It looks as though the Trump administration has had bigger fish to fry lately, which might place specific trade barriers off the front burner.
That being said, analysts as well as other industry executives from the NADA/J.D. Power Automotive Forum warned the public about getting complacent with regards to this issue.
“I’m from the school of politics that it’s never dead until it’s actually dead,” argued John Bozzella, president of the Association of Global Automakers, while discussing proposals for a border adjustment tax on goods crossing in from Mexico.
“I do agree that we need tax reform,” he states, but a border adjustment tax “raises the price of every single car every dealer in this room sells.”
Furthermore, Peter Welch, president of the National Automobile Dealers Association, said that customers would “revolt” if dealers tried to increase prices because of a border tax, as reported by Autonews.
“Our customers are incredibly price sensitive – $1,700 is one number I’ve read. If that actually trickles down to the hood of a car, we would see an economic calamity the likes of which we’ve never seen before.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Nariman Behravesh, chief economist for IHS Markit, went on to say that the border adjustment tax is dead, while mentioning that the upside to that is that a “pro-growth agenda could be really good,” unlike protectionist populism.
Opening image via Donald Trump@Facebook
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