WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC), which represents Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, expressed its disappointment with the US’s recently signed trade deal with the United Kingdom.
The agreement includes a specific provision for the import of UK cars to the United States, stipulating that the first 100,000 vehicles imported annually by UK car manufacturers will be subject to a reciprocal tariff rate of 10%. Any additional vehicles imported each year will incur a 25% tariff rate, according to the White House.
«The US automotive industry is highly integrated with Canada and Mexico; the same is not true for the US and the UK. We are disappointed that the administration prioritized the UK ahead of our North American partners,» the council quoted Matt Blunt, president of AAPC, as saying in a statement on Thursday.
Blunt claims that under the deal with the UK, it will now be less expensive to import a UK vehicle with minimal US content than to import a USMCA-compliant vehicle from Mexico or Canada that contains half American parts.
«We hope this preferential access for UK vehicles over North American ones does not set a precedent for future negotiations with Asian and European competitors,» Blunt added.
