Trump seems to REALLY NOT know WTF he’s doing…..
Trump announced Tuesday that the U.S. had reached a “massive” deal with Japan to levy 15 percent tariffs on Japanese imports — including automobiles and auto parts — instead of the 25 percent rate he threatened earlier this month. In exchange, Japan will remove trade barriers for U.S. auto and agricultural imports and invest $550 billion in the United States. It was the latest trade agreement the Trump administration has announced in recent weeks, as it races to complete deals with scores of countries it has threatened with high levies.
“This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs — There has never been anything like it,” the president wrote on his social media site, Truth Social.
The Big Three U.S. automakers — General Motors, Ford and Stellantis — do not share Trump’s confidence.
Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, a lobbying group that represents the three automakers, said it was still reviewing the deal. But Blunt, a former Republican governor of Missouri, said in a statement that an agreement that has Japanese automakers paying a lower tariff rate on their imports than U.S. companies pay for parts “is a bad deal for US industry and US auto workers.”
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Since the Trump administration threatened sweeping tariffs on most trade partners — including close allies such as Mexico and Canada — the U.S. auto industry has been trying to adjust. Supply chains cross multiple borders, particularly in North America, where goods from Mexico and Canada are subject to 25 percent tariffs.
Manufacturers with U.S. operations have felt the impact. GM said Tuesday that tariffs cost it $1.1 billion in the second quarter. Stellantis — whose brands include Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat and Jeep — said it faced about $350 million in tariff costs in the first half of the year….
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But many cars are assembled in Mexico and Japan. Cox estimates that consumers will pay an added 9 percent, or $3,010, for cars assembled in Japan, which include some Toyota models, such as the Prius and the 4Runner. Vehicles assembled in Mexico will see the highest costs to consumers — about 10 percent or $3,550 — according to Cox. Those include the Chevrolet Equinox and the Ford Maverick.
“It looks like the Japanese assembled vehicle gets friendlier treatment than vehicles assembled in North America outside of the U.S., but vehicles assembled in the U.S. receive the least amount of added costs from tariffs,” Smoke wrote in an email.
Other analysts agreed that Japanese companies could have a near-term advantage….