10:59 am, May 12, 2025
The big three Detroit car makers have slammed president Donald Trump’s trade deal with the United Kingdom, claiming it will hurt the US car sector.
The new deal agreed with prime minister Kier Starmer will see British car makers granted a quota of 100,000 cars each year that will receive only a 10% tariff when imported to the United States.
A group representing General Motors, Ford and Stellantis argue this is close to the total number of cars imported from the UK to America last year, and will put them at an unfair advantage.
US car makers are currently still subject to a 25% tariff when cars are built in Mexico or Canada, where the parts are half American.
Reuters reports that the American Automotive Policy Council, who represent the car makers, said: ‘Under this deal, it will now be cheaper to import a UK vehicle with very little US content than a USMCA compliant vehicle from Mexico or Canada that is half American parts.
‘This hurts American automakers, suppliers, and auto workers.’
The USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) is a free trade agreement between the three countries introduced in 2020.
The White House has defended the deal, stating that Trump has taken more interest in reviving the American auto industry than any president before him.
The council added that it’s concerned this deal with the UK will be used as a blueprint for tariff deals with other countries.
Trump has reduced tariffs on parts and materials but left the 25% tariff on cars imported the the US.
Ford revealed last week that it had increased its prices on some of its cars built in Mexico, adding that these tariffs would cost it around $2.5bn in 2025.
