US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday, imposing a 25% tariff on all foreign-manufactured vehicles, set to take effect from April 2. The move is expected to have significant repercussions on global trade and automotive markets, with several trading partners already indicating their plans for retaliatory actions.
"We are going to be very fair... we are going to be nice actually. We have not been treated nicely by other countries, but we are going to be nice. I think people will be pleasantly surprised, but it's going to make our country very rich," Trump said after signing the order.
The announcement has prompted swift reactions from key international partners. Japan, one of the largest exporters of automobiles to the US, saw a sharp decline in automotive shares as the news broke. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stated that Japan was considering a range of countermeasures in response to the new tariffs. Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney labeled the tariffs as a "direct attack" on Canadian workers and announced a cabinet meeting to discuss possible retaliatory actions.
Peter Navarro, Trump’s senior trade and manufacturing advisor, defended the move, criticizing foreign trade practices that he claimed had reduced the US manufacturing sector to an assembly line for imported components. He singled out Germany and Japan for maintaining the production of high-value components within their borders, asserting that the US should seek to reverse this trend.
This latest tariff action follows a pattern set by Trump’s earlier trade policies, which have already included duties on steel and aluminum imports from several key US trading partners, including Canada, Mexico, and China. Additional trade levies are expected next week, further escalating tensions in global trade relations.
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)