President Donald Trump said Friday that Americans didn’t need to speed up buying cars to avoid the effects of tariffs that are set to go into effect in early April, despite prices already beginning to rise amid declining stock market.
“I don’t think so,” Trump told reporters at the White House, when asked if Americans should move up auto purchases. “I think you’re going to have a country that’s going to boom.”
Trump has ordered tariffs of 25% on imported cars and car parts, with the fees going into effect April 2 and begin getting charged April 3. He has also ordered reciprocal tariffs on all imports to begin April 2 to match whatever foreign countries are charging.
Trump anticipated the tariffs could raise hundreds of billions of dollars for the U.S. Treasury while also encouraging more manufacturing in the U.S. to avoid the tariffs. He promoted Hyundai’s $5.8 billion investment in a Louisiana steel mill Monday.
But on Wall Street, all three main stock indexes were losing ground Friday and were on track for their third straight session of losses.
Foreign officials and car companies warned the tariffs could hurt the economy with higher prices.
Germany’s Finance Minister Joerg Kukies warned on Friday that U.S. tariffs would hit both the German and the U.S. economies.
“Higher tariffs will hit German car manufacturers and the entire German economy particularly hard,” Kukies said. “But they will also harm the U.S. economy, because they will make imports more expensive and increase prices for consumers in the U.S.”
Trump also said he spoke Friday with Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney about tariffs and thinks the debate will work out with the northern neighbor.
“We had a very good talk,” Trump said. “I think things are going to work out very well with Canada and the United States.”
Trump argued the tariffs would lead to more investment in the U.S. and more domestic manufacturing.
