Trump Imposes 25% Tariffs on Foreign-Made Cars Sold in US
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he is imposing a 25% tariff on all cars made internationally that are then shipped for sale into the United States.
The new tariff regime will go into effect Wednesday, April 2, and will apply to all finished cars and trucks that are shipped into the United States — even if the vehicle is made by an American company whose automobiles are assembled overseas.
“We’re going to charge countries for doing business in our country and taking our jobs and taking our wealth,” the president declared from behind the resolute desk in the Oval Office as he prepared to sign the tariff order.
According to White House staffers, the U.S. could see as much as $100 billion in new annual revenue as a result of the tariffs.
However, the president made clear his real goal is to get automakers from around the world to build more factories here.
“Anybody who has plants in the United States, it’s going to be good for,” Trump said to the reporters who assembled for the signing.
“Others will come into our country and build, and they’re already looking for sites,” he said, adding, “This will continue to spur growth like you haven’t seen.”
Though some have expressed concerns that the tariffs could disrupt automaker’s supply chains and raise the cost of a new vehicle in the U.S. by thousands of dollars, Trump predicted exactly the opposite will happen.
“You’re going to see prices going down, but going to go down specifically because they’re going to buy what we’re doing, incentivizing companies to … companies to come into America.”
Among those cheering the new tariff regime, was the United Auto Workers Union, which released a statement in which it said the president’s actions marked “a long-overdue shift away from a harmful economic framework that has devastated the working class and driven a race to the bottom across borders in the auto industry.”
“Ending the race to the bottom in the auto industry starts with fixing our broken trade deals, and the Trump administration has made history with today’s actions,” said UAW President Shawn Fain.
“The UAW and the working class in general couldn’t care less about party politics; working people expect leaders to work together to deliver results,” Fain continued.
“The UAW has been clear: we will work with any politician, regardless of party, who is willing to reverse decades of working-class people going backwards in the most profitable times in our nation’s history,” he said, adding, “These tariffs are a major step in the right direction for autoworkers and blue-collar communities across the country, and it is now on the automakers, from the Big Three to Volkswagen and beyond, to bring back good union jobs to the U.S.”
The tariff announcement on Wednesday comes ahead of what is anticipated to be a trade and tariff focused week.
On April second, President Trump’s previously announced “reciprocal” tariff regime is expeced to go into effect.
The tariffs will levy an equal amount in fees that individual foreign countries charge for the import of U.S. goods.
In a gaggle with reporters Thursday morning, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Trump’s comments on these tariffs next week will “focus on countries particularly that have been ripping off the United States.”
She also noted that president believes that the “numbers” associated with the reciprocal tariffs will be more “conservative” than many people expecting.
That said, Leavitt added, “We’re going to make sure that American workers are put first, and we’re ending the unfair trade practices that have been hollowing out our middle class for decades.”
Next week could also see White House announcement on highly anticipated new tariffs on imported lumber and pharmaceuticals.
