According to US President Trump’s customs announcements, the first countries have announced countermeasures. Corporations from the auto industry, for example, also try to adapt to the new situation in world trade.
Despite high US tariffs, Mexico and Canada are still in a relatively comfortable situation. Many of the traded goods and goods fall under USMCA, a free trade agreement that the USA, Mexico and Canada had signed during Trump’s first term (2017 to 2021). Customs of 25 percent are now raised on goods that do not fall under USMCA. These make up about half of all exports from Mexico to the USA.
While Mexico continues to negotiate, Canada has announced the first countermeasures. The country imposes against tariffs to certain vehicle imports from the United States. Ottawa will take all cars that were not produced as part of the North American trade pact in USMCA with 25 percent import fees, announced the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
VW holds back vehicles
The first reactions are also available from the car manufacturers concerned and their suppliers. According to reports, VW has temporarily stopped the delivery of vehicles from the Mexican plant that go to the USA by train. Cars that come from Europe by ship would be held back in the ports for the time being until the customs situation had stabilized.
Vehicles that were imported into the USA before the tariffs came into force are not affected by the surcharge. Last year, the Volkswagen core brand sold almost 380,000 new cars in the United States. That corresponded to eight percent of the global sales.
Investments in Latin America
According to Japanese car manufacturer Nissan, he no longer wants to market two SUV models made in Mexico in the USA. Nissan “exposes the orders of the Infini QX50 and the QX55”, which are manufactured for the US market in a factory in Mexico in Mexico. The production of the Nissan Rogue, on the other hand, will be kept “in the plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, in order to maintain a larger localized volume in the USA, which is excluded from the new tariffs,” it says.
At the same time, manufacturers are raising their investments in other countries. Volkswagen is investing $ 580 million in Argentina. From 2027, a new Amarok pick-up is to be built there for the South American market at the Pacheco plant at Buenos Aires, Europe announced the largest carmaker.
Mexico remains “Auto-Hotspot”
Volvo, on the other hand, continues on Mexico. The Swedish car manufacturer announced that he would increase his investments in a North Mexican truck factory in the state of Nuevo Leon to one billion dollars. Volvo had already announced last August that the company had selected a site on the edge of the Monterrey industrial center in Northern Mexico as a location for its new North American plant for trucks. In any case, it can be assumed that the current investment decisions are not an immediate reaction to Trump’s customs announcements.
In the end, the US consumers should pay the price for tariffs – and they should see that too. At least according to a report, VW wants to show the new car tariffs on the price tags in its US car dealers. In the case of vehicles affected by the 25 percent customs that has been in effect today, a possible “import fee” should be pointed out on the vehicle. There is no information about the amount of the service. Other manufacturers are also holding back to the United States with statements on future pricing.
