Trump Says He May Soon Hike Auto Tariffs as U.S. Steel Levies Will Hit Home Appliances

TMTPOST -- The Trump administration is ramping up tariffs on various sectors to boost U.S. industries.

Credit：Xinhua News Agency

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday floated raising auto tariffs 「in the not-too-distant future」 as the levies he has slapped on automobile imports are leading to more investments into U.S.  「To further defend our autoworkers, I imposed this 25 percent tariff on all foreign automobiles, and investment in American manufacturing and auto manufacturing — all manufacturing — is surging,」 Trump said at a White House event. 

"I might go up with that tariff in the not too distant future," Trump said at a White House event. "The higher you go, the more likely it is they build a plant here."

Trump touted investments from companies like Ford and General Motors (GM). GM on Tuesday said plans to invest about $4 billion over the next two years in its domestic manufacturing plants to increase U.S. production of both gas and electric vehicles. The auto titan said the new investment will give it the ability to assemble more than two million vehicle annually in the U.S.

"They wouldn't have invested 10 cents if we didn't have tariffs, including for manufacturing American steel, which is doing great," Trump said.

Trump also noted a $21 billion investment announced by Hyundai in March including a new U.S. steel plant. But the South Korean automaker last month was reported to consider hiking prices by 1% on its entire U.S. lineup to counter tariff hit.

In addition to possible tariff increase, the U.S. government on Thursday unveiled upcoming tariffs on home appliances as it is expanding its steel tariffs to a range of 「steel derivative products」.

The 50% tariffs on household appliances made with steel parts will come into effect on June 23, according to a note by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) under the U.S. Commerce Department in the Federal Register. The new tariffs will apply to the value of steel content in each import, the notice said.

The additional range of products that will be subject to 50% steel tariffs includes refrigerators, washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers, freezers, cooking stoves, ranges, ovens, and garbage disposals. Most of them are essential household appliances.

The newly announced tariffs are among the first levies this year that specifically stoke at the mainstream of daily consumer goods, and the tariff rates were hiked as the Trump administration doubled its steel and aluminum tariffs last week. The Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on steel last March. Subsequently, it decided to impose a 25% tariff on derivative products made from steel based on the value of the steel content.

Trump on June 2 signed a proclamation to raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the country to 50% from 25%, taking into effect on June 4. That is the second time that Trump increased tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in nearly three months. The president on February 10 signed an order to impose 25% steel and aluminum tariffs starting March 12. He in the meantime removed the exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on steel, meaning that all steel imports should be taxed at a minimum of 25%, and also raises his 2018 aluminum tariffs from 10% to 25%.

In the proclamation released by the White House, Trump said he had determined it is necessary to raise these tariffs 「so that such imports will not threaten to impair the national security.」 He also had determined that raising the tariffs will provide greater support to steel and aluminum industries and reduce or eliminate the national security threat posed by relevant imports.

The new steel and aluminum tariffs apply to imports from all the U.S. trading partners except the United Kingdom. Trump in the proclamation said he had decided that it is necessary and appropriate to allow for the implementation of the U.S.-UK Economic Prosperity Deal of May 8, 2025 (EPD), and to accordingly provide different treatment for U.K. exports to U.S. On or after July 9, the U.S. Commerce Secretary may increase the applicable rates of duty to 50% if he determined that the U.K. has not complied with relevant aspects of the EPD, according to the proclamation.