(Photo: CGTN)

Ahead of a meeting between European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and US President Donald Trump, German industry groups warned on Sunday that the tariffs the United States has recently imposed or threatened risk harming the US itself.

The US imposed tariffs on European Union (EU) steel and aluminum on June 1 and Trump is threatening to extend them to EU cars and car parts. Juncker will discuss trade with Trump at a meeting on Wednesday.

Dieter Kempf, head of Germany’s BDI industry association, told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper it was wise for the EU and US to continue their discussions.

“The tariffs under the guise of national security should be abolished,” Kempf said, adding that Juncker needed to make clear to Trump that the United States would harm itself with tariffs on cars and car parts.

He added that the German auto industry employs more than 118,000 people in the United States and 60 percent of what they produced was exported to other countries from the US.

“Europe should not let itself be blackmailed and should put in a confident appearance in the United States,” he added.

EU officials have sought to lower expectations about what Juncker can achieve, and downplayed suggestions that he will arrive in Washington with a novel plan to restore good relations.

Eric Schweitzer, president of the DIHK Chambers of Commerce, told Welt am Sonntag he welcomed Juncker’s attempt to persuade the US government not to impose tariffs on cars.

“All arguments in favor of such tariffs are ... ultimately far-fetched,” he said.

The German economy had for decades counted on there being open markets and a reliable global trading system, Schweitzer said, but he added of the current situation: “Every day German companies feel the transatlantic rift getting wider.”