 10:35 AM EDT 4 min read

Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume is prepared to invest a minimum $10 billion in the United States in hopes of securing a like-for-like reduction in the company’s tariff bill. On Friday the world’s second-largest carmaker by vehicle sales slashed its 2025 guidance for revenue, margins, and cash citing Q2 headwinds from U.S. import duties totaling roughly $1.4 billion. Once the company knows what tariffs are agreed to by the Trump administration and the European Union, VW aims to enter into bilateral talks directly with the White House to seek carve-outs.

Oliver Blume wants to make a deal. The CEO of Volkswagen Group, the world’s second-largest carmaker, is prepared to put a minimum of $10 billion on the table in exchange for lower tariffs levied by the Trump administration.

Under the proposal, for every dollar that Volkswagen invests, it would like to receive in return an equal amount offset against its tariff bill. The VW boss is only waiting on the European Commission to reach a deal on behalf of the entire EU so he then knows what precise rates he can expect on goods exported to the U.S. market.

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Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/volkswagen-seeks-audience-trump-dangling-143559316.html