A Look at Trump’s Tariff Plan to Revive the US Auto Industry

Tariffs are a component in the toolkit Trump is using to achieve his goal of restoring domestic manufacturing, experts say.

Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock, Getty Images

​​The U.S. trade deficit reached a record high of more than $1.2 trillion in 2024. Automobiles and parts accounted for nearly a quarter of that.

In a bid to reverse the trade imbalance, President Donald Trump in February introduced a plan to impose reciprocal tariffs to “level the playing field” on trade and address what his administration called unfair trade practices imposed by other countries.