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Trump Auto Tariffs: How Major Car Brands Would Be Affected
The tariffs on cars and auto parts that President Trump announced on Wednesday will have far-reaching effects on automakers in the United States and abroad.But there will be important differences based on the circumstances of each company.TeslaThe company run by Mr. Trump’s confidant, Elon Musk, makes the cars it sells in the United States in factories in California and Texas. As a result, it is perhaps the least exposed to tariffs.But the company does buy parts from other countries — about a quarter of the components by value in its cars come from abroad, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.In addition, Tesla is struggling with falling sales around the world, in part because Mr. Musk’s political activities and statements have turned off moderate and liberal car buyers. Some countries could seek to retaliate against Mr. Trump’s tariffs by targeting Tesla. A few Canadian provinces have already stopped offering incentives for purchases of Tesla’s electric vehicles.General MotorsThe largest U.S. automaker imports many of its best selling and most profitable cars and trucks, especially from Mexico, where it has several large factories that churn out models like the Chevrolet Silverado. Roughly 40 percent of G.M.’s sales in the United States last year were vehicles assembled abroad. This could make the company vulnerable to the tariffs.But unlike some other automakers, G.M. has posted strong profits in recent years and is considered by analysts to be on good financial footing. That could help it weather the tariffs better than other companies, especially if the import taxes are removed or diluted by Mr. Trump.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
- in Economy
Trump’s Tariffs Will Raise Car Prices, but It’s Too Soon to Know When
There is no doubt the tariffs that President Trump said he would impose on imported cars, trucks and auto parts next week will raise prices by thousands of dollars for consumers.What is not clear is how soon those increases will kick in, how high they will go and which models will be affected the most.The tariffs — 25 percent on imported vehicles and automotive parts — are supposed to take effect next Thursday. But many car dealers said they were putting aside the question of price increases for now to focus on ending March with a sales flourish in the month’s final weekend.“I’m not really thinking about what to do about prices yet,” said Adam Silverleib, owner of a Honda store and a Volkswagen showroom in the suburbs south of Boston. “I’m trying to close out the month and move as many cars as I can.”Mr. Silverleib also pointed out that Mr. Trump had announced tariffs before only to delay them just before they were to take effect. “We’ll see if anything transpires in the next 96 hours,” he said on Thursday.Auto analysts estimate that the tariffs will add $4,000 or more to the prices of many new vehicles that are assembled outside the United States. For some high-end models, such as fully loaded pickup trucks, prices could rise $10,000 or more.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
- in Economy
Trump Announces 25% Tariffs on Imported Cars and Car Parts
President Trump said on Wednesday that he would impose a 25 percent tariff on cars and car parts that were imported into the United States, a move that could encourage U.S. auto production over the longer run but is likely to throw global supply chains into disarray and raise prices for Americans who buy an automobile.The tariffs will go into effect on April 3 and apply both to finished cars and trucks that are shipped into the United States and to imported parts that are included in cars assembled at American auto plants. Those tariffs will hit foreign brands as well as American ones, like Ford Motor and General Motors, which assemble some automobiles outside 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 push up car prices significantly when inflation has already made cars and trucks more expensive for American consumers.During remarks at the White House, Mr. Trump said the tariffs would encourage auto companies and their suppliers to set up shop in the United States.“Anybody who has plants in the United States, it’s going to be good for,” he said.But the auto industry is global and has been built up around trade agreements that allow factories in different countries to specialize in certain parts or types of cars, with the expectation that they would face little to no tariffs. That has been particularly true for North America, where national auto sectors have been stitched together by trade agreements since the 1960s.Stock markets fell on news that the auto tariffs would be imposed. Shares of major carmakers tumbled further in after-hours trading, after the White House clarified that the tariffs would also cover imported auto parts. General Motors was down nearly 7 percent and Ford and Stellantis were more than 4 percent lower after the markets closed. Tesla’s stock fell 1 percent in extended trading.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
- in Economy
Trump Trade Policies and Federal Cuts Shake Consumer Confidence
Americans are increasingly anxious about their jobs and finances as the Trump administration’s trade policies and government cutbacks stoke concern about the economy.Consumer confidence tumbled this month to its lowest level since January 2021, the Conference Board reported on Tuesday, extending a decline that has been underway since shortly after President Trump was elected last fall. The short-term outlook for “income, business and labor market conditions” fell to its lowest reading in 12 years, the business group reported, signaling consumer angst about a deterioration in economic conditions in the coming year.Economists have warned that Mr. Trump’s plans for sweeping tariffs on the United States’ biggest trading partners could reignite inflation. Whiplash from shifting trade policies, and investors’ concern about a potential slowdown in the American economy, fueled a stock-market sell-off earlier this month. Households are bracing for higher inflation over the next year, according to the survey, with 12-month inflation expectations rising to 6.2 percent, from an outlook of 5.8 percent in February. (Over the most recent 12 months, the inflation rate was 2.8 percent, according to the Consumer Price Index for February.)Consumers are “spooked” by the Trump administration’s trade wars, cuts to the federal government by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency and the recent stock market sell-off, said Bill Adams, the chief economist for Comerica Bank.