Trump to impose 25 percent tariffs on all cars not made in the US

President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation imposing 25 percent tariffs on "all cars that are not made in the United States" on top of taxes that are already in place. The tariffs will apply to all imported sedans, SUVs, crossovers, minivans, cargo vans and light trucks. They will also apply to key automotive components not made in the US, including engines, transmissions, powertrain parts and electrical components, and they could expand to cover additional parts if necessary. The new tariffs will take effect on April 2, and the US government expects to start collecting on April 3.

According to CNBC, the president assured automakers that there will be "absolutely no tariff" for cars made in the US. The administration is also giving automotive companies importing goods under the US-Mexico-Canada agreement time to get their US-made parts certified so that the additional taxes will only apply to the value of their non-US-made components. Trump first announced that his administration was going to impose 25 percent tariffs on automobile imports back in February. He also said at the time that the government intends to collect an additional 25 percent in taxes, or higher, on semiconductor imports. 

Trump White House aide Will Scharf said that the new automobile tariffs will earn the US "over $100 billion of new annual revenue." European Commission's president, Ursula von der Leyen, criticized the US government's decision. "As I have said before, tariffs are taxes — bad for businesses, worse for consumers equally in the US and the European Union," she said in a statement. In the White House's announcement, however, the administration insisted that tariffs are good for the country's economy and will not lead to inflation or an increase in prices.