NewsNew U.S. tariffs send shockwaves through Asian car market

New U.S. tariffs send shockwaves through Asian car market

Asian car manufacturers saw declines on stock exchanges after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on imported cars, CNBC reports. These new tariffs will take effect on April 2, which could generate over 142 billion CAD in annual revenue for the U.S.

President USA Donald Trump
President USA Donald Trump
Images source: © Getty Images | Andrew Harnik
Malwina Gadawa

The decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to impose a 25% tariff on imported cars has caused a drop in shares of Asian manufacturers.

New U.S. tariffs: the market is already reacting

According to CNBC, Japanese companies Toyota and Honda saw their values drop by 3.69% and 2.91%, respectively. Nissan, which has two factories in Mexico, experienced a 2.92% decline, while Mazda Motor lost over 6%.

The new tariffs, which will take effect on April 2, will cover cars and light trucks produced overseas.

It's estimated that these tariffs could bring the U.S. over 142 billion CAD in annual revenue.

According to data from Tradeimex, the largest exporter of cars to the U.S. is Mexico, accounting for nearly 25% of imported cars, and it, along with Canada (13%), hosts factories of American car manufacturers. Following them are Japan (18.6%) and South Korea (17.3%). The largest European exporters are Germany, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Italy, and Sweden.

Canada prepares to respond

Canada will soon respond to the new American car tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump—Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney reported on Wednesday. He added that a special government meeting on this matter will be held on Thursday.

He deemed the tariffs a direct attack on Canadian workers

"It will happen soon… we have options. We can introduce retaliatory tariffs," Carney said. He did not provide details.

Carney added that Canadians have been observing U.S. actions for many months, which he described as a betrayal in the relationship and emphasized that Canada must "defend its workers, defend its companies, defend its country, and defend it together." He reminded that the Canadian government has committed to using all funds obtained from retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports to support workers at Canadian companies.

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