Trump announced the move in the Oval Office, saying that “this is gonna lead to the construction of a lot of plants” to build cars domestically.
President Trump announced a 25% tariff on foreign-made cars Wednesday — saying it would boost domestic manufacturing.
Trump, 78, announced the move in the Oval Office, saying that “this is gonna lead to the construction of a lot of plants” to build cars domestically.
“We’ll effectively be charging a 25% tariff, but if you build your car in the United States, there is no tariff,” he said.
White House staff secretary Will Scharf announced that the action was projected to raise $100 billion in revenue — though analysis has suggested it may also sharply reduce import volume.
A US International Trade Commission report last year found that “[a] new 25% tariff on U.S. imports from outside of North America would reduce vehicle imports by 73.9%, increase average prices of vehicles in the United States by 5.0%, and increase variable profits from domestic production by 5.2%”
Trump did not indicate any carve-outs for Canadian and Mexican vehicle imports, meaning that the impact may be even greater than the trade commission report projected.
