Canadian auto parts makers appear to have been spared additional U.S. tariffs, which were set to take effect this weekend.
On March 26, U.S. President Donald Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on auto imports into the United States, describing them at the time as “permanent” as part of a plan to foster more domestic manufacturing.
However, earlier this week, Trump amended that order to make it easier for vehicles that are assembled in the U.S. with foreign parts to not face prohibitively high import taxes.
Updated guidance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Friday noted that auto parts that fall under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) trade agreement will not be subject to the new tariffs.
“It looks like the White House agrees that tariffs on [Canadian] parts would shut down [American] auto,” said Flavio Volpe, the head of Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association said in a social media post.
