New tariffs gong into effect on the U.S.’ North American neighbors and China will impact the automotive sector, even if the extent of that impact is unclear for the moment.

Update 2/3/25: The Trump Administration walked back efforts to stage 25% tariffs on Mexico for one month. As the situation currently stands, tariffs could go into effect on March 1. This article was written under the impression that tariffs would start for both countries. The 25% levy on Canada still stands, at time of writing. Second update 2/3/25: The Canadian tariffs are on hold for 30 days, too.

A new economic war has officially kicked off.

On Saturday, February 1, President Donald Trump signed into effect 25% tariffs on two of the U.S.’ largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, as well as a 10% tariff on Chinese goods imported into the country. While the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement) signed into law in 2020 already aimed to bring automotive jobs back to America, that framework still had automakers sourcing parts and completing final assembly both north and south of the border. Now, economists have warned — and continue to sound alarm bells — that such tariffs will have a serious impact on American consumers, especially as they make capital purchases like a new car.

Along with steep tariffs potentially impacting the sticker price of entire vehicles on dealer lots in the coming weeks and months, they could also significantly affect parts markets and supplier chains as well.

These new cars could be impacted by the newly levied tariffs

Importers — namely any company which physically brings the goods into the United States — are responsible for remitting tariffs to the federal government from February 4 onward. From that date, those same companies, including automakers and their suppliers, could choose to pass that at least part of that cost (if not the entire 25% tax) onto American consumers.

We’ll get into a full list of complete vehicles with final assembly in Canada or Mexico, as well as MSRPs today, before the tariffs go into effect. Time will tell whether, when and how much automakers decide to raise prices for the end buyer, which we’ll cover in an update when more information is available.

In retaliation for the U.S. government’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, all three countries have responded in kind with levies on American-made goods crossing their borders. As of Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is the only one to specifically lay out details, promising a 25% tariff against $155 billion CAD worth of American goods. $30 billion of those proposed tariffs will go into effect Tuesday, including everyday consumer goods as well as major purchases like household appliances, furniture and more.

U.S. market cars assembled in Canada

U.S. market cars assembled in Mexico

Again, it is still unclear at this exact moment how much these import taxes will impact the U.S. automotive industry. Nearly all the companies listed here that build cars in Canada and Mexico also produce vehicles here in America.

The Big Three dominate production in Michigan and has facilities in the Midwest, the Rust Belt and the South. Several foreign manufacturers including BMW, Kia, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Volkswagen and Volvo have facilities dotting the Southeastern U.S. Some may elect to shift production where they can, though efforts to retool and otherwise allocate resources to avoid incurring the 25% import tariff will take time. And even if they do, their suppliers often produce the necessary components on-site next to the assembly plants, so those logistics could take even longer to hammer out.