TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — President Trump says he’s ordering 25 percent tariffs on cars not made in the U.S. That could have a big impact on Arizona businesses that send parts south for Mexican workers to build into cars.
When it comes to tariffs on foreign cars, the name on your hood may not be the last word on whether that car is American or foreign made and then you have to consider the potential cost of all the foreign replacement parts.
On I-19 north from Nogales you can see plenty of car carriers moving Ford pickups and SUVs. They were assembled in Hermosillo. Other cars assembled in Mexico include models from Chevy, GMC, Ram, Honda and BMW.
When Congressman Juan Ciscomani brought fellow Members of Congress to the border recently, they saw car parts like seat covers, and wiring harnesses in the warehouse of Customs Broker Guillermo Valencia.
He worries by the time his clients move components across the border two, three, or more times on the way to a final product, their tariffs could add up to more than the 25 percent President Trump’s talking about.
"You saw the car seat, most of that component, if it wasn't fabric, coming from the US, much of the plastic, the sewing, the labor, all that is would be Mexican sourced that would have a high percentage of tariffs on that product."
The website Cars.com publishes a list of most American cars based on where they’re assembled and where their parts come from.
Only the top two vehicles have at least 75 percent American parts.
Teslas rank numbers one, four and nine, but except for a Jeep model at number 8 the others in the top ten are brands you might call foreign cars— from Honda, Toyota, Lexus and Volkswagen. Those companies have factories in the U.S.
At Borst Automotive on Golf Links, Chuck Bissi says he sees parts from places as varied as Vietnam and Portugal—he says it’s just not practical to buy and hold parts to avoid higher prices from tariffs.
“Every car is so different. I mean, even you know a model, you know, the same year and make of a car, you know, an EX or an LX, you know, could have different parts. So it's really hard to have everything sitting on a shelf now waiting to go.”
Customs broker Guillermo Valencia says some of his clients will hold off on moving products to see what sorts out.
At Borst Automotive Chuck Bissi says the best move for drivers is to take care of their cars so they won’t need expensive repairs.
