Trump warns U.S. carmakers not to take advantage of tariffs by hiking prices on consumers

[Bernardo de La Paz]

Source: Fortune

Come April 3, all new vehicles built abroad will be slapped with a 25% import duty, a cost that will likely be passed on to U.S. consumers. Since this affects roughly half the cars sold in the country, companies like General Motors could use the tariff increase as cover to increase their prices on domestically built vehicles as well.

To mitigate the threat of an across-the-board increase in car prices, President Donald Trump held a phone call with management from the top automakers in the country, warning them not to use the tariffs as an excuse to raise prices on domestic cars.

In it, Trump told the executives that the White House would look unfavorably on such a move, leaving some of them rattled and worried they would face punishment if they increased sticker prices, according to the Wall Street Journal report citing people with knowledge of the call.

“The math would tell you that’s going to cost us multibillions of dollars,” one executive told the paper. “So who pays for that?”

Read more: https://fortune.com/2025/03/28/trump-carmakers-not-to-use-tariffs-as-cover-to-hike-prices/

[Hugin]

1. Yeah, good luck with that.

[dweller]

2. "So who pays for that?"

And who did you vote for , hmm ?







✌🏻

[Historic NY]

3. Add that to states sales tax...

Which also doesn't include local sales tax added


https://www.policygenius.com/auto-insurance/auto-tax-rate-by-state/]

[wiggs]

4. Let's say in 5 years we have new US auto plants because of tariffs. Who thinks that result in lower car prices? nt

[Rebl2]

6. I doubt

we will have new plants, but if we do they won’t lower prices. I think with new plants they will increase prices because they have to pay for them.

[GoreWon2000]

10. Tariffs kill jobs

Trade protectionism is 1 of the 2 main causes of the great depression of the 1930s. Tariffs have never resulted in bring jobs back to the U.S. U.S. car makers raised prices during the first tRump administration and they'll be forced to do it again this time because so many parts in American cars are made overseas. tRump's stupidity about economics in general and the auto industry in particular knows no bounds.

[NickB79]

13. Who's gonna man them?

Without immigrants, our population would be dropping by now. Americans aren't having enough kids to offset Baby Boomers retiring and dying. And we just lost 1 million people from COVID.

[intrepidity]

14. Once Social Security checks stop,

there'll be a whole new source of labor, especially from those who will be supporting parents and grandparents.

[wiggs]

20. Every day, it seems more and more plausible that this administration and their backers are not interested

in a thriving USA.

Reasonable analysis (where is this in outlets?) might conclude that chaos, poverty, illness, war, increased inequality, fear, confusion, shock, ignorance, and lack of democracy are their goals.

[mathematic]

5. The whole point of tariffs is to raise prices to "protect" domestic manufacturers

Trouble competing on price (like steel)? Ask for tariffs so you can keep selling expensive steel to domestic manufacturers.

Can't compete on price or quality (like auto)? Ask for tariffs so you can keep making mediocre cars at high prices.

Your whole supply chain goes up in price because of various tariffs? You could barely turn a profit using higher value foreign made goods, good luck turning a profit with lower value (either worse quality or worse price) domestic parts.

Tariffs are a scam. Cleveland Cliffs praised steel tariffs a month ago and laid off a bunch of steelworkers this week, due to lower forecast auto demand. What a surprise. This is something any economist or, let's be honest, undergrad econ student, would have told you was going to happen. It's not a secret that there are gains from trade. We've been able to explain how for 200 years. The steel tariffs in the fist trump admin caused job losses. And the massive tariffs now, only partially implemented and only for a couple of weeks so far, have already cost jobs and economic prosperity. Much more pain to come.

[Playingmantis]

7. Oh isnt he the man of the people!!

Who the fuck does he think he is kidding? Trump again trying to avoid consequences for his actions..

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. Kidding? magas eat it up. There's a photo tRump showing blueprints to hard hats. That makes him a man of the people! .nt

[Playingmantis]

11. Yes

Someone in my family posted a pic of Trump hugging the flag! Guess that proves he is a patriot as well..!

[nature-lover]

18. That photo turns my stomach.

[Prairie Gates]

9. "Don't do what every economic theory since Adam Smith and basic capitalist self-interest

predicts you will do, or you will face punishment from the expanded state apparatus!"

Really top-notch conservative government y'all got going there!

[aggiesal]

12. This guy really doesn't know how tariffs work ...

He wants the US carmakers to absorb the whole tariff. This could put them out of business.
At the minimum, they might have to layoff employees, balancing salaries vs tariffs.

[PortTack]

16. You nailed it...lay off employees..work harder to gut union jobs

[BrianTheEVGuy]

15. His economic illiteracy is astounding

The amount of the tariff in question is well in excess of the total profit made per vehicle. He is demanding that automakers sell products to Americans at huge losses.

As Bugs Bunny once said, “what a maroon.”

[Tree Lady]

17. My daughters Honda dealership

she is top manager in large bay area one, makes most its money off used cars and services. She said they don't have a huge profit on new cars like other dealerships, which is why most buy from them that want new. That said they will have to raise prices.

[wolfie001]

19. I believe that's the opposite of Free Market forces

n'est pas?

[iemanja]

21. That's what tariffs are, fing imbecile

Why not just tell them to stop making cars?