According to foreign media reports, U.S. President Trump said he will announce new tariffs on cars imported to the United States around April 2, a matter of his reshaping global trade relations and promoting companies to transfer production to the United States. One of the series of measures. Trump revealed the news when he signed an executive order on energy policy on February 14.
The move is the latest move to Trump to expand the trade war, as he is delivering on his campaign promise to impose extensive tariffs on U.S. allies and competitors. Recently, Trump also asked his administration to develop plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on many trading partners to solve the problem of the trading system he believes is unfair.
Trump plans to impose reciprocity tariffs on countries that impose import taxes on U.S. products, which may take effect as early as April. These tariffs are different from the tariffs Trump had previously promised to put on the automotive industry, which also threatened to impose tariffs on industries such as energy, semiconductors and drugs. Earlier this week, he also announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imported to the United States.
The automotive industry will be directly affected by Trump’s new tariffs and may have a major impact on auto brands such as Japan, Germany and South Korea. Last year, imported cars accounted for about 50% of the U.S. auto market. According to market research firm Global Data, 80% of the vehicles sold by Volkswagen Group in the United States are imported cars, while 65% of the vehicles sold by Hyundai Kia in the United States are imported cars.
Trump has not provided any details on the specific scope or tax rates for potential automobile tariffs. It is unclear how these tariffs will affect vehicles produced under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), as North American auto production supply chains are highly integrated.
Mexico and Canada, the United States’ major trading partners, are the main sources of U.S. automobile imports. Trump previously announced that he would suspend the imposition of tariffs on Mexican and Canadian products and postpone the implementation of the tariffs until March 4, 2025, aiming to enable Mexico and Canada to make concessions on border security issues. Trump has used tariffs several times before as a means to force other countries to concessions on immigration and drugs, and stressed that tariffs are one of the tools to convince companies to transfer production to the United States.
Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley warned earlier this week that U.S. tariffs on Mexico and Canada would have a huge impact on the entire U.S. auto industry. Industry trade groups warn that U.S. tariffs will lead to price increases and supply chain damage, but said they will await details of the tariffs implemented by the Trump administration. Autos Drive America, a lobby group representing foreign automakers, has not commented yet, and the U.S. Automotive Policy Committee, which represents the Detroit Big Three, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After the above report was released, GM and Ford Motor’s stocks remained basically the same. Both companies have important manufacturing operations in North America.