By Josh Dawsey and Ryan Felton
When President Trump convened CEOs of some of the country’s top automakers for a call earlier this month, he issued a warning: They better not raise car prices because of tariffs.
Trump told the executives that the White House would look unfavorably on such a move, leaving some of them rattled and worried they would face punishment if they increased prices, people with knowledge of the call said.
Instead, Trump said, they should be grateful for his elimination of what he called President Joe Biden’s electric-vehicle mandate, which involved subsidies and emissions requirements to encourage electric-car production. He made a lengthy pitch for how they would actually benefit from tariffs, two people on the call said, adding that he was bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. and was better for their industry than previous presidents.
The tariffs would be “great,” Trump said, according to one of the people.
On Wednesday, Trump announced a 25% tariff on all imported vehicles and parts starting April 2, a move almost certain to force American carmakers to raise prices on customers. Most automakers depend on parts and materials from other countries to make cars, including vehicles assembled in the U.S.
“You’re going to see prices going down, but going to go down specifically because they’re going to buy what we’re doing, incentivizing companies to—and even countries—companies to come into America,” he said at the event.
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