President Trump said on Tuesday that he plans to impose tariffs “in the neighborhood of 25%” on automobiles as early as April 2. Not specified: which countries would be included or what exemptions may be made. Last year, the US imported $279 billion in passenger cars, trucks, buses, and special purpose vehicles, according to Commerce Department data. An additional $192 billion in parts were also brought into the country.
The market reaction to Trump’s plan has so far been significantly more muted than earlier this month, when auto shares sank and then U-turned as news came out on the White House’s intro’d-then-delayed tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico. Shares of General Motors, Ford, and Toyota are all moving in the low single digits in either direction.
GM CFO Paul Jacobson said the automaker would consider moving its plants if the tariffs were made permanent, but the company hasn’t made any official decisions.
“Those are questions that just don’t have an answer today,” Jacobson said. “I can tell you, as much as the market is pricing in a big impact of tariffs and lost profitability, think about a world where, on top of that, we’re spending billions of capital, and then it ends.”