Donald Trump will impose a 25 per cent tariff on all imported vehicles and foreign-made auto parts, including those from Canada. This tariff applies to actual vehicles and major car parts like engines or electrical components. This could expand further to smaller parts in the future as well.
The tariffs come into effect on April 2, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called this move a “direct attack” on Canada and says he plans to retaliate soon. In a fact sheet provided by the U.S., it says that the tariffs will only apply to the specific parts of a car that are made in Canada, but that really isn’t enough to soften this blow.
Trump is trying to use these tariffs to get North American automakers to become more American and move their parts factories into the U.S. and out of Canada and Mexico.
While these auto tariffs are a tactical blow to a key Canadian industry, they are less impactful than the full economy-wide tariffs that the Trump government launched and then repealed at the start of March. That said, those could reappear in early April.
Since then, the main two areas being hit with tariffs seem to be the Canadian steel and auto sectors. This will also impact plants like the GM Ingersol assembly plant that make Brightdrop EVs.
Ontario has also temporarily suspended its electricity surcharge on U.S. homes and businesses that buy power from Canada. However, since a majority of the Canadian auto industry is in Ontario, I expect the Ford government will also be looking to strike back at these new tariffs.
In a report on CTV News, Ford said that he was waiting to see what the Trump administration would do in the coming days, and he asked Mark Carney to hold a meeting with all the premiers to discuss retaliatory measures.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Source: CTV News
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
