The auto industry is sounding the alarm about U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement.
Trump announced Wednesday he would impose 25 percent tariffs on auto imports to the U.S. beginning next week.
Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturing Association, says Trump risks essentially shutting down the industry and costing many Americans their jobs.
The North American auto industry is highly integrated, meaning auto parts can cross the border several times before they’re part of a finished car.
The White House said automobiles imported under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement will only be tariffed on the value of content not made in the United States.
The tariffs apply not only to whole vehicles, but also to certain parts like engines and transmissions. Parts subject to the trade agreement won’t face the new tariffs until the U.S. figures out how to apply tariffs to their non-U.S. content, the White House said.
