US president Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports is likely to result in more expensive vehicles.
That’s the view of the American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA).
Steel and aluminium tariffs could directly counteract any benefits American manufacturers have seen from tax and regulatory reform, according to AIADA.
“These proposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports couldn’t come at a worse time,” AIADA president and chief executive Cody Lusk says.
“Auto sales have flattened in recent months, and manufacturers are not prepared to absorb a sharp increase in the cost to build cars and trucks in America. The burden of these tariffs, as always, will be passed on to the American consumer.
Lusk also fears what the tariffs would do to the wider American economy.
“The resulting trade war will undoubtedly spread to include other industries, including American agriculture. No one wins a trade war.”
Meanwhile, Trump also threatened the European car industry with tariffs on Twitter earlier this month.
“If the E.U. wants to further increase their already massive tariffs and barriers on U.S. companies doing business there, we will simply apply a Tax on their Cars which freely pour into the U.S. They make it impossible for our cars (and more) to sell there. Big trade imbalance!,” he wrote.
Join the conversation