LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – On Wednesday, President Trump announced a 25% tariff on all foreign made cars and automobile parts.
The Trump administration proports the tariff will encourage the construction of more auto manufacturing plants in the U.S.
“Most automakers build most of their cars in the United States already, I know Toyota is 70% some of the other ones may not be that high, but we are not talking about a 25% tariff on every car that gets built,” says Corey Tarver, General Manager at Lake Charles Toyota.
Tarver predicts the impact to consumers will be minimal, as he believes automakers will be able to adjust.
“The tariffs are going to be applied to some manufacturing outside the country, but the automakers are going to absorb that into their processes and I think they can absorb most if not all of that increase,” says Tarver.
Trump has also urged automakers to not increases prices as he believes the tariffs will help bolster the nation’s economy.
“He has made it very clear to the automakers that this economy is going to benefit them greatly, so the idea is that his economy is going to be booming, tariffs are part of the equation, adjust your own processes to absorb those tariffs and then you’ll get the benefits of a strong economy,” says Tarver.
However, slight price increases are not out of the question.
“I think if anything we might see a slight increase, but we’ve been dealing with slight increases every year for the last 6 to 8 years, ever since COVID we have been dealing with them so I don’t foresee anything bad coming from this personally,” says Tarver.
The tariff is set to go into effect April 3 with additional levies to follow throughout the month.
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