Mr Brossard told the German Press Agency: “The customs dispute shows that all parties involved must return to the negotiating table in order to end the uncertainty triggered by our companies as quickly as possible.” Top representatives from German car manufacturers were said to be pleased over progress made following a meeting with President Trump at the White House last week. However they feared the punitive tariffs were not yet off the table despite making commitments to high levels of investment in the United States.

Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said the company was "considering building a second car plant" and was in talks with Ford Motor Co about a broader alliance. Mr Diess said that could include Volkswagen using surplus Ford capacity to build cars. He added: "The US President has a point… he tried to convince us to invest more into America and we are prepared to do this." Diess also said he thought the joint pact by the German car companies was enough for them to have "made a big step forward to avoid the tariffs."