zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Culture
/
Trump Says Hefty Tariffs on Cars and Other Goods From Mexico Are off the Table
Trump Says Hefty Tariffs on Cars and Other Goods From Mexico Are off the Table-May 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:13:02

Honda’s plant in Mexico.

A mere nine days ago, President Donald Trump was out there on The Twitter —including cars and trucks—that would be destabilizing to the auto industry, a new North American trade agreement and American consumers. Those tariffs, Trump said, would start at 5 percent and possibly rise to 25 percent by October unless undocumented migrants “stop” coming into the U.S. through Mexico.

Well, automakers including Ford, General Motors, BMW, Honda and more can rest easy, because Trump has backed off this threat, apparently after securing some kind of deal where Mexico will work to clamp down on migration.

What does that deal entail, exactly? As Automotive News reports, we have no idea. But such tariffs were widely regarded as deeply damaging to the global economy, and ones that would surely make cars, trucks and other goods more expensive to American consumers.

As you may recall, Trump’s own economic advisor Larry Kudlow , as the extra cost of goods will be passed onto the consumer.

What, you think Ford and GM and the rest are just gonna happily eat the cost and call it a day? Nah. That’s not how business works.

From Automotive News:

The decision was welcomed by Republicans and others who warned the tariffs would damage the American economy, hurt job growth and delay or altogether scuttle a trade deal between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, which still needs lawmaker ratification. Mexico is the second-biggest source of U.S. imports.

“Mexico came through,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who opposed the tariffs, in a tweet soon after Trump’s announcement.

Mexico’s foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, who was in the Washington for the talks, said in a tweet that the tariffs wouldn’t be imposed. “Thanks to everyone who has supported us by realizing the greatness of Mexico,” he said in Spanish.

The tariff threat has rattled markets and prompted economists to forecast an increased risk of recession in the U.S., the world’s largest economy, because trade between the U.S. and Mexico is so integrated. An all-out trade war would lower global gross domestic product by 0.8% or $800 billion by mid-2021, according to Bloomberg Economics.

As that story notes, while exact details on the migration plan aren’t out yet, the U.S. had asked Mexico to beef up its own northern and southern borders and begin detaining asylum-seekers. The tariff threat also came the exact same day the administration asked Congress to begin the work of passing the North American Free Trade Agreement replacement.

While it fits with Trump’s pattern of using trade as a weapon to make policy changes in other areas, the moves were met with resistance from within Trump’s own party. From the on the matter:

Economists had expressed concern that those additional costs could rebound on the American economy in unwelcome ways. While politicians often accuse companies of sending jobs to lower-priced factories in Mexico, the country also supports American jobs by providing lower-priced inputs that feed into supply chains in the United States. That enables American factories to produce goods at a price and quality that can compete with goods made in China and Europe.

Well, the good news is that the extra cost of everything won’t be piled onto you and me. Is everyone going to be very excited by the new deal with Mexico?

Yes, apparently. Yes.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Culture
Toyota Is Moving A Prewar 700-Ton Press Machine Halfway Around The World
Toyota Is Moving A Prewar 700-Ton Press Machine Halfway Around The World
closed its São Bernardo Plant in November 2023, marking the end of its first overseas production facility. The closure caps off a period of continuous car production in São Paolo, , lasting over 60 years. The plant was home to a Komatsu 700-ton press that predates itself. And now...
May 4, 2025
2024 Kia EV9: What Do You Want To Know?
2024 Kia EV9: What Do You Want To Know?
At long last, we are about to get behind the wheel of for the first time. Sure, , and sure, , and sure , but hey — what can you do? Anyway, before we get behind the wheel of this three-row electric beast, we want to know what you...
May 4, 2025
Subaru Had It Right All Along
Subaru Had It Right All Along
When first came to the United States, it sold small funky cars that were decidedly un-American. As the company grew its own identity and became more established in the U.S., it became the first automaker to offer an all-wheel-drive passenger car in 1975. Subaru was also an early-adopter of...
May 4, 2025
I Can't Get Enough Of This YouTuber Who Builds Tiny, Fully Functional Scale-Model Cars
I Can't Get Enough Of This YouTuber Who Builds Tiny, Fully Functional Scale-Model Cars
I love tiny, of . I have a that is roughly half the size of a normal cat, and she’s perfect. I own a 2013 , which is like the miniature version of a normal-sized vehicle (at least here in Texas) — but beyond that, I also own a Hot...
May 4, 2025
Watch ABS Fail When MotorWeek Tests A 1997 Chevy S-10
Watch ABS Fail When MotorWeek Tests A 1997 Chevy S-10
MotorWeek’s is some of the on the internet. The long-running automotive news magazine has a treasure trove of tests after being on the air for over 40 years. Where else can you find detailed instrumented testing of long-forgotten cars like the or a ? MotorWeek’s recent Retro Review upload is...
May 4, 2025
I Entered My Lifted Miata In A Real Off-Road Race, Here's What Happened
I Entered My Lifted Miata In A Real Off-Road Race, Here's What Happened
I have two automotive loves: The first is the Miata, the second is off-road racing. For a while I raced air-cooled Volkswagens in the deserts of California and Nevada and I was lucky enough to co-drive in a class 11 stock bug in the Baja 1000 a few years...
May 4, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved