Stocks crash, job cuts emerge, costs rise as tariff chaos begins  April 4th 2025

Stocks crash, layoffs emerge, costs rise as tariffs take root

As of early afternoon, every automaker tracked by Automotive News saw its stock fall. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 4 percent and other indexes slipped further into the red as the world responded to President Donald Trump’s automotive tariffs and the additional reciprocal tariffs of at least 10 percent on nations around the world

Even though we knew this was coming, it will take several days for this massive economic retrenchment to settle into the collective psyche of the auto industry.

Make no mistake, these tariffs will impact just about every automaker, supplier, dealer, investor, stakeholder and consumer engaged in the world of four-wheel vehicles. Probably two-, three-, six- and multiple-wheeled vehicles, too. Not sure yet about Segways, golf carts or unicycles.

And of course, it’s all subject to change without warning depending on how the world responds and how Trump reacts to those responses.

Beyond the ongoing carnage on Wall Street, it didn’t take long for job cuts to emerge today, led by Stellantis. The automaker said it is temporarily laying off nearly 1,000 workers in the U.S. as it pauses production at some plants in Canada and Mexico in response to the tariffs. The layoffs affect workers at five plants in Michigan and Indiana, a company spokesperson said in our story by Vince Bond Jr.

In Canada, 25 percent retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports will target vehicles built in the United States while avoiding U.S.-made auto parts destined for Canadian assembly plants, Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters in this story from Automotive News Canada.

The “carefully calibrated” countertariffs form part of Ottawa’s response to U.S. trade actions April 2 that will “rupture the global economy,” Carney said.

A few Republicans have begun to push back. Four of them joined Democrats in the Senate on Wednesday passing a measure that would essentially terminate new tariffs on Canada. The bill has an unlikely chance of passing the House. Then today, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, joined Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., to introduce legislation seeking to rein in Trump’s ability to impose tariffs. The measure would require congressional approval for new levies within 60 days, Reuters reported. Again, it was a largely symbolic measure designed to send a message and has little chance of moving forward.

Meanwhile, General Motors and Ford Motor Co. both made some newsworthy moves today in response to the tariffs. GM told employees it is moving to increase production of light-duty trucks at its Fort Wayne, Ind., assembly plant, Reuters reported.

Ford announced an employee-pricing-for-all retail program — coupled with a massive ad campaign — to pitch its U.S. manufacturing base.

“There’s no question that obviously prices are going to rise as more things come out,” Rob Kaffl, Ford’s director of U.S. sales, told Automotive News. “We’re still trying to understand the impact of the tariffs. We think the opportunity is now to make the offer with our customers, and we’ll also have to weigh in what happens with these impacts.”

So far, none of Ford’s competitors have publicly signaled plans to match the deal. Ford shares weren’t spared from Wall Street’s sell-off, either.

For more recaps of today’s tariff coverage, go here.

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- Philip Nussel, online editor

Not just car prices: Car and home insurance likely to go up with US tariffs - WTOP News

Consumers could not only face sticker shock at their local car dealerships as car prices are expected to go up due to tariffs, but they could also pay more to insure those vehicles.

“Whatever the percentage of tariffs is on that car or that part, will likely be passed on by the manufacturers and the repairers,” Dave Snyder, vice president of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, told WTOP.

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Tariffs will drive up costs for insurance markets: Experts

Insurance and financial services were not included in the far-reaching tariffs President Trump announced Wednesday, but insurance experts on both sides of the Atlantic warned that the taxes will increase costs for insurers and buyers.

Higher costs for imported auto parts and construction materials will likely drive up claims costs, and more red tape at ports of entry could slow supply chains, also driving up costs, they said.

While the Trump administration has long signaled increased tariffs on goods imported to the U.S., the size and reach of the taxes were only revealed on Wednesday. Among the changes, the U.S. will impose a 10% tariff on all imports beginning April 5 and higher tariffs for specific countries, including 46% on imports from Vietnam, 34% on China, 32% on Taiwan and 20% on the European Union.

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Trump’s Auto Tariffs to Cover Hundreds of Billions of Dollars of Vehicle, Parts Imports

U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25 percent auto tariffs will cover hundreds of billions of dollars worth of imports of vehicles and auto parts imports annually, according to a Reuters analysis of tariff codes included in a federal register notice on Wednesday.

The update of Trump’s auto tariff proclamation from last week included nearly 150 auto parts categories that will face tariffs starting on May 3, a month after Thursday’s midnight activation of 25 percent tariffs on vehicle imports.

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