Author: Damien Cave and Steven Erlanger
Published on: 27/03/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:
Auto tariffs are straining relations with U.S. Allies and deepening doubts about America’s reliability as a partner. President Trump’s unexpected plan to impose a 25 percent tariff on cars and car parts being imported into the United States will not only disrupt supply chains. Many of the countries most affected by the new levies are already reeling from the Trump team’s wanton disregard for free trade deals already signed. The Trump White House has made clear that it will use every tool of American power to extract what Mr. Trump sees as a better deal for Americans. Economists argue that the potential benefit of more auto factory jobs could take years to show up in the United States, and they may coincide with losses in other industries. But for countries that have spent decades trusting America and tying their economies and defense plans to Washington’s promises, this feels like a moment of reversal. In Asia, officials had hoped for softer tariff treatment based on factories already being built in the United States at great expense. But analysts said that his hands are tied: Because inflation is rising with a weakened Japanese yen, Japan simply cannot afford a trade spat that drives up consumer prices even further. South Korea has deepened its diplomatic and military dependence on the United States in recent years, as anti-Chinese sentiment rose among its people. South Koreans’ fundamental trust in the alliance will survive the latest tariffs, in part because the penalties didn’t target South Korea only but also hit competitors. But cars are one of South Korea’s biggest export items, totaling $71 billion last year. Automotive tariffs could squeeze an industry that has been struggling, especially in Germany. European Union officials said recently that they would place new tariffs on many American goods by mid-April. More potent measures could follow. Damien Cave leads The Times’ new bureau in Vietnam. Hyundai Motor will invest $21 billion to expand manufacturing in the United States. President Trump threatened tariffs against countries that bought oil from Venezuela, claiming that the South American country “purposefully and deceitfully” sent criminals and murderers into America. Canada’s Small Businesses: A rice mill in Ontario is among many small businesses being hit by President Trump’s tariffs.
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