Trump tariffs don't spare fans in EU

HUNGARIAN Prime Minister Viktor Orban promised that the return of his “dear friend” Donald Trump as US president would usher in a new “golden age’.

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But trade unionist Zoltan Laszlo says Hungary's auto industry has seen the opposite as the US announced new tariffs, with order cancellations and workflow disruptions marking employees’ day-to-day experience.

With tariff rates rising from 2.5% before Trump’s return to around 25 percent and finally to 15%, the “American tariff slalom” has caused nothing but chaos in the car industry, said Laszlo, who represents workers at Mexican automotive parts manufacturer Nemak’s Hungarian plant.

In recent years, Hungary and neighbouring Slovakia have become European manufacturing hubs for global car brands seeking lower labour costs, including British Jaguar Land Rover, German Mercedes and Japanese Suzuki.