U.S. President Donald Trump has batted around the idea of imposing tariffs on all sorts of imported goods since taking office, though as of now, only one has actually taken effect – an additional 10 percent levy on Chinese goods. Otherwise, automakers including Ford haven’t been too impacted as of now, though Trump has also proposed 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, where The Blue Oval builds a variety of components and vehicles. Now, Trump is targeting the Canadian auto industry, specifically.
In a recent post on Truth Social, Trump addressed Canada’s threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on electricity that it exports to select U.S. states, which prompted him to threaten to double forthcoming 25 percent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. Hours after this post, both sides ultimately opted not to proceed with those plans, but Trump noted that “If other egregious, long time Tariffs are not likewise dropped by Canada, I will substantially increase, on April 2nd, the Tariffs on Cars coming into the U.S. which will, essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada. Those cars can easily be made in the USA!”
As for those 25 percent tariffs on aluminum and steel, Ford CFO Sherry House recent stated that the automaker won’t be impacted in any sort of major way, given the fact that it gets the vast majority of those materials from the U.S. at the moment. The Blue Oval is more concerned with tariffs on Mexico, given the fact that it builds a trio of vehicles there that are imported into the U.S. Additionally, Ford builds V8 engines in Canada, and is planning to produce the Super Duty at the Oakville Assembly plant as well.
Trump recently gave the automotive industry a 30-day reprieve on Canada and Mexico tariffs, so for now at least, it’s unclear when or if those levies will apply to that sector. This uncertainty is something that Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford recently addressed as well, as he called for more predictability when it comes to imposing tariffs on imported goods, in general.
