Mazda Condemns Trump’s Proposed 25 Percent Import Car Tariff

Mazda has joined an increasing number of automakers to voice their opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed car tariffs.

Shortly after Toyota released a statement saying the tariffs will increase the cost of every vehicle sold in the country, Mazda published comments of its own, many of which mimic Toyota’s sentiments.

“On behalf of the 32,000 Americans who support their families working for Mazda and Mazda dealerships across America, today we filed comments on the Commerce Department’s Section 232 investigation of automotive imports as a possible national security threat,” the Japanese marque said.

“The result of this investigation could be a 25% tariff on the import of automobiles and automobile parts. A tariff is a tax and it will be paid by American consumers. It will significantly increase the cost of every new vehicle sold in America, regardless of where it is built.”

All of the vehicles Mazda currently sells in the United States are imported from overseas. However, the automaker has pledged $1.6 billion with Toyota to establish a joint venture factory in Alabama.

Washington-based trade group The Association of Global Automakers, which represents automakers from outside the U.S., says Trump’s tariffs are “the greatest threat to the U.S. automotive industry at this time,” Bloomberg reports.

A number of other Japanese carmakers could also be forced to increase the prices of their vehicles in response to the tariffs. For example, 48 per cent of the vehicles Nissan sold in the U.S. last year were imported from overseas. Similarly, a third of Honda vehicles delivered in the U.S. throughout 2017 were built abroad.