“When people fear for their jobs, they will cut back on discretionary spending on vacations and going out, and delay big purchases like new houses, cars or appliances,” Mr. Adams said. He added that the length of the downturn in consumer sentiment was hard to predict.Stephen Miran, the chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, played down the drop in consumer confidence in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday. “Folks often let their political views influence their views of the economy,” he said.The latest Conference Board survey added to growing evidence that uncertainty about tariff policies is making consumers less confident about the economic outlook and more worried about inflation. Data from the University of Michigan released this month showed consumer sentiment plummeting 11 percent from February as Americans of all ages, income groups and political affiliations turned even more downbeat.Some company executives warn of a pullback in consumer spending, too. Delta Air Lines cut its financial forecast for the first three months of the year, citing lower demand for domestic travel, while the chief executive of the clothing retailer Burlington cautioned its investors that tariffs “could hurt discretionary spending.” More
- in Economy
Trump to Impose Tariffs Against Countries That Buy Venezuelan Oil
President Trump issued an executive order on Monday to crack down on countries that buy Venezuelan oil by imposing tariffs on the goods those nations send into the United States, claiming that Venezuela has “purposefully and deceitfully” sent criminals and murderers into America.In the order, the president said the government of Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan leader, and the Tren de Aragua gang, a transnational criminal organization, posed a threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.On or after April 2, a tariff of 25 percent may be imposed on all goods imported into the United States from any country that imports Venezuelan oil, either directly or indirectly through third parties, the order said.The order said the secretaries of state, Treasury, commerce and homeland security, as well as the trade representative, would determine at their discretion what tariffs to impose. The tariffs would expire one year after the last date the Venezuelan oil was imported, or earlier if Trump officials so chose, it said.This unconventional use of tariffs could further disrupt the global oil trade as buyers of Venezuelan oil seek alternatives. The United States and China have been the top buyers of Venezuelan oil in recent months, according to Rystad Energy, a research and consulting firm. India and Spain also buy a small amount of crude from the South American country.But in the case of China, Venezuela’s oil makes up such a small portion of the country’s imports that the threat of higher tariffs will probably cause China to look elsewhere for oil, said Jorge León, a Rystad Energy analyst.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
- in Economy
US Exporters Vie to Shape Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs Ahead of April 2
Ahead of President Trump’s next big trade move, his administration invited companies to weigh in on the economic barriers they faced abroad.The list of complaints was both sprawling and specific. In hundreds of letters submitted to the administration in recent weeks, producers of uranium, shrimp, T-shirts and steel highlighted the unfair trade treatment they faced, in hopes of bending the president’s trade agenda in their favor. The complaints varied from Brazil’s high tariffs on ethanol and pet food, to India’s high levies on almonds and pecans, to Japan’s longstanding barriers to American potatoes.Mr. Trump has promised to overhaul the global trading system on April 2, when he plans to impose what he is calling “reciprocal tariffs” that will match the levies and other policies that countries impose on American exports. The president has taken to calling this “liberation day,” arguing that it will end years of other countries “ripping us off.”On Monday, Mr. Trump appeared to suggest a potential softening to the tariffs, saying, “I may give a lot of countries breaks.” He added, “It’s reciprocal, but we may be even nicer than that.”“They’ve charged us so much that I’m embarrassed to charge them what they’ve charged us,” he said at an event at the White House. “But it’ll be substantial.”Mr. Trump also signaled that the White House could finalize tariffs on foreign-made cars before April 2, teasing that an announcement could come “fairly soon, over the next few days probably.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
- in Economy
Why the Shipping Industry Isn’t Rushing Back to the Red Sea
The companies that operate large container ships say they plan to keep going around Africa as violence flares in the region.When President Trump ordered military strikes last weekend against the Houthi militia in Yemen, he said the militia’s attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea had harmed global trade.“These relentless assaults have cost the U.S. and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk,” he said on Truth Social.But getting shipping companies to return to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal could take many months and is likely to require more than airstrikes against the Houthis. For over a year, ocean carriers have overwhelmingly avoided the Red Sea, sending ships around Africa’s southern tip to get from Asia to Europe, a voyage that is some 3,500 nautical miles and 10 days longer.The shipping industry has largely adapted to the disruption, and has even profited from the surge in shipping rates after the Houthis began attacking commercial ships in late 2023 in support of Hamas in its war with Israel.Shipping executives say they do not plan to return to the Red Sea until there is a broad Middle East peace accord that includes the Houthis or a decisive defeat of the militia, which is backed by Iran.“It’s either a full degradation of their capabilities or there is some type of deal,” Vincent Clerc, the chief executive of Maersk, a shipping line based in Copenhagen, said in February.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
