Automakers, business owners ratchet pleas to Trump: Hit the brakes on tariffs

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Trump administration’s aggressive push to penalize foreign trade partners with tariffs has triggered howls from business groups and all corners of the U.S. auto sector, prompting thousands of written complaints to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

As of July 5, the department had received 2,252 comment letters, the vast majority of which oppose President Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on imported vehicles by as much as 25%.

The submissions were made prior to the July 6 imposition of tariffs by the administration and China on billions of traded goods, including motors and auto parts sold into the United States.

While complaints have been filed by virtually every major car and truck maker as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, most of the formal outcry has come from U.S. residents and small-business owners worried about potential blowback. Many say they fear the president’s proposal could cost the auto industry and its suppliers hundreds of thousands of jobs.

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