New taxes applied to vehicle imports into the United States?

As was done for imports of certain steel and aluminum products, President Trump recently asked Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to investigate whether vehicle imports, including trucks and spare parts, threatened national security under section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act. If this is the case, new taxes could be applied to vehicle imports into the United States.

This request comes shortly after the President published a message on Twitter addressed to American car manufacturers: “There will be big news coming soon for our great American Autoworkers. After decades of losing your jobs to other countries, you have waited long enough!”

President Trump considers, among other things, that trade with the European Union in the vehicle sector is unfair to the United States. He has also repeatedly targeted Germany in these imbalances.

It should be recalled that the exemption granted to Canada from surcharges on certain steel and aluminum products expires on June 1, 2018, and that an agreement on the renegotiation of NAFTA has not yet been concluded between Canada, Mexico and the United States. One of the points of contention in these renegotiations remains the rules of origin in the automotive sector. US negotiators are calling for duty-free cars to be 50% made with US parts and 85% of their total content to be American.