President Donald Trump is preparing to sign a decree aimed at mitigating the impact of his customs duties in the automotive sector, the White House announced. Administration representatives have specified that future measures would help reduce certain customs tasks taken from foreign parts used in the manufacture of vehicles in the United States, while importers would not have to pay twice the same type samples, both in cars and materials.
“The President will sign the decree on customs tasks in cars during the day and we will publish it, as we always do,” said White House spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, at a meeting with Scott Besent, the Treasury Secretary, on Trump’s economic policy program.
“Washington’s main commercial policy”
The administration has not yet officially announced measures to soften customs duties, but civil officials have confirmed information on Wall Street Journal According to which companies that pay customs duties in cars would no longer impose other samples, such as aluminum and steel. Customs tasks already paid would also be reimbursed.
“This agreement is a great victory for the president’s commercial policy, rewarding the companies that produce in the country, while opening the way to manufacturers who have expressed their commitment to invest in the United States and develop their production there,” said United States Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, in a statement published at the end of the day, without further details.
Donald Trump goes to Michigan on Tuesday to commemorate his first 100 days in power from his return to the White House on January 20, during which the Republican President has turned the world economic order. The attenuation of the impact of customs tasks in the car is the last measure of its administration aimed at demonstrating a certain flexibility in these taxes, which sowed the disorder in the financial markets, created uncertainty for companies and the aforementioned fears of the brutal economic deceleration.
General Motors and Ford greet the next changes
Automobile manufacturers declared early on Monday that Donald Trump expected a reduction in customs customs tasks before their trip to Michigan, where the three Detroit manufacturers and more than 1,000 large suppliers in the sector are established. Mary Barra, General Manager of General Motors, and Jim Farley, who occupies the same position in Ford, praised the next changes.
“We believe that the president’s leadership helps to standardize the rules of the game for companies such as GM and allows us to invest even more in the US economy,” said Mary Barra.
Jim Farley said future changes would help “mitigate the impact of customs tasks on car manufacturers, suppliers and consumers.” However, the uncertainty triggered in the automotive sector for customs tasks was still expressed on Tuesday when GM withdrew its annual forecasts, while the group had announced sales and high quarterly benefits. Made unusual, the car manufacturer has also chosen to postpone a telephone conference for analysts later in the week, once the details of the future changes are known.
“Not armed” car manufacturers
A coalition of groups of the American automotive industry urged Donald Trump last week not to impose 25% of customs tariffs on imported parts, warning that they would reduce their vehicle sales and increase prices. The US president had previously declared that he was planning to impose 25% customs duties in automotive pieces no later than May 3.
“Customs tasks in automotive parts will interrupt the World Automobile Supply chain and activate a domino effect that will increase cars for consumers, a fall in the sales of dealers and perform the maintenance and repair of vehicles that are more expensive and less predictable,” manufacturers said in a letter.
This letter of representatives of GM, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen, Hyundai and others was sent to the American representative to Jamieson Greer’s trade, Scott Besent and Howard Lunick. “The majority of automobile equipment manufacturers are not armed to deal with a brutal interruption due to customs tasks. Many of them are already in difficulties and have to face production, dismissal and bankruptcy,” added the coalition in his email, judging that “it is enough for the failure of a single supplier to cause the production chain of a manufacturer.”
Source: BFM TV
