Economy

Automakers Warn Trump’s Tariffs Will Lead to Mass Layoffs

Written by SK Ashby

It remains to be seen if Trump will go through with his stated plans of imposing additional tariffs on the automobile industry, but if he does it won't be pretty.

Industry groups representing virtually every major automaker, both foreign and domestic, say Trump's tariffs would cost American consumers $45 billion per year in higher costs.

A coalition representing major foreign automakers including Toyota Motor Corp, Volkswagen AG, BMW AG, and Hyundai Motor Co, said the tariffs would harm automakers and U.S. consumers. [...]

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, representing General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co, Daimler AG, Toyota and others, urged the administration in separate comments filed Wednesday not to go forward.

The Alliance said its analysis of 2017 auto sales data showed a 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles would result in an average price increase of $5,800, which would boost costs to American consumers by nearly $45 billion annually.

The industry groups say Trump's initial tariffs would kill at least 195,000 jobs and after other nations retaliate it could kill over 600,000 jobs.

Speaking plainly, Toyota would like to make it clear that the Americans employed at Toyota's factories right here inside the United States are not a threat to anyone's national security.

Automakers may want to consider joining the lawsuit filed by metal industry groups yesterday. That lawsuit is challenging the constitutionality of the authority granted to the office of the president by the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

That law was passed with the intention of allowing the American president to restrict imports from Cuba among other nations, but Trump is using it because he just hates Angela Merkel.

Before Trump started invoking section 232 of the law to impose tariffs on the grounds of national security, the last time it was used for that purpose was in 1982. That's why the law has never been challenged. Using it is simply not normal.