Trump slaps 25% duty on automobiles not made in the U.S.

What happened?

U.S. President Donald Trump is targeting foreign-made automobiles in his latest trade action.

Hours after his “Liberation Day” announcement on April 2, Trump implemented a 25-per-cent duty on all vehicles not made in America.

Unifor warned in March that domestic disruptions could put more than 20,000 automotive roles in Windsor, Ontario at risk.

Stellantis is temporarily pausing production at its assembly plant in the city — largely because of the latest U.S. levy on imported vehicles.

“Immediate actions we must take include temporarily pausing production at some of our Canadian and Mexican assembly plants, which will have an impact to several of our U.S. powertrain and stamping facilities that support those operations,” the automaker said in a statement to CBC News.

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Canada responding with counter-duties

Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed on April 8 that the federal government is implementing 25-per-cent duties on U.S. vehicles that aren’t compliant with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), effective 12:01 a.m. ET on April 9.

At 12:01 EDT tonight, Canada’s counter-tariffs will come into force.

There will be 25% tariffs on all non-CUSMA-compliant vehicles from the U.S., and 25% tariffs on the contents of CUSMA-compliant vehicles that are not from Canada or Mexico.

President Trump caused this trade…

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) April 8, 2025

Canadian workers concerned about widespread layoffs

Sweeping U.S. duties have already led to substantial workforce reductions in Canada.

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