Desperate major automaker mulls scrapping US factory plans due to Trump's tariffs
Nicole Charky-Chami
January 26, 2026
RAW STORY
Car factory. (Photo credit: Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock)
Major automaker Volkswagen has considered cancelling its plans for a US major factory over President Donald Trump's automotive tariffs, according to reports Monday.
Oliver Blume, CEO of the Volkswagen Group, said in an interview with Handelsblatt that in the first nine months of 2025 levies issued by the Trump administration had cost the company $2.5 billion and that the company needed to make cuts, Semafor reported.
After Trump returned to office, German investments in the US dropped 45% year-on-year in 2025, according to Reuters. The dollar's depreciation was considered a factor while German exports also declined
Other recent political and economic factors have also come into play.
"After Trump warned at the World Economic Forum last week of possible further duties on Europe, growing global uncertainty over the stability of trade relationships pushed gold above $5,000 per ounce for the first time," according to Semafor.
'Politically toxic' Trump has become a liability for far-right European fascists: report
Tom Boggioni
January 27, 2026
RAW STORY
Activists in Germany protest at vigil for Hitler (Photo by Christian Mang for Reuters)
The alliance between Donald Trump and far-right nationalist groups in Europe has become frayed to the point of snapping due to his designs on occupying Greenland and the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros.
According to the New York Times, European far-right parties have historically grounded their political platforms on national sovereignty, particularly opposing immigration. However, Trump's contempt for European nations has exceeded their tolerance.
While the Trump-nationalist relationship has always been characterized as "awkward," European nationalist leaders have recently adopted a more confrontational stance toward the president. His lengthy speech at Davos intensified existing tensions.
Jordan Bardella, president of France's far-right National Rally party, characterized Trump's Greenland remarks as "unacceptable" and labeled tariff threats as "blackmail."
Nigel Farage, leader of Britain's far-right Reform UK party and longtime Trump ally, described the Greenland threats as a "very hostile act." Giorgia Meloni, Italy's right-wing prime minister, typically viewed as Trump-friendly, rejected his claims about European military contributions in Afghanistan.
Justin Logan of the libertarian Cato Institute explained the backlash: "Whatever the AfD or Rassemblement National believe about civilizational erasure and migration, they're not for the American annexation of a big chunk of Europe."
Trump faces additional challenges among far-right Europeans who already harbored suspicions toward America. Polling data shows substantial shares of far-right-aligned voters in Britain, France, and Germany viewed Trump negatively before the recent developments.
Trump's unpopularity is particularly acute in France, where association with the president carries political risk and he is described as "politically toxic." Alice Weidel, a leader of Germany's extremist AfD party, directly accused Trump of violating a fundamental campaign promise by interfering in other countries through the Venezuelan invasion.
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