US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (Mar 26) announced plans for long-promised tariffs of up to 25 per cent on automotive imports

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (Mar 26) announced plans for long-promised tariffs of up to 25 per cent on automotive imports, widening the global trade war he kicked off upon regaining the White House this year.

Automotive industry experts expect the move will drive up prices and stymie production.

Trump, who sees tariffs as a tool to raise revenue to offset his promised tax cuts and to revive a long-declining US industrial base, said the new import taxes will go into effect on Apr 2, the same date he plans to announce reciprocal tariffs aimed at the countries responsible for the bulk of the US trade deficit.

Collection of the new auto tariffs would begin on Apr 3. Besides cars, it will also impact light trucks.

Details of the proclamation Trump signed were still emerging, but their legal basis was a 2019 national security investigation into auto imports that Trump’s first administration conducted , the reuters mentions.