Every time the tariff enforcement date approaches, Trump has to hit the brakes – foot brake, hand brake, reverse. If the brakes could talk, the members would be swearing at him.
Just days before the 25% tariff on the automotive sector and its parts was to take effect, Trump suddenly announced a temporary relief for automakers.
Perhaps he had just seen the tears of joy from automakers due to his chaotic trade policies, so he made this move that was seen as an effort at ‘damage control’.
In the same move, the Trump administration was also rumored to be paying back some of the tariffs retroactively and offering temporary relief, just in time for the 100th day rally of his administration in Detroit.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick described the adjustment as a “reward” for domestic automakers, but critics called it a plaster for a wound that Trump himself created.
This new policy could save up to $1,125 (around RM5,300) per car in the first year, but only for those who can wait.
Welcome to a new era of automotive where vehicles are no longer just means of transportation but rather a political battlefield, where political decisions determine whether a car can move, or whether it needs to brake at the bureaucratic border.
