STUTTGART — BMW AG has told United States trade representatives, including Robert Lighthizer, that intensifying a global trade war could threaten jobs in South Carolina, CEO Oliver Zipse said on Friday.
An imposition of trade barriers would hamper the ability of BMW’s largest car factory, based in Spartanburg, S.C., to export around 70 percent of its produce across the globe, the German executive said.
“If they do this, then we are all losers,” Zipse said of his discussions, speaking at an automotive conference in Stuttgart on Friday. “I have the impression they are listening carefully. The export model sustains many jobs in the United States.”
