US electric car manufacturer Tesla has cancelled a €100mn order from German auto parts manufacturer SHW, in what is being seen as the first casualty of the push for domestic-focused policies by the new US administration.

The order, which was confirmed in September last year, was for electric axle drive pumps, for Tesla’s upcoming Model 3 electric car.

SHW declined to comment on the name of the client when contacted by GTR, but says the cancellation was made on the ground of technical reasons, which it contests, and that it will seek to pursue the matter further.

“As main reason for the cancellation, the manufacturer states the non-alignment of the technical specifications for the axle drive pumps with the requirements of the model in question,” says SHW in a statement.

“SHW does not consider the reasons given by the manufacturer to be valid. SHW is therefore assessing the legal effectiveness of the order cancellation as well as its legal consequences and reserves the right to claim damages.”

Following SHW’s announcement, German media speculated the client was Tesla, due to the parts in question and the delivery dates. Tesla subsequently confirmed that it was the customer, but denies the move had anything to do with new policies being pushed by US President Donald Trump and his drive to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US.

On request for comment, a Tesla spokesperson confirmed with GTR that it was the manufacturer in question and that the cancellation was due to the supplier not meeting performance and quality standards as well as breaking confidentially requirements.

“Tesla’s policy is to terminate any supplier that is unable to meet its contractual milestones or violates their non-disclosure agreement. Unfortunately, we have to be firm in this regard in order to keep the Model 3 programme on schedule and prevent plot spoilers.”

Earlier in the week, Tesla told Reuters: “The main reason why we now confirm that we cancelled the order is to counter those utopian claims that we were acting in response to political pressure.”

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, is an advisor to the Trump administration and was among various business executives who met with the president the day before the cancellation was announced.