Trump expands 25% truck tariff to include medium-duty vehicles, moves date to Nov. 1

United States President Donald Trump said Monday that each mean and heavy-duty trucks entering the U.S. from different countries volition look a 25% tariff starting Nov. 1.

The work volition person a important interaction connected Mexico arsenic the state is the largest exporter of mean and heavy-duty trucks to the United States.

Trump announced that the 25% tariff volition instrumentality effect adjacent period connected his Truth Social account. He didn’t springiness immoderate denotation that trucks made successful Mexico, oregon astatine slightest their U.S. content, volition beryllium exempt from the duty.

The U.S. contented successful cars made successful Mexico is exempt from the 25% tariff the United States imposed successful April, lowering the effectual tariff connected those vehicles to 15% connected average. Under the USMCA escaped commercialized pact, mean and heavy-duty trucks are presently not taxable to tariffs if astatine slightest 64% of their worth originates successful North America, Reuters reported.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that her authorities volition purpose to triumph an exemption from the United States’ planned tariff connected mean and heavy-duty trucks. She said she would telephone Trump to sermon an statement to stave disconnected the work “if it’s necessary.”

Trump initially said that a 25% tariff connected heavy-duty trucks — but not medium-duty trucks — would instrumentality effect connected Oct. 1.

New US tariff threatens Mexico’s automotive manufacture starting Oct. 1

“In bid to support our Great Heavy Truck Manufacturers from unfair extracurricular competition, I volition beryllium imposing, arsenic of October 1st, 2025, a 25% Tariff connected each ‘Heavy (Big!) Trucks’ made successful different parts of the World,” helium wrote connected Truth Social connected Sept. 25.

“Therefore, our Great Large Truck Company Manufacturers, specified arsenic Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner, Mack Trucks, and others, volition beryllium protected from the onslaught of extracurricular interruptions. We request our Truckers to beryllium financially steadfast and strong, for galore reasons, but supra each else, for National Security purposes!” Trump wrote.

Mexico’s motortruck exports to the US

According to the U.S. International Trade Administration (ITA), 62.7% of the mean and heavy-duty trucks the United States imported successful 2024 came from Mexico.

Reuters reported that a survey released successful January said imports of those vehicles from Mexico “have tripled since 2019 to astir 340,000 [annually] today, according to authorities statistics.”

Fourteen manufacturers and assemblers of buses, trucks and tractor trucks, and 2 manufacturers of engines person plants successful Mexico, according to the ITA.

In the archetypal 7 months of this year, Mexico’s exports of trucks, buses and peculiar intent vehicles to the United States were worthy US $25.86 billion, accounting for 80% of U.S. expenditure connected imports of those vehicles, according to U.S. authorities data. The immense bulk of Mexico’s motortruck exports spell to the United States.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has urged the U.S. Commerce Department to not enforce tariffs connected trucks. It noted that Mexico, Canada, Japan, Germany, and Finland are the apical root countries for motortruck imports and highlighted that each of those countries are “allies oregon adjacent partners of the United States posing nary menace to U.S. nationalist security.”

With reports from La Jornada, Reuters, Reforma, EFE and N+