America’s Truck Tariffs Just Opened A New Trade Front

US Imposes 25% Tariffs on Foreign-Made Medium- and Heavy-Duty Trucks

Approximately 43 percent of Class 4 through Class 8 models sold in the US are imported from overseas.

Key Points:

• The American President cited national security concerns in announcing the tariffs.
• Makers of medium and heavy-duty vehicles in the US will get a special credit.
• Most models are imported from Mexico, Japan, Germany, Canada, and Finland.

US President Donald Trump has followed through on his promise to hit foreign-made medium- and heavy-duty pickup trucks and parts with 25 percent tariffs. The move is intended to shield the American car industry, though it’s expected to land hard on Mexico, a major exporter of pickup trucks to the US.

In his formal announcement, Trump cited an investigation by US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, which concluded that medium- and heavy-duty vehicles are “being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security” of the country. The new tariffs apply to all Class 3 through Class 8 trucks.

According to the administration, vehicles traded under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement will only face tariffs on their non-American components. Trump also confirmed a 10 percent tariff on imported buses.

Alongside the new import duties, the administration announced that manufacturers of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles will qualify for a credit worth 3.75 percent of the suggested retail price for cars assembled in the US through 2030. This measure is meant to soften the blow from import tariffs placed on foreign parts.

President Trump described the United States as the “undisputed leader in MHDV (medium and heavy-duty vehicle) manufacturing” from the 1950s through the 1990s but claimed that a growing share of such vehicles now comes from abroad. In fact, he noted that 43 percent of Class 4 through Class 8 MHDVs sold in the US are imported.

Not Everyone is Happy

Reuters reports that the US Chamber of Commerce had previously warned Trump against the new tariffs. It said that the top five importers of these vehicles, and buses, were Mexico, Japan, Germany, Canada, and Finland, which pose no threat to US national security.

The American Trucking Association also voiced disappointment. In a statement to CTV News, the group said the tariffs could raise costs at a particularly difficult time for the industry, already under pressure from ongoing steel tariffs.