Wanna Buy An Imported Car - You May Have To Spend More

• EU duty on imported Cars from the US is 10%, US duty on imports from the EU is only 2.5% but could skyrocket if Trump tariff of 25% is enacted.
• The value of Japan’s car exports to the U.S. has nearly doubled in six years to more than $40 billion, driven by American hunger for sport-utility vehicles, whereas only a tiny number of American-made cars are sold in Japan.
• “Japan sends us million and millions of cars, and we tax them virtually not at all. And we don’t send so much product because we have trade barriers and lots of other things,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday

Washington DC May 24, 2018; The AIADA newsletter reported that President Donald Trump's push for tariffs on imported cars and trucks threatened a shake-up of the global auto industry while motivating nations including China and Germany to reiterate commitments of varying strength to free trade, reports Bloomberg.

The U.S. statement late Wednesday that it's investigating auto imports on national security concerns drew pointed responses from Japan and South Korea – two nations that have been at pains to placate Trump – as well as Germany.

Trump's latest probe will be conducted under Section 232 of a 1960s trade law, the same tool the president invoked in imposing global tariffs on imported steel and aluminum earlier this year.

An additional tariff on vehicles of up to 25 percent is also under consideration, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified. "To treat auto imports like a national security threat would be a self-inflicted economic disaster for American consumers, dealers, and dealership employees," Cody Lusk, president of the American International Automobile Dealers Association, said on Wednesday.

The department added it will publish a notice soon announcing a hearing date and inviting comment from businesses and the public. Read more here.

Top 15 countries that imported the highest dollar value worth of cars during 2017:

• United States: US$179.6 billion (23.9% of total imported cars)
• Germany: $58.5 billion (7.8%)
• China: $49.9 billion (6.6%)
• United Kingdom: $44.1 billion (5.9%)
• Belgium: $36.4 billion (4.8%)
• France: $34.7 billion (4.6%)
• Italy: $31.2 billion (4.1%)
• Canada: $28.7 billion (3.8%)
• Spain: $20.2 billion (2.7%)
• Australia: $17.5 billion (2.3%)
• Netherlands: $12.8 billion (1.7%)
• Mexico: $11.5 billion (1.5%)
• Japan: $11.1 billion (1.5%)
• Switzerland: $10.5 billion (1.4%)
• Austria: $10.1 billion (1.3%)

The listed 15 countries purchased almost three-quarters (74%) of all cars imported during 2017.