Trump Hits China With Auto Tariffs, Buick Envision Could Cost $8K More

President Trump’s war on free trade continues as the United States will implement a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of goods from China that contain “industrially significant technologies.”

The announcement was made by the White House earlier today as Trump said trade between the two nations has been “very unfair, for a very long time.” The President went on to note China has been “engaging in several unfair practices related to the acquisition of American intellectual property and technology” and this harms the United States’ economic and national security while also deepening the trade imbalance between the two countries.

President Trump also threatened to pursue additional tariffs if China retaliates by taking action against American companies or imposes new tariffs on U.S. goods. That appears likely to happen as Reuters reports a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry told local reporters “If the United States takes unilateral, protectionist measures, harming China’s interests, we will quickly react and take necessary steps to resolutely protect our fair, legitimate rights.”

Reuters reports the tariffs will go into effect on July 6th and initially target 818 products made in China. The tariffs will impact a number of different companies and sectors including the automotive industry.

General Motors and Volvo are among the automakers with the most to lose as GM imports the Buick Envision and Cadillac CT6 Plug-in Hybrid from China. Volvo, on the other hand, imports the S60 Inscription but that won’t be a problem too much longer as the next-generation S60 will be unveiled on June 20th and it will be built in South Carolina.

Bloomberg reached out to GM and a spokesperson confirmed the Envision will likely be affected by the tariffs. This could have a huge impact on sales as the paper says the crossover could cost an additional $8,000 once the penalties are factored in.