No White House Decision on Car Tariffs

A Trump administration decision on import tariffs for cars and components awaits further revisions to a U.S. Dept. of Commerce analysis of their merit, sources tell Bloomberg News.

The White House hopes to justify the tax, which could be as great as 25%, on national security grounds. The same argument was used in June to impose tariffs on foreign aluminum and steel. The Commerce Dept. has until February to finalize its report.

President Donald Trump has said he won’t raise tariffs on cars from Europe as long as trade talks continue. Canada and Mexico have negotiated similar exemptions as part of updates to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

It isn’t clear what conclusions the Commerce Dept. reached in the draft reviewed by the White House on Tuesday. Bloomberg notes that the report may offer multiple options to limit imports, including a flat tariff or import quotas.

The National Automobile Dealers Assn. claims tariffs could hike the price of imported cars by as much as $6,900. And because even domestically built vehicles contain some imported parts, the cost of U.S.-made cars might rise as much as $2,300, NADA says.