USMCA deal may pressure White House to add auto tariffs too

U.S. trade partners and business leaders are hoping the Trump administration will refrain from the auto tariffs that have long been under consideration, but the recent U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade may give the administration an extra incentive to add them.

That’s because one of the main features of the USMCA is a change to the “rules of origin” for autos: how much of the car must be made in north America for it to be duty-free. In order for those rules to have real teeth, according to trade experts, they may need to be accompanied by the tariffs.