Trump raises fears of U.S. tariffs on auto and truck imports

Trump announced in March 2017 his administration would reevaluate the Obama-era rules, couching the move as one to encourage US auto production and employment. He noted that both Mexico and Canada have been “very hard to deal with” during the negotiations.

‘Crossing the border irregularly isn’t a short cut into Canada, and there is a very high likelihood that if they are not actually fleeing the kinds of things that make you a refugee – which is war, persecution, terror, violence. then they are going to be sent back home, ‘ Trudeau said.

A White House official said that the move to initiate the probe was partly aimed at pressuring Mexico and Canada to make concessions in order to reach a NAFTA deal. “They have been taking advantage of the United States for a long time”, Trump told reporters outside the White House.

Talks aimed at rewriting NAFTA have stalled between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with the discussions at an impasse over rules for vehicle production.

Over the last 20 years vehicle imports had grown from one-third to one-half of all cars sold in the U.S., authorities said.

Mr. Trump’s new go-to line on such matters is: “We’ll see what happens”. But she said it hasn’t changed since the outset of negotiations last summer, which is to be “absolutely resolute in our defence of the Canadian national interest” while “looking creatively for compromises, for win-win-win solutions”.

Pointing to a mixed bag of effects on USA producers after the metals tariffs, analysts were cautious about predicting major gains for US companies and workers from the process.

The news comes the same day that President Donald Trump teased “big news coming soon” for American auto workers. He wants more high-paying manufacturing jobs in the United States, but his methods would raise prices for consumers, dent automaker profits and rupture supply chains manufacturers have spent decades putting in place.

He has not said what that news might be. The action came after talks over the North American Free Trade Agreement have stalled. The move might also be a way for Trump to build up support with workers and unions ahead of November’s midterm elections.

VDA noted that actual trade flows in the auto industry are different to the impression given in policy statements by Trump.

The trade issue “won’t have much impact in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh”, said Dan Luria, a former member of the UAW research department who’s now an independent auto analyst in Brighton, Michigan, using the battleground state of Pennsylvania as an example.

Freeland has been on the front lines of the trade battle, attending multiple rounds of talks over the last several months. A date for another round or series of joint meetings has not yet been set. Tariffs would shave 0.16 percent off the economic output of Germany, Europe’s largest economy, the influential Ifo think tank said.

“Maybe other countries were in mind when the president was contemplating that but the reality is the two largest importers into the United States are Canada and Mexico”, he said.

That visit follows on the heels of last week’s trek by the Canada-U.S.

“The US auto industry is thriving and growing”, he said, noting 12 million cars and trucks were produced in the United States previous year.

Speaking at a political forum, the candidate for the right-left For Mexico in Front coalition made the statement within the context of ongoing NAFTA negotiations, charging that United States President Donald Trump’s decision to undertake the probe is another example of the USA government’s lack of respect for its Mexican counterpart.