Canadian auto industry leaders say the latest tariffs announced today by U.S. President Donald Trump will raise the prices of cars for consumers and devastate the sector.
“This is nuts,” said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturing Association.
“It seems he’s bent on doing the things that he’s been warned will shut down the American auto sector,” he said.
“And if (Trump) insists on tariffs on Canada and Mexico, his reward will be risking the employment of a million American autoworkers. He either doesn’t understand how intertwined we are or doesn’t care.”
Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on all automobile imports effective April 2, which will begin being collected on April 3.
He said the Detroit Three automakers have to move their parts divisions back to the U.S.
Shares of Ford, General Motors and Stellantis all slid in after hours trading.
The Canadian and American auto sectors are heavily intertwined — automotive parts can cross international borders up to eight times before a vehicle is finally assembled, said Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candice Laing. Tariffs could add thousands of dollars to the cost of that vehicle, she said in a statement.
“The consequences of today’s escalation in this destructive tariff war will not be contained to Canada, as much as the U.S. administration would like to pretend,” said Laing.
“Throwing away tens of thousands of jobs on both sides of the border will mean giving up North America’s auto leadership role, instead encouraging companies to build and hire anywhere else but here,” she said.
“This tax hike puts plants and workers at risk for generations, if not forever.”
Trump’s executive order doesn’t appear to exclude vehicles built under the terms of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade. He also stated that these tariffs are “permanent.”
David Adams, president and CEO of Global Automakers of Canada, said Trump’s tariff policies fly in the face of promises he’s made about affordability.
“Our perspective has always been that these tariffs really are taxes on the American consumer,” he said.
The uncertainty caused by the steady stream of announcements, exemptions, delays and threats is also weighing on the economy, added Adams.
“One thing that businesses hate is uncertainty,” he said.
The tariffs will lead to widespread shutdowns in the U.S. and Canada, Volpe said.
“Donald Trump doesn’t care about the wake he leaves in U.S. industry, and I think Canadians and other allies should disavow themselves of the idea that we can plead a case for our industries,” he said.
Volpe believes Trump won’t understand the damage he’s doing until it’s already done: “He may have to break it before he sees that it’s not working.”
The steel and aluminum tariffs already implemented are hits on the sector that can at least be absorbed in the short term, said Volpe, but that’s not the case with tariffs on the auto sector as a whole.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 26, 2025.
