

Mint Primer: Can tariffs bring back US auto’s past glory?
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. US President Donald Trump has imposed a stiff 25% tariff on imported cars, trucks and parts that go to make them. The move, ostensibly, is to revive domestic manufacturing.
Mint looks at the issues involved and whether tariffs will help US automakers regain their former glory. Indeed. Last week, Trump imposed a sharp 25% tariff on imported cars, trucks and auto components.
The tariffs, effective from 3 April, will disrupt the efficient structure of the global auto industry that was established taking advantage of globalization and trade agreements. It will make cars in the US pricey by $4,000, experts warned. In 2024, the US imported auto products worth $474 billion, including cars valued at $ 220 billion.
The move will hurt not only the big three US automakers—General Motors, Ford and Stellantis—but also their European, South Korean and Japanese counterparts. Also read | Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs come into effect on April 2: Will India, Thailand feel the most heat? The US president wants to revive the auto industry in the US in a big way and, in the process, restore its once-famed industrial base. He is hoping that the tariffs will force automakers to set up factories in the US and increase production locally.
Today, nearly 50% of all vehicles sold in the US are imported. Additionally, 60% of the parts that go into cars made in the US are foreign-made. The tariffs, he hopes, will also boost foreign investment into the US and help him raise funds to make up for any of his promised tax cuts.
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