Getty imagesAn import tax of 25% on engines, transmissions and other key car parts came into force in the United States, increasing the pressure on an industry to find its path through a handmade policy changes.
The new price comes a few days after Donald Trump attenuated the measure in response to business concerns, but has not eliminated.
The President said that the new price, as well as a 25% import tax on cars that came into force last month, aim to push car manufacturers to do more manufacturing in the United States.
But analysts said that any immediate extension in the United States was likely to be at the expense of production elsewhere, while resulting in higher costs for businesses – and ultimately higher prices for customers.
For the moment, companies have been protected from pain, as concerns about price increases have caused a sales increase.
General Motors and Ford said this week that two -digit sales growth continued in April.
But GM also warned that it expected new (3.7 billion pounds sterling) to $ 5 billion (3.7 billion pounds) this year due to prices, including about $ 2 billion in cars it makes in South Korea and exports to the United States.
Managers said they were now expecting prices to increase by around 1%, instead of lowering as previously expected.
In a sign of turmoil, other automotive companies, including Stellantis, manufacturer of Jeep, Fiat and Chrysler, withdrew the financial advice for the coming year, citing the fluidity of the situation.
“We remain subject to extreme uncertainties,” said Stellantis financial director Doug Ostermann this week.
Almost half of the vehicles sold in the United States last year were imported from outside the country.
When Trump announced his intention in March to hit the cars and some car parts with 25% prices, an announcement that came in the middle of a multitude of other prices, he sent shock waves to industry, attracting higher prices and risks to production and sales.
The president has since softened his policies, in particular with regard to Mexico and Canada – key parts of the industry supply chain, due to decades of free trade between the three countries.
In the current state of things, the documents carried out in Mexico and Canada in accordance with this free trade agreement will be spared. The officials initially described this exemption as temporary, but after the customs instructions issued this week, analysts said that he now seemed likely to stay.
Trump This week has also signed measures to protect companies to deal with several prices on the same article, while the implementation of a two -year system can use to reduce the tasks they have to pay on parts imported from other countries and used in American assembled cars.
The administration had also already declared that companies that imported cars manufactured in Canada and Mexico would not be billed at the American manufacturing content.
“The changes that have occurred in the past two days will facilitate the task … But even for it to be a dramatic change for the market,” said Stephanie Brinley, principal car analyst at S&P Global Mobility. “It’s always a big price.”
The leaders of certain companies said they were exploring means of increasing production in the United States to mitigate new costs.
General Motors said that he had widened truck production in his factory to Fort Wayne, Indiana, about 50,000 following prices. This week, he also said that it would reduce production in Canada.
Mercedes also said that he had flexibility to develop in his factory in Alabama.
Art Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University, said that the United States could see more announcements in the coming months, but it did not expect to see new factories building anytime soon, given the importance of this investment and the speed at which the situation changes.
“If I will make a decision of several billion dollars … I would not do it on a market that is also unstable,” he said.
The administration said that it was working on trade agreements with key countries for industry, including South Korea and Japan.
Trump could also change his policies if signs of economic damage are starting to emerge, said Wheaton.
“Everything is pretty good now,” he said. “I don’t think the full impact of these prices has still reached.”
