Trump says auto tariffs will be around 25%

On February 18, US President Trump said that the tariffs on imported cars planned to be announced as early as April would be “around 25%.” The main targets are believed to be cars imported from Germany and neighboring countries such as Mexico, but if Japanese cars are also subject to tariffs, Japanese car manufacturers will inevitably be hit hard.

Trump had previously said that he planned to announce tariffs on cars as early as April 2. On the day of his inauguration on January 20, Trump instructed the US Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) to complete investigations on unfair trade practices in countries around the world and report the results by April 1.

Currently, the United States imposes a 2.5% tariff on imported passenger cars. At a press conference on February 18, Trump also said that he was considering raising tariffs on semiconductors and drugs.

Regarding the tariffs on semiconductors and drugs, Trump said: “It will be above 25%. Moreover, (the tax rate) will increase significantly during this year.”

Trump also used high tariffs to put pressure on companies in various countries to move their production bases to the United States.

Trump said: “I will give you the time you need to move (production bases) to the United States. If you build a factory in the United States, there will be no tariffs. I want to give you a chance,” hinting that negotiations with foreign governments and companies may be held before April.

On February 13, Trump just instructed the introduction of “reciprocal tariffs” to raise tariffs to the same level as the trading partner. At the press conference on February 18, he once again expressed his dissatisfaction with the European Union: “There are no imports of American cars and agricultural products”, “We are facing a trade deficit of 350 billion US dollars”, and asked the European Union to take measures to reduce tariffs on American products.