President Trump announces 25% tariff on all imported cars ahead of ‘liberation day’
US President Donald Trump has announced a new 25% tariff on all imported cars.
Signing an executive order, Mr Trump said the tax would kick in on 2 April – what he has called “liberation day”.
This is when all his retaliatory import tariffs are supposed to take effect, but they have been delayed before.
It comes amid the continued fallout from the Signalgate security breach in Washington.
What was said in the Signal chat?
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‘Another day of Signalgate’
The move ratchets up the global trade war Mr Trump himself kicked off.
Speaking late on Wednesday, Mr Trump said the proposal: “Will continue to spur growth. We’ll effectively be charging a 25% tariff.”
However, the tariffs could be complicated as even American car makers source components from around the world – meaning they could also face higher costs and lower sales.
The announcement also drew swift condemnation from the European Union and from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who called it a “direct attack” on Canadian workers.
During his second term, Mr Trump has used tariffs frequently as a trade weapon.
Donald Trump announcing the 25% tariff on imported cars.
He cited plans from South Korean car maker Hyundai to build a $5.8bn (£4.5bn) steel plant in Louisiana as evidence the economic measures would bring back manufacturing jobs.
Despite Mr Trump’s optimism, shares in General Motors fell by about 3% in Wednesday afternoon trading.
Ford’s stock was up slightly, but shares in Stellantis, the owner of Jeep and Chrysler, dropped nearly 4%.
Even American and foreign firms already with domestic plants still rely on Canada, Mexico and other countries for parts and finished vehicles – meaning prices could increase and sales decline as new factories take time to build.
Tariffs are a key part of Mr Trump’s efforts to reshape global trade relations.
He plans to impose what he calls “reciprocal” taxes on 2 April that would match tariffs and sales taxes levied by other nations.
He has already placed a 20% tax on all imports from China.
Similarly, he placed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, with a lower 10% tariff on Canadian energy products.
Signal security breach
As Mr Trump was keen to talk up his tariffs, the rest of Washington was discussing the security breach that rocked the Capitol.
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In a group called “Houthi PC small group”, specific details of a US attack on Houthis were shared with intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard, national security adviser Mike Waltz, vice president JD Vance and more.
However, a senior journalist for the magazine The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, was also somehow added to the Signal group chat.
Goldberg published a story first on Monday about the incident.
The White House had sought to downplay the leak of the messages, saying no classified information had been disclosed.
Goldberg then published a follow-up story releasing the messages themselves earlier on Wednesday.
Concerns have been raised about the security of some of the most important members of the US administration using a commercial app.
During a hearing in front of Congress, some members outlined feared security issues with Signal.
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Trump and Putin’s latest call on Ukraine
Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ has been passed by the US congress, sending it to the president to sign into law.
The controversial tax breaks and spending cuts package cleared its final hurdle as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill with a 218-214 vote.
The bill delivers tax breaks Mr Trump promised in his 2024 election campaign, cuts health and food safety programmes, and zeroes out dozens of green energy incentives.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it will lower tax revenues by $4.5trn over 10 years and add $3.4trn to the US’s $36.2trn debt.
But despite concerns over the 869-page bill’s price tag – and its hit to healthcare programmes – Republicans largely lined up in support, with just two rebelling on the vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is congratulated following the vote. Pic: Reuters
Every Democrat in Congress voted against the bill, blasting it as a giveaway to the wealthy that will leave millions of Americans uninsured.
House Speaker Mike Johnson made the Republicans’ closing argument for the bill, telling Congress: “For everyday Americans, this means real, positive change that they can feel.”
Earlier, the House’s Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a record-breaking eight-hour and 44-minute speech against it.
“The focus of this bill, the justification for all of the cuts that will hurt everyday Americans, is to provide massive tax breaks for billionaires,” he said.
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The bill’s spending cuts largely target Medicaid, the health programme that covers 71 million Americans on low incomes.
It will tighten enrolment standards, institute a work requirement and clamp down on a funding mechanism used by states to boost federal payments.
The changes could leave nearly 12 million people without health insurance, according to the CBO.
On the other side of the ledger, it will stave off tax increases that were due to hit most Americans at the end of the year, when tax cuts from President Trump’s first term were due to expire.
It also sets up new tax breaks for overtime pay, seniors and tipped income.
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The bill narrowly passed the US Senate on Tuesday after vice president JD Vance cast the deciding vote to break a 50-50 tie.
Mr Trump will sign it into law on Friday at 5pm local time (10pm in the UK), the White House said.
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