Trump Says He Might Increase 25% Auto Tariff Soon
President Donald Trump, at a June 12 event rolling back a California standard that by 2035, all vehicles sold would be zero-emission, pointed to his original Section 301 tariff on Chinese electric vehicles as the reason you don't see those cars in the U.S.
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He then added, "to further defend our auto workers I imposed this 25% tariff on all foreign automobiles. I might go up with that tariff in the not-too-distant future. The higher you go, the more likely it is they build a plant here."
He gave a list of reported plant announcements by Ford, Stellantis and GM, and said that the auto tariffs, "more than anything," convinced General Motors to spend about $6 billion in expanded manufacturing.
He also said: "The auto workers knew better than anybody how good the tariffs are. ... You're having auto plants built all over the country. Never seen anything like it. They're leaving from Mexico. Leaving from Canada. They're leaving from other parts of the world. It's OK to have a Mercedes, but they'll make it here, or they'll pay a big tariff. But they are already are. That's peanuts, compared to what we'll be making in another few months. They haven't even kicked in yet."