Bringing Our Jobs Back Home Is An Excellent Idea
Live Updates: Trump Announces 25 Percent Tariffs on Imported Cars and Parts
The measure is intended to bring car factories to the United States but could increase prices for consumers significantly. The president said the tariffs will start next week.
ImagePresident Trump signs an executive order Wednesday in the Oval Office. He is wearing a red tie and dark suit and looking down.
President Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office on Wednesday, after announcing 25 percent tariffs on all cars that are imported into the United States.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times
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Pinned
Ana Swanson
Jack Ewing
Updated
March 26, 2025, 7:39 p.m. ET26 minutes ago
Ana Swanson and Jack Ewing
Here is the latest.
President Trump said on Wednesday that he would impose a 25 percent tariff on all cars and certain automobile parts that are shipped into the United States, a measure that could encourage companies to open up more U.S. factories but will disrupt supply chains and most likely increase prices for American consumers significantly.
Mr. Trump said the tariffs will go into effect on April 3, and will apply to cars and trucks as well as key parts like engines, transmissions and electrical components that are shipped into the United States. That includes vehicles from American brands whose automobiles are assembled outside of the country, including in Canada or Mexico.
Nearly half of all vehicles sold in the United States are imported, as well as nearly 60 percent of the parts in vehicles assembled in the United States. That means the tariffs could have serious implications for the North American auto industry, which has become intertwined through decades of tariff-free trade. “This will hurt us,” said Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada.
The move is aimed at pushing companies to set up more factories in the United States, a primary goal for Mr. Trump, who called the move “very exciting" during remarks from the Oval Office.
“Anybody who has plants in the United States, it’s going to be good for,” Mr. Trump said.
But the tariffs could disrupt supply chains for carmakers, chill their investments and raise costs for consumers by thousands of dollars.
Autos Drive America, a group that represents the U.S. operations of international automakers, said that the car tariffs would increase prices at an uncomfortable moment for consumers, who are already reeling from high inflation.
“The tariffs imposed today will make it more expensive to produce and sell cars in the United States, ultimately leading to higher prices, fewer options for consumers, and fewer manufacturing jobs in the U.S.,” they said.
The measure also could spark more trade clashes with foreign countries, particularly European nations, Japan and South Korea, whose companies send millions of cars to the United States.
Here’s what else to know:
Investor reaction: Stock markets fell on news that the auto tariffs would be carried out, and shares of major carmakers fell even further in post-market trading. Ford, which had ended the day modestly higher, fell more than 2 percent after the announcement of the tariffs. General Motors tumbled an additional 5 percent, and Toyota fell almost 2 percent.
Hardest hit: The tariff announcement is bad news for Europe, whose automakers exported more than $41 billion worth of cars to the United States last year, as well as for Japan and South Korea, whose companies each send more than a million cars to the United States every year.
Angry response: In Canada, the 25 percent tariffs brought immediate talk of retaliation. Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, the province that is home to Canada’s auto industry, said, “We’re going to make sure that we inflict as much pain as possible on the American people.”
Tesla spared: Tesla will suffer less from the tariffs than most other automakers because it makes all the cars it sells in the United States in California and Texas. President Trump said that Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and a ubiquitous presence at the White House, did not influence tariff policy.
Bringing Our Jobs Back Home Is An Excellent Idea
Live Updates: Trump Announces 25 Percent Tariffs on Imported Cars and Parts
The measure is intended to bring car factories to the United States but could increase prices for consumers significantly. The president said the tariffs will start next week.
ImagePresident Trump signs an executive order Wednesday in the Oval Office. He is wearing a red tie and dark suit and looking down.
President Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office on Wednesday, after announcing 25 percent tariffs on all cars that are imported into the United States.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times
Get notifications for updates on this story.
Pinned
Ana Swanson
Jack Ewing
Updated
March 26, 2025, 7:39 p.m. ET26 minutes ago
Ana Swanson and Jack Ewing
Here is the latest.
President Trump said on Wednesday that he would impose a 25 percent tariff on all cars and certain automobile parts that are shipped into the United States, a measure that could encourage companies to open up more U.S. factories but will disrupt supply chains and most likely increase prices for American consumers significantly.
Mr. Trump said the tariffs will go into effect on April 3, and will apply to cars and trucks as well as key parts like engines, transmissions and electrical components that are shipped into the United States. That includes vehicles from American brands whose automobiles are assembled outside of the country, including in Canada or Mexico.
Nearly half of all vehicles sold in the United States are imported, as well as nearly 60 percent of the parts in vehicles assembled in the United States. That means the tariffs could have serious implications for the North American auto industry, which has become intertwined through decades of tariff-free trade. “This will hurt us,” said Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada.
The move is aimed at pushing companies to set up more factories in the United States, a primary goal for Mr. Trump, who called the move “very exciting" during remarks from the Oval Office.
“Anybody who has plants in the United States, it’s going to be good for,” Mr. Trump said.
But the tariffs could disrupt supply chains for carmakers, chill their investments and raise costs for consumers by thousands of dollars.
Autos Drive America, a group that represents the U.S. operations of international automakers, said that the car tariffs would increase prices at an uncomfortable moment for consumers, who are already reeling from high inflation.
“The tariffs imposed today will make it more expensive to produce and sell cars in the United States, ultimately leading to higher prices, fewer options for consumers, and fewer manufacturing jobs in the U.S.,” they said.
The measure also could spark more trade clashes with foreign countries, particularly European nations, Japan and South Korea, whose companies send millions of cars to the United States.
Here’s what else to know:
Investor reaction: Stock markets fell on news that the auto tariffs would be carried out, and shares of major carmakers fell even further in post-market trading. Ford, which had ended the day modestly higher, fell more than 2 percent after the announcement of the tariffs. General Motors tumbled an additional 5 percent, and Toyota fell almost 2 percent.
Hardest hit: The tariff announcement is bad news for Europe, whose automakers exported more than $41 billion worth of cars to the United States last year, as well as for Japan and South Korea, whose companies each send more than a million cars to the United States every year.
Angry response: In Canada, the 25 percent tariffs brought immediate talk of retaliation. Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, the province that is home to Canada’s auto industry, said, “We’re going to make sure that we inflict as much pain as possible on the American people.”
Tesla spared: Tesla will suffer less from the tariffs than most other automakers because it makes all the cars it sells in the United States in California and Texas. President Trump said that Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and a ubiquitous presence at the White House, did not influence tariff policy.