The Order
President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday afternoon imposing a 25% tariff on all imported automobiles and auto parts, effective April 3, 2026. The order covers finished vehicles assembled outside the United States as well as critical components — engines, transmissions, electric vehicle battery systems, and body stampings — that flow from Mexico, Canada, Japan, Germany, South Korea, and beyond into American assembly lines.
"We are going to build cars in America," Trump said from the Oval Office. "If you want to sell here, you build here." The president framed the tariff as the culmination of a decade of promises to revive domestic manufacturing, citing shuttered plants in Ohio, Michigan, and Tennessee as evidence of what he called "the great American auto betrayal."
The White House cited national security provisions under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 as the legal basis — the same authority used for steel tariffs in 2018. A Proclamation accompanying the executive order argues that a weak domestic auto industry creates strategic dependence on foreign supply chains for military vehicles, emergency logistics fleets, and critical transportation infrastructure.
What Gets Hit — and What Doesn't
The tariff applies to any vehicle whose final assembly occurs outside the United States. Country of origin for tariff purposes is the country where the car rolls off the line — not where its parts were made or where the automaker is headquartered.