Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Dozens of Questions: How Are Trump’s Auto Parts Tariffs Affecting the Broader Economy?

Mexico, the United States’ biggest foreign source of auto parts, is largely exempt from tariffs - but prices are still likely to rise, experts say

Dozens of Questions: How Are Trump’s Auto Parts Tariffs Affecting the Broader Economy?

Photo of a car being assembled by robotic arms

Lenny Kuhne via Unsplash

President Donald Trump made economic waves earlier this year when he announced a 25% tariff on imported automobiles and parts with the stated goal of revitalizing U.S. auto manufacturing. Yet as of summer 2025, the majority (92%) of Mexican-made auto parts continue to enter the United States tariff-free.

That’s because of a March 2025 revision that exempts cars and parts manufactured in compliance with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) from tariffs.


The auto manufacturing industries of the United States, Canada, and Mexico are deeply intertwined, in part because of trade agreements. USMCA, implemented in 2018, is essentially an updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA established tariff-free trade among the United States, Canada, and Mexico and led to an increase in manufacturing on the U.S.’s Southern border, with American companies manufacturing goods in Mexico to reduce labor costs. The exemption of Mexico from tariffs is likely to accelerate this trend.

While Mexico and Canada continue to largely dodge the auto parts tariffs, tariffs on imports from other parts of the world are still in effect. Manufacturer Marelli, which made internal electronics for Jeeps and Nissans, filed for bankruptcy this month due to the subsequent financial strain.

Price increases are quantified by inflation metrics like the personal consumption expenditures price index. The PCE price index measures consumer spending on a basket of goods and services, including motor vehicles and parts. The May numbers, released earlier today, show an annual inflation rate of 2.3%.

So far since Trump took office, the PCE has seen monthly changes of +0.4%, 0%, +0.1% and +0.1% in February, March, April and May. The “motor vehicles and parts” component of the PCE has seen changes of +0.1%, -0.4%, 0%, and -0.1% over those same months, showing that the amount that Americans spend on cars and parts has not yet increased.

That component of the PCE did spike notably during the COVID-19 pandemic due to supply chain issues, resulting in slow-downs in car-buying at that time.

Changes in the PCE reflect shifts in price as well as shifts in consumer behavior. “It doesn't just track the cost of groceries per se,” explained Hoffman. “It tracks the cost of the groceries in my basket that I've chosen to purchase.”

In recent months, demand for cars has decreased as tariff news spooks potential buyers. As a result, car prices have remained relatively flat. But industry experts predict that prices will rise in coming months, even on vehicles that are manufactured in North America and thus exempt from tariffs.

“What we’ve seen historically is that if you put a tariff on an import, which drives up the cost, domestic firms are all too happy to raise their prices even though they're not paying tariffs to match the price of that import,” said Dennis Hoffman, professor of economics at the W. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

In the long run, Hoffman said, increases in the price of goods almost always lead to increases in the PCE price index.

Higher prices don’t necessarily spell the beginning of an economic downturn – if they’re matched by a corresponding rise in incomes. But if they aren't, they can portend further economic trouble.

“If goods that I need to purchase on a monthly budget go up in price, that leaves me with less income for discretionary spending, and that can be recessionary,” Hoffman said.

Meanwhile, the President is mulling further action, saying he might increase auto tariffs in the “not-so-distant future.”

Dozens of Questions: How Are Trump’s Auto Parts Tariffs Affecting the Broader Economy? was originally published by the APM Research Lab.

Maya Chari is the APM Research Lab’s data journalism fellow.

Read More

Back to School Shopping? Expect Higher Prices, “Invisible” to the Consumer

AI-driven "surveillance pricing" hides the price increases from stressed-out parents.

Getty Images, Isabel Pavia

Back to School Shopping? Expect Higher Prices, “Invisible” to the Consumer

For families with school children, the summer is coming to a close, and it’s time to start thinking about—school shopping! New clothes, shoes, daypacks, and school supplies are topmost of mind, making sure your little Einsteins and Rembrandts are ready to take on the new school year.

But this year, it’s coming with a twist—not only are prices higher in the stores and online, but the price increases are seemingly “invisible” due to deceptive uses of new technologies and what is known as “surveillance pricing.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Celebrating National Black Business Month

National Black Business Month is about correcting an imbalance and recognizing that supporting Black-owned businesses is suitable for everyone.

Getty Images, Tara Moore

Celebrating National Black Business Month

Every August, National Black Business Month rolls around, and for a few weeks, social media lights up with hashtags and well-meaning posts about supporting Black-owned businesses. You'll see lists pop up—restaurants, bookstores, clothing lines—all run by Black entrepreneurs. Maybe your favorite coffee shop puts up a sign, or a big brand launches a campaign. But once the month ends, the noise fades, and for many, it's back to business as usual.

This cycle is familiar. It's easy to mistake visibility for progress or to think that a single purchase is enough. But National Black Business Month is meant to be more than a fleeting moment of recognition. It's a moment to interrogate the systems that got us here and to put our money—and our intent—where our mouths are. In a better world, Black business success would be a given, not a cause for annual celebration.

Keep ReadingShow less
How Abnormal Are the Revisions in This Month’s Jobs Report?

Seasonally adjusted data. Graph excludes March to August 2020, initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the reported jobs numbers were especially volatile. Shows difference between the preliminary estimate and the final revision for each month. Includes initial revision for June 2025 (BLS often issues a second revision).

How Abnormal Are the Revisions in This Month’s Jobs Report?

On Friday, President Trump announced that he was firing Erika McEntarfer, the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Earlier that day the BLS had issued its monthly national jobs report, which showed lackluster growth in employment, and a slight uptick in the unemployment rate.

The report showed a relatively small increase in employment for July: +73,000 nonfarm payroll jobs. The BLS also included revisions to the preliminary jobs numbers reported earlier, stating: “Revisions for May and June were larger than normal. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for May was revised down by 125,000, from +144,000 to +19,000, and the change for June was revised down by 133,000, from +147,000 to +14,000.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Caution in the C-Suite: How Business Leaders Are Navigating Trump 2.0

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks alongside CEO of Cisco Systems Chuck Robbins (R) at the Business Roundtable's quarterly meeting at the Business Roundtable headquarters on March 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump addressed the group of CEO’s as his recent tariff implementations have sparked uncertainty that have helped fuel a market sell-off.

Getty Images, Andrew Harnik

Caution in the C-Suite: How Business Leaders Are Navigating Trump 2.0

In the first months of Donald Trump’s second term as president, his policies – from sweeping tariffs and aggressive immigration enforcement to attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion – have thrown U.S. businesses into turmoil, leading to a 26-point decline in CEO confidence.

Yet despite this volatility, many American corporations have remained notably restrained in their public responses.

Keep ReadingShow less