Donald Trump announced plans to impose sweeping 25% tariffs on cars from overseas on Wednesday, days before the US president is expected to announce wide-ranging levies on other goods from around the world.
“What we’re going to be doing is a 25% tariff for all cars that are not made in the United States,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “We start off with a 2.5% base, which is what we’re at, and go to 25%.”
The announcement drew swift condemnation from the European Union and from the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, who called it a “direct attack” on Canadian workers. “We will defend our workers, we will defend our companies, we will defend our country, and we will defend it together,” Carney said.
The Japanese prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, said his government was considering “appropriate measures” in response to the announcement. “Naturally, we will consider all options.”
The tariffs will go into effect next week, on 2 April, the president claimed, and the US will start collecting them the following day. “This is very exciting,” he said, suggesting the move would spur economic growth.
Executives from three of America’s biggest retail chains warned President Donald Trump that things could get...
