Car or currency? US import tariffs’ impact on the automotive industry

When a mutated cheese wotsit introduces a 25% increase on tariffs to UK automotive manufactures, it’s unsurprising that companies such as Jaguar Land Rover have ceased the export of their UK made cars to the USA.

Dan Boland

5th Apr 2025

2–3 minutes

When the president of the United States introduces a 25% increase on tariffs to UK automotive manufactures, it’s unsurprising that companies such as Jaguar Land Rover have ceased the export of their UK made cars to the USA.

It’s estimated that the total cost of car imports, to the US as of 2024, was valued at a whopping total of $219.49 billion, accounting for well over 6.5 million units. Out of this total cost, the UK’s total export of cars to the US is valued at $9.81 billion dollars as of 2024, representing 4.5% of the USA’s total market share.

But why? Trump argues that these Tariffs will promote US citizens to purchase American goods, boosting the US’s income raised by taxes, which will subsequently be reinvested into US infrastructure.

But is it worth it? Increasing tariffs across all sectors, but especially the automotive industries is exactly what America DOESN’T need right now. Adding barriers to the importation of non-American vehicles is, if anything, just cruel to US citizens. Reducing the US population’s opportunity to drive mechanically reliable and interesting cars, which are almost impossible to come by in the native US market, is in my opinion cruel.

Approaching the question of what car to buy when you’re limited to a Ford F-150, Toyota Prius and Tesla, I think most people would agree with me when I say I would sooner buy a plane ticket to Europe where interesting cars are more common than a drunk middle aged man.

Ultimately, in response to these tariffs, JLR have announced how they will be suspending the export of their vehicles temporarily as they discuss solutions as to how best mitigate the cost of these tariffs.

In reality though, these tariffs whilst directly impacting the UK economy and automotive industry, will just inevitably also impact the wealthier American population who could even afford to import cars from the UK in the first place, likely just boosting the cost to do so for these individuals.

But I think it’s fairly certain that UK manufacturers like JLR aren’t going to be jumping the bandwagon and start producing vehicles in the US anytime soon.

“902UYT 1958 Chevrolet Impala” by kitmasterbloke is licensed under CC BY 2.0.