Actions have consequences, so how will President Trump’s tariffs impact the auto industry? From the American Journal of Transportation:
The auto industry is warning that U.S. sales declines, which have become routine over the past year, may continue thanks to the tariffs President Donald Trump plans to slap on steel and aluminum imports.
Toyota Motor Corp., which plans to build a new $1.6 billion factory in Alabama with Mazda Motor Corp., said the administration’s decision will “adversely impact” auto companies by raising costs and prices of cars and trucks sold in the U.S. That’s even as more than 90 percent of the steel Asia’s biggest carmaker needs in the U.S. is from the country.
Here’s one analyst’s prediction:
Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist for researcher Cox Automotive, estimates the tariffs Trump proposed would add about $200 to the total price of a vehicle.
“It’s unfortunate because it comes at a time when there are already fears about inflation,” he said in an interview. “This is only going to add fuel to that fire.”
Protectionism is poor public policy. Let the marketplace work.
