- President Donald Trump’s auto tariffs are designed to protect the US car manufacturing industry.
- Sen. Ted Cruz, a tariff skeptic, is warning that the price of American cars will likely go up too.
- He said the price of an average car from a Big 3 automaker could increase by $4,500 in June.
Sen. Ted Cruz says that you’re likely to end up paying thousands of dollars more for a new car as a result of Trump’s auto tariffs — even if you buy American.
“It’s not just foreign cars that will go up,” the Texas Republican said on an episode of his “Verdict” podcast released on Friday. “There are weird impacts, given how the American supply chain works.”
Cruz said a representative from one of the “Big 3” US auto manufacturers — which include General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis — had told him the previous night that the average cost of one of their cars would increase by $4,500 beginning in June, when newly manufactured cars begin hitting dealerships.
Trump’s auto tariffs include not just a 25% tariff on imported cars, but on imported car parts. Many domestic manufacturers rely on parts from overseas.
The chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Cruz has emerged as an outspoken critic of Trump’s trade plans.
“I am not a fan of tariffs. Tariffs are a tax on the American people,” Cruz told BI on Thursday.
When asked whether he had confidence in the Trump administration’s approach, the Texas senator replied: “We will see whether the result is lower tariffs from our trading partners, or higher tariffs from our trading partners.”
