Ford Still Subjected To Tariffs Despite Yesterday’s Pullback

A couple of weeks ago, U.S. President Donald Trump announced 25 percent tariffs on imported automobiles that later took effect on April 3^rd, with additional levies on imported parts including things like engines, transmissions, and electrical components set to join them no later than May 3^rd. Just yesterday, Trump announced that he would be pausing reciprocal tariffs on most countries for 90 days as the White House negotiates new deals, though he’s still rolling out 10 percent base tariffs on many goods and a 125 percent tariff on China. As it turns out, Ford and the automotive industry won’t be spared by this delay, either.

According to Automotive News, this pause on tariffs does not apply to sectors such as the automotive industry, nor aluminum and steel, meaning that they’ll still be subjected to 25 percent levies – but not the 10 percent reciprocal tariff. It remains to be seen if Trump will make changes to these auto tariffs, but his administration did note that 75 countries have thus far reached out to open negotiations with the U.S. in terms of trade agreements. Trump also recently stated that he will consider exempting specific companies from tariffs, giving Ford some hope in that regard.

In the meantime, Ford has resigned to the fact that it will have to pay tariffs on imported vehicles and major components, but has been lobbying the Trump administration to reduce levies or remove them completely from low-cost parts made in countries with cheaper labor – something that it claims would add billions in costs. The automaker is also taking steps to try and mitigate the impacts of these tariffs.

In the meantime, the stock market surged following Trump’s announcement yesterday that he would be pausing most of these tariffs, but some analysts continue to adjust their price targets for Ford stock downward – including, most recently, Bernstein, which cut its price target by $2.40 to $7.