US automakers blast Trump's UK trade deal
New York – The Trump administration's latest trade deal with Britain unfairly penalizes US automakers that have partnered with Canada and Mexico, a trade group representing Detroit automakers said Thursday.
In a sharply-worded statement, the American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC) said the US-UK trade deal 'hurts American automakers, suppliers, and auto workers,' according to the group's president Matt Blunt.
The deal unveiled Thursday between US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer lowers the tariff on British vehicles to 10 percent from 27.5 percent on the first 100,000 cars shipped from Britain to the United States.
In contrast, AAPC members Ford, General Motors Company and Jeep-maker Stellantis now face import tariffs of 25 percent on autos assembled in Canada and Mexico. The Detroit companies organized their supply chains around the 2020 US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which Trump negotiated in his first term.
'We are disappointed that the administration prioritized the UK ahead of our North American partners,' Blunt said. 'Under this deal, it will now be cheaper to import a UK vehicle with very little US content than a USMCA compliant vehicle from Mexico or Canada that is half American parts.'
Trump last week unveiled some steps to lessen the impact of tariffs on imported auto parts in moves applauded by GM and Ford.
The Trump administration will allow companies that assemble autos in the United States to deduct a fraction of the cost of imported parts for two years to give the industry enough time to relocate supply chains.
In another change, the administration said companies wouldn't face a 25 percent levy on imported steel or aluminum in addition to a 25 percent levy for an imported vehicle.
But last weeks' changes did not soften the 25 percent tariff on imported finished autos.
The Trump administration plans to negotiate separate agreements with Japan, South Korea and the European Union, all of which export finished autos to the United States.
'We hope this preferential access for UK vehicles over North American ones does not set a precedent for future negotiations with Asian and European competitors,' Blunt said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Iraqi News
6 hours ago
- Iraqi News
Hopes rise as US and China hold second day of trade talks
London – The United States and China began a second day of trade talks on Tuesday, seeking to shore up a shaky tariff truce in a bitter row deepened by export curbs. The gathering of key officials from the world's two biggest economies began Monday in London, after an earlier round of talks in Geneva last month. Stock markets wavered as investors hoped the talks will bring some much-needed calm on trading floors and ease tensions between the economic superpowers. A US Treasury spokesman told AFP on Tuesday the 'talks resumed earlier this' morning. One of US President Donald Trump's top advisers said he expected 'a big, strong handshake' at the end of the talks in the historic Lancaster House, operated by the UK foreign ministry. Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday: 'We are doing well with China. China's not easy. 'I'm only getting good reports.' The agenda is expected to be dominated by exports of rare earth minerals used in a wide range of things including smartphones, electric vehicle batteries and green technology. 'In Geneva, we had agreed to lower tariffs on them, and they had agreed to release the magnets and rare earths that we need throughout the economy,' Trump's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, told CNBC on Monday. But even though Beijing was releasing some supplies, 'it was going a lot slower than some companies believed was optimal', he added. Still, he said he expected 'a big, strong handshake' at the end of the talks. 'Our expectation is that after the handshake, any export controls from the US will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume,' Hassett added. He also said the Trump administration might be willing to ease some recent curbs on tech exports. – Concessions? – Tensions between Washington and Beijing have heightened since Trump took office in January, with both countries engaging in a tariffs war hiking duties on each other's exports to three figures — an effective trade embargo. The Geneva pact to cool tensions temporarily brought new US tariffs on Chinese goods down from 145 percent to 30 percent, and Chinese countermeasures from 125 percent to 10 percent. But Trump recently said China had 'totally violated' the deal. 'Investors are willing to grab on to any positive trade headline right now, as this is keeping hopes of a rally alive,' said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB. Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at the Swissquote Bank, said that although there had been 'no breakthrough' it seemed 'the first day of the second round of negotiations reportedly went relatively well'. 'Rumours are circulating that the US may be willing to make concessions on tech exports in exchange for China easing restrictions on rare earth metal exports,' she said. Rare earth shipments from China to the US have slowed since the tariff war was triggered by Trump's so-called 'Liberation Day' announcements, according to Brooks. The US leader slapped sweeping levies of 10 percent on friend and foe alike, and threatened steeper rates on dozens of economies. The tariffs have already had a sharp effect, with official figures from Beijing showing Chinese exports to the United States in May plunged by 12.7 percent. China is also in talks with other trading partners — including Japan and South Korea — to try to build a united front to counter Trump's tariffs. Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday urged South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung to work with Beijing to uphold free trade to ensure 'the stability and smooth functioning of global and regional industrial and supply chains.' 'A healthy, stable, and continuously deepening China–South Korea relationship aligns with the trend of the times,' Xi said in a phone call, according to the Xinhua news agency. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng is heading the team in London, which included Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and China International Trade Representative Li Chenggang. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are leading the US delegation.
