Trump has announced duties on all cars that are not manufactured in the US
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US President Donald Trump has announced on Wednesday plans for long promised duties up to 25% on car imports, expanding the global trade war he began after returning the White House this year. This is a move that experts from the automotive industry expect to raise prices and stop parts of production.
“What we will do is 25% duty for all cars not manufactured in the US« , said Trump at an event in the oval office. » We start with a 2.5%base we are on, and we go to 25%. «
For auto parts imports will provide up to one month delay of the new 25%duties that enter into force at 00:01 local time on April 3. The date for the parts will be indicated by a notice in the Federal Register, « But no later than May 3, 2025. »
The measures « continue to act unless such actions are explicitly reduced, changed or terminated ». The decree does not contain specific customs codes for positions subject to taxation in a week.
| Ilon Musk has not advised him about duties on cars that may have a neutral effect or even good for his Tesla Inc, « Trump said » He has never asked me for a service, « he added. |
| But the president said he would be ready to reduce the duties or to move their trigger to make a deal with Bytedance (the Chinese company behind Tiktok), which by April 5 must find a non -Chinese buyer for the popular application, or will be banned in the United States on national security reasons. |
Trump, who views duties as a tool to increase revenue to compensate for his promised tax relief for Americans and to revive the long -standing US industrial base, said new import taxes will come into force on April 2. This is the same date as he plans to announce reciprocal duties aimed at countries responsible for most of the US trade deficit. The collection of the new duties on cars will begin on April 3, next Thursday.
| The presidential order refers to an investigation into the effect on national security of car imports in 2019, conducted by the first Trump administration. According to a photo of the statement he signed, seen by Reuters, the reference to Section 232 of the Law on Trade of 1962 is the 2019 investigation found that the import of cars damages the US national security, but at that time Trump did not take action to impose a duties. |
For the upcoming message of April 2, Trump indicated that the measures may not be the same for all the taxation he promised to impose. « We’ll do it very condescending, » Trump said. « I think people will be very surprised. In many cases it will be lower than the duty they have charged for decades. »
- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the new car duties are a direct attack on Canadian workers. He announced that he would convene a high level of ministers from the cabinet on Thursday to discuss trade opportunities and said that the federal government had triggered a large mechanism for the affected companies to draw liquidity if necessary.
- The European Commission will evaluate the duties message of up to 25% on car imports along with other measures that the United States is considering in the coming days. « As I said before, duties are taxes – bad for business, worse for consumers both in the US and in the European Union, » said European Commission President Ursula von der Lyen. We will continue to seek decisions through negotiation, while defending our economic interests, she added.
The shares fell
The shares of US -registered car manufacturers have declined after news from the press conference due to fears that duties will cause shock waves in the global automotive industry. It has already been shaken by the uncertainty caused by Trump’s threats.
The US stock market has also closed a decrease because of the concerns about the duties that have pursued investors for most of the last month. The S&P 500 key index fell 1.1% before the press conference and is down by more than 4% so far in March – the worst monthly performance of nearly a year.
Ever since he took office on January 20, Trump:
- He announced and delayed the duties against Canada and Mexico about what he claims to be their role in admitting opioid fentanyl in the United States;
- determine the taxation of imports of goods from China for the same reason;
- introduced high duties on imports of steel and aluminum;
- He repeatedly advertised his plans to announce global reciprocal duties on April 2.
Duties could also increase the cost of cars for consumers with thousands of dollars, hitting sales of new vehicles and leading to job loss, as the automotive industry in the United States relies largely on imported parts, according to the Center for Automobile Research.
The US has imported $ 474 billion in 2024, including cars worth $ 220 billion. Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Canada and Germany – all close allies of the United States – were the largest suppliers.
