Autos

Watch the Commerce Department hearings on auto tariffs

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross speaks to department employees March 1, 2017 in Washington, DC. Ross, who was confirmed earlier in the week, spoke about his vision for changing the department.
Getty Images

[The stream is slated to start at 8:30 AM ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]

The Commerce Department is holding two days of hearings on whether the U.S. should raise tariffs on vehicles built in Europe and sold in the U.S. The U.S. currently has a $32 billion auto trade deficit with Europe, meaning Americans buy $32 billion more in European cars than U.S. automakers sell back to consumers in the EU. Automakers such as BMW and Mercedes also built vehicles in U.S. factories, especially popular crossovers and SUVs. Reports have recently surfaced that the EU is prepared to lower tariffs on U.S. imports. The Trump administration has threatened to raise tariffs on cars imported from Europe from 2.5 percent to 20 percent. It already has placed tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports.