President Trump on Wednesday said he is imposing a 25% tariff on automobiles not manufactured in the U.S.
President Trump on Wednesday said he will put a 25% tariff on automobiles and light trucks imported into the U.S., escalating his administration’s use of aggressive trade measures in an effort to boost domestic manufacturers.
„This will continue to spur growth like you haven’t seen before“, Mr. Trump said from the Oval Office Wednesday afternoon. „We’ll effectively be charging a 25% tariff. But if you build your car in the United States, there is no tariff.“
Mr. Trump said the new auto tariffs will take effect on April 2 and that the U.S. would start collecting the duties the following day. The president added he believes the new import duty could raise between $600 billion and $1 trillion in revenue for the U.S. over the next two years.
„This number will be used to reduce debt greatly“, Mr. Trump said. „Basically I view it as reducing taxes and reducing debt.“
White House staff secretary Will Scharf, who stood next to Mr. Trump during the announcement, offered a more conservative estimate of how much the new auto tariffs would raise, predicting roughly $100 billion in new revenue.
Mr. Trump also reiterated his goal of making interest paid on auto loans tax deductible, while noting that such a deduction would apply only to cars made in the U.S.
Tax deductions are generally only employed by high-income Americans because most taxpayers take the standard deduction, which means tax-deductible auto loans wouldn’t impact low- or middle-income households.
