The Trump administration has invited the heads of Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler to the White House to discuss U.S. tariffs on carmakers, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Wednesday.
FILE PHOTO: The Volkswagen logo is seen on a vehicle in New York, March 29, 2018.
Citing industry and diplomatic sources, the paper said the meeting could possibly take place as soon as next week, depending on circumstances. Handelsblatt said it was not known whether U.S. President Donald Trump would attend the meeting.
FILE PHOTO: The BMW logo is seen on the wheel of a vehicle presented at the Auto China 2016 auto show in Beijing, April 29, 2016.
A spokesman for Volkswagen declined to confirm or deny whether the carmaker had received an invitation. Sources close to VW said it had not received an invitation.
Daimler and BMW did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump has threatened for months to impose tariffs on all European Union-assembled vehicles, a move that could up-end the industry's business model for selling cars in the United States.
But he has refrained from imposing car tariffs while the United States and European Union launch negotiations to cut other trade barriers.