U.S. President Donald Trump said this week that he plans to launch tariffs on imported automobiles in April, after recently introducing levies on all imports from China and certain metal products.
During a press conference on Friday, Trump said that he was likely to establish an overarching automobile tariff on April 2, though he didn’t disclose other details surrounding the plans (via Reuters). The tariffs are expected to apply to all imported vehicles instead of just specific components, following his recent measure to tax incoming aluminum and steel and his other reported plans for levies against particular countries.
“Maybe around April 2,” Trump responded when asked about broader automobile tariffs. “I would have done them on April 1, but we’re going to do it on April 2.”
Trump’s cabinet is also expected to deliver a range of reports on suggested import duties on April 1, after he tasked the team with such efforts on Thursday. The reports are to detail all tariffs imposed by other countries onto U.S. products, in efforts to develop reciprocal import taxes against those nations.
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“We applaud President Trump’s idea to look at all vehicle imports to the U.S., an important step forward,” said Jim Farley, Ford CEO, in a post on X following the press conference. “Comprehensive trade policies are imperative to achieving the president’s vision to strengthen the U.S. auto industry.”
The news also comes amidst several other tariff initiatives set to take effect in the coming weeks.
This week, Trump also launched 25-percent tariffs on all imported steel and aluminum products, which is currently set to be enacted on March 12. He also delayed initial plans to institute 25-percent tariffs on products from Mexico and non-energy products from Canada for one month, in exchange for requiring the countries to provide additional military support at the borders.
Additionally, Trump launched a 10-percent tariff on all imports from China, along with those already in effect.
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