Iraqi News
6 hours ago
- Iraqi News
Asian markets extend gains as China-US talks head into second day
Hong Kong – Asian stocks squeezed out more gains Tuesday as the latest round of China-US trade talks moved into a second day, with one of Donald Trump's top advisers saying he expected 'a big, strong handshake'. There is optimism the negotiations — which come after the US president spoke to Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last week — will bring some much-needed calm to markets and ease tensions between the economic superpowers. The advances in Asian equities built on Monday's rally and followed a broadly positive day on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 edged closer to the record high touched earlier in the year. This week's meeting in London will look to smooth relations after Trump accused Beijing of violating an agreement made at a meeting of top officials last month in Geneva that ended with the two sides slashing tit-for-tat tariffs. The key issues on the agenda at the talks are expected to be exports of rare earth minerals used in a wide range of things including smartphones and electric vehicle batteries. 'In Geneva, we had agreed to lower tariffs on them, and they had agreed to release the magnets and rare earths that we need throughout the economy,' Trump's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, told CNBC on Monday. But even though Beijing was releasing some supplies, 'it was going a lot slower than some companies believed was optimal', he added. Still, he said he expected 'a big, strong handshake' at the end of the talks. 'Our expectation is that after the handshake, any export controls from the US will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume,' Hassett added. He also said the Trump administration might be willing to ease some recent curbs on tech exports. The president told reporters at the White House: 'We are doing well with China. China's not easy. 'I'm only getting good reports.' Tokyo led gains in Asian markets, with Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington and Jakarta also well up. 'The bulls will layer into risk on any rhetoric that publicly keeps the two sides at the table,' said Pepperstone's Chris Weston. 'And with the meeting spilling over to a second day, the idea of some sort of loose agreement is enough to underpin the grind higher in US equity and risk exposures more broadly.' Investors are also awaiting key US inflation data this week, which could impact the Federal Reserve's monetary policy amid warnings Trump's tariffs will refuel inflation strengthening the argument to keep interest rates on hold. However, it also faces pressure from the president to cut rates, with bank officials due to make a decision at their meeting next week. While recent jobs data has eased concerns about the US economy, analysts remain cautious. 'Tariffs are likely to remain a feature of US trade policy under President Trump,' said Matthias Scheiber and John Hockers at Allspring Global Investments. 'A strong US consumer base was helping buoy the global economy and avoid a global recession.' However, they also warned: 'The current global trade war coupled with big spending cuts by the US government and possibly higher US inflation could derail US consumer spending to the point that the global economy contracts for multiple quarters.' – Key figures at around 0230 GMT – Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 38,473.97 (break) Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 24,275.16 Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,405.64 Euro/dollar: DOWN $1.1394 from $1.1420 on Monday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3530 from $1.3552 Dollar/yen: UP at 145.14 yen 144.60 yen Euro/pound: DOWN 84.21 from 84.27 pence West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $65.61 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $67.37 per barrel New York – Dow: FLAT at 42,761.76 (close) London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,832.28 (close)
Shafaq News
7 hours ago
- Shafaq News
UNSC to convene: Iraq on agenda
Shafaq News/ The United Nations Security Council will meet on Tuesday to assess the situation in Iraq. According to UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), the session is set for 5:00 PM Baghdad time (10:00 AM New York). It will feature a briefing by Mohamed Al Hassan, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq, on recent developments and the work of UNAMII. Created in 2003 under Resolution 1500 after the US-led invasion, UNAMI was initially tasked with supporting Iraq's transitional government. Its mission later expanded to include political mediation, electoral support, and humanitarian coordination